[IslamCity] Morocco's Islamic Party Commends New Fatwa Body

[Islahonline]

http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-07/10/article04.shtml   Morocco's Islamic Party Commends New Fatwa Body Under the Moroccan constitution, the king has the authority to issue fatwas. By Mariam AL-Tigy, IOL Correspondent RABAT , July 10, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Morocco 's Islamic party has welcomed a decision by King Mohamed VI to set up a new body tasked with issuing fatwas (religious edicts) in the kingdom. "The Justice and Development Party commends this positive step and presses for creating more bodies to service religious affairs in Morocco," Abdullah Baha, the head of the party's parliamentary bloc, told IslamOnline.net on Sunday, July 10. The monarch issued a royal decree on Friday, July 8, to create the new body as part of the supreme religious council, which is responsible for religious affairs in Morocco , to be responsible for fatwa issuance. King Mohamed said the goal of the new body is to issue fatwas based on a collective opinion of scholars. He also urged the fledging body to promote awareness among the Moroccan people on the principles of the Maliki religious school, the recognized religious school in the kingdom. Under the Moroccan constitution, the king has the authority to issue fatwas. Active Role Baha said "the nascent body should play an active role in meeting the needs of the Moroccan people and live up to the challenges of the modern age". He dismissed claims that the King's decision to set up the new body was an effort to undermine the influence of Islamists in the country. "Such claims are groundless," he said, citing his party's support for religious reform efforts. Some political parties have argued that the Justice and Development Party only wins the votes of Moroccans because its "monopolizes" religious affairs in the kingdom. Controversy Morocco has been a scene of rising controversy over the religious powers granted to the king by the Constitution. The controversy was triggered by remarks made by Ahmed Al-Raysoni, the ex-head of the Tawhid and Islah movement, in which he pressed for differentiating between the king's political role and his authority to issue fatwas. He also called for establishing a higher council for fatwa, maintaining that the monarch was "not qualified for such a religious mission". The remarks sparked furor in the kingdom, with some parties accusing him of insulting the monarch. Since, the Casablanca bombings, in which at least 41 people were killed and scores more wounded, efforts have been in full swing to modernize the religious discourse in the kingdom. King Mohamed also called for developing the Islamic studies curricula to shield young Moroccans against extremism. Back To News Page Please feel free to contact News editor at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "islamcity" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.