US Expert: Morocco’s Counter-terrorism Initiatives Are ‘More Extensive’ Than US, EU

Ido Levy, a counter-terrorism expert and associate researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has lauded Morocco’s counter-terrorism strategy, saying that the country’s efforts to prevent extremism are “more extensive” than most initiatives in the United States and the European Union.

Casablanca – Ido Levy, a counter-terrorism expert and associate researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has lauded Morocco’s counter-terrorism strategy, saying that the country’s efforts to prevent extremism are “more extensive” than most initiatives in the United States and the European Union.

Morocco is at the forefront of the global fight against violent extremism, Levy argued, citing the proactive policy the country has implemented to tackle terrorism. In addition to taking a rigorous approach to security and intelligence, he explained, the Moroccan counter-terrorism strategy also includes religious education and professional rehabilitation.

Levy referenced the “Moussalaha” program Morocco launched in 2017. The fruit of a collaboration between the General Delegation of Prison Administration and Rehabilitation (DGAPR), the Mohammadia League of Scholars (Rabita Mohammadia des Oulemas), and the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), the program is a de-radicalization initiative aimed at facilitating the professional and social rehabilitation of former terror conflicts.

It adopts a “scientific approach” to combat terrorism and extremism through religious reeducation, professional training sessions, and what some experts associated with the program describe as security “spiritual immunization.”

Levy also praised the Mohammadia League of Scholars’ efforts to interact with Moroccan youth through social media, video games, and comic books to counter extremist rhetoric.

Morocco’s counter-terrorism efforts in recent years have placed it in a select group of nations that have developed an efficient framework to cope with the threat of terrorism in its many, emerging forms.

Earlier this year, Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) ranked Morocco among the safest countries worldwide in its 2022 “Global Terrorism Index” (GTI).