Doha – As history repeats itself, Morocco is at another crossroads of tradition and modernity. Twenty years after the groundbreaking 2004 Moudawana (Family Code) reform that has since become normalized in Moroccan society, a new wave of proposed amendments has reignited the age-old debate between religious conservatives and modernizers.

Unlike the 2004 reforms, this round of proposed changes unfolds in an era of unprecedented public discourse, where social media platforms have democratized debate and allowed voices from all corners of society to weigh in—from scholarly criticism to street-level discussions. This digital amplification has brought long-simmering tensions between tradition and progress into sharp relief.

In what appears to be an attempt to derail Morocco’s progressive family law reforms, the League of Moroccan Arab Scholars (Rabitat Ulama al-Maghrib al-Arabi) has launched an inflammatory campaign against the proposed amendments, making sweeping claims about their religious legitimacy.

The League, which was established in Istanbul in December 2013 by scholars from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania, has no official status in Morocco and operates outside the North African country’s established religious institutions.

The League went so far as to suggest that the reforms were “forced by international pressure on Morocco and other Islamic countries,” demonstrating a concerning disregard for national sovereignty in legal reform.

In their controversial statement, the League made the extreme claim that the amendments would “force people to seek religious fatwas instead of going to courts,” effectively advocating for a parallel legal system outside state jurisdiction.

They further alleged that the reforms would “increase young people’s reluctance to marry and escalate discord and conflict within the family,” without providing any evidence for these assertions.

The League’s rhetoric reached particularly troubling levels when they declared that the reforms constituted “explicit violations of the consensus of Islamic law” and claimed they contradicted King Mohammed VI’s directives – a serious allegation that challenges both state authority and religious legitimacy.

In fact, the King has repeatedly stressed the importance of moderation and balance in religious matters, most recently directing the Higher Council of Ulema in June to review the Family Code’s proposals to ensure alignment with Islamic principles while maintaining “the virtues of moderation and open and constructive Ijtihad.”

As Commander of the Faithful, the King has maintained that he “shall not make licit that which the Almighty has forbidden, nor forbid that which he has authorized,” while consistently promoting institutional frameworks for religious guidance through bodies like the Higher Ulema Council.

However, the League went on to make the provocative comparison that “if Moroccan Jews enjoy their own code, it is truly unfortunate that a Muslim is deprived of his Lord’s law in his own country.”

Their statement revealed a particularly rigid stance on marriage requirements, insisting that “a marriage contract can only be valid with two Muslim witnesses” and claiming that removing this requirement would make marriages “invalid even if issued by courts and documented in official papers.” This position effectively challenges the state’s authority to regulate civil matters.

The League’s opposition extended to progressive measures for women’s rights, characterizing the provision of legal representation rights to custodial mothers as “wronging the husband and depriving him of his established rights.”

They particularly objected to recognizing domestic work as a contribution to marital wealth, dismissing it as “a Western secular notion that no Islamic scholar has ever supported.”

In what many see as an attempt to create social discord, the League called on judges and lawyers to “reject these amendments and stand against them by all available means,” effectively encouraging legal professionals to obstruct the implementation of state law.

Voice of moderation exposes the League’s excesses

Islamic scholar Adil Reffouch, General Supervisor of the Ibn Tashfin Foundation for Studies, Research, and Innovation, delivered a sharp rebuke to the League’s inflammatory rhetoric.

“The statement lacks precision and contains exaggerations unsuitable for such matters,” Reffouch stated, warning that “such exaggerations empower transgressors.”

In a systematic dismantling of the League’s claims, Reffouch pointed out their misrepresentation of facts: “They attributed to the committee what it didn’t say, such as claiming an absolute elimination of the witness requirement – this is putting words in the committee’s and minister’s mouths.”

He then emphasized that “justice requires justice, and precision requires precision, for jurisprudence is precise understanding, and that “the truth cannot be supported except through truth and reason, not through unfounded claims.”

Reffouch particularly criticized the League’s use of religious consensus as a rhetorical weapon, noting they “used the word ‘consensus’ absolutely outside the scope of dispute, and claimed the existence of explicit violations of the consensus of the Lord of the Worlds’ law.”

For him, this is “a dangerous statement no less serious than those who want to tamper with the Code toward imbalance and exploitation.”

Comprehensive reform package

In a landmark announcement at a communication meeting in Rabat, Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi presented 139 proposed amendments covering all seven books of the Family Code.

According to Ouahbi, these reforms aim to “overcome certain deficiencies and imbalances that emerged during judicial implementation, and align with the evolution of Moroccan society and its dynamics.”

The reforms establish new marriage procedures that significantly modernize the institution while maintaining its religious character. For Moroccans residing abroad, the amendments introduce flexibility in documentation requirements, allowing marriage contracts to proceed without Muslim witnesses when unavailable.

“This practical adaptation addresses the real challenges faced by our diaspora,” the minister explained, “while maintaining the essence of our religious and legal traditions.”

He emphasized the strengthening of women’s rights within marriage, particularly regarding polygamy. The new provisions require mandatory consultation with the first wife during marriage contract documentation about her position on potential future polygamy.

“If she stipulates no additional marriages, the husband must honor this condition,” Ouahbi clarified.

In cases without such stipulation, polygamy becomes restricted to specific circumstances: the first wife’s infertility, medical conditions preventing conjugal relations, or other exceptional situations evaluated by judges according to strict legal criteria.

Regarding custody and guardianship, the reforms introduce sweeping changes to family dynamics. In the newly proposed Family Code, legal guardianship has become a shared right between spouses both during marriage and after separation.

“When disagreements arise over guardianship decisions,” Ouahbi detailed, “family court judges will resolve disputes based on clear legal standards prioritizing children’s interests.”

The amendments also protect divorced mothers’ custody rights even after remarriage, ensuring continued access to housing for children under custody.

A groundbreaking addition recognizes women’s domestic work as a contribution to marital wealth development. The minister explained that this provision “acknowledges the economic value of household labor and ensures fair distribution of assets in case of divorce.”

The reforms also introduce non-judicial mediation bodies for family disputes, aiming to resolve conflicts before they reach courts.

Ouahbi announced significant changes to divorce procedures, including the simplification of consensual divorce and limiting various types of divorce and dissolution, noting that “discord-based divorce (shiqaq) covers most cases.”

The amendments set a six-month maximum period for courts to resolve divorce and dissolution cases, implementing electronic means for notifications and documentation to expedite proceedings.

Regarding inheritance matters, the reforms incorporate proposals from the Supreme Council of Religious Scholars concerning daughters’ inheritance, allowing lifetime gifts to female heirs with constructive possession sufficient for validity.

The amendments also permit wills and gifts between spouses of different religions, providing new legal tools for interfaith marriages.

Islamic jurisprudential support

Religious scholar Abderrahim Al Amine provided extensive religious justification for the reforms, drawing on classical Islamic jurisprudence.

On shared guardianship, he explained: “Legal guardianship wasn’t explicitly addressed in religious texts, nor is it a matter of worship, but rather a ruling based on children’s best interests. Today’s mother is equal to the father in achieving these interests.”

Regarding custody rights, Al Amine cited historical precedent. “Malik was reported in Al-Mutitiyya as saying that a father cannot take the child from the mother even if she remarries and her husband has consummated the marriage, if the child is well-cared for,” he explained. “While the majority view removes custody upon remarriage, they conditioned this on not harming the child.”

On witness requirements, Al Amine noted that “early Muslim marriages didn’t require formal witnesses.” He quoted classical scholar Muhammad Mayyara as saying: “The focus in marriage was primarily on publicity… many marriages of the salaf (early Muslims) were without formal witnessing.”

Broader historical context

The current debate exemplifies what prominent Moroccan historian and philosopher Abdallah Laroui identified as persistent dualities in modern Arab thought, reflecting deeper ideological tensions that have characterized Arab intellectual discourse since the nineteenth century.

As Laroui extensively documented, Arab thinking has been consistently trapped between competing binaries: “East and West, Arabs and Europeans, tradition and modernity, unity and division, self and other, subject and object, knowledge and ideology.”

This ideological split has historically manifested in competing approaches to reform. As Laroui noted, “Arab renaissance thought divided between prioritizing reform based on heritage and prioritizing change through adoption of Western liberalism and its political and social values.”

This division remains evident in today’s debate over the Family Code reforms, where traditionalists and modernizers continue to stake opposing claims about authenticity and progress.

The current discussion particularly echoes recent controversial debates between Minister of Religious Affairs Ahmed Toufiq and former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane about secularism in Moroccan society.

These exchanges highlighted what Laroui described as the need to move beyond simplistic binary oppositions that have dominated Arab intellectual discourse. As Laroui argued, “Culture isn’t a set of fixed, static, absolute closed components, but rather evolving, changing, relative, and transforming.”

Laroui’s analysis of Arab intellectual history provides crucial context for understanding current reactions to the Family Code reforms. He noted how Arab Marxists and nationalists historically prioritized economic factors over cultural transformation, leading to incomplete social change.

“The Arabs began falling behind,” he wrote, “when reason started submitting its resignation, when they began seeking religious legitimacy for this resignation, while Europeans began advancing when reason among them awakened and began questioning itself.”

The proposed amendments thus represent Morocco’s latest attempt to navigate these complex historical and ideological waters, maintaining Islamic principles while addressing contemporary social needs.

As Minister Ouahbi has argued, they aim to create “a new version of the Family Code suitable for today’s Morocco, capable of responding to societal developments while ensuring provisions that strengthen women’s status and rights, protect children’s rights, and preserve men’s dignity.”

This effort reflects what Laroui identified as the essential challenge of modern Arab society: reconciling cultural authenticity with the demands of contemporary life without falling into the trap of false binaries that have historically hindered progress.