Published on FRANCE 24 (http://www.france24.com/en)
Morocco sex debate rages after imam's death call
By blade
Created 08/07/2012 - 10:52
The call by a radical Moroccan imam for the death of a journalist who spoke out
in defence of sexual freedom has ignited a fierce debate between Islamists and
secularists in a country torn between modernity and religious tradition.
Abdellah Nhari, an imam in the northeastern Oujda region, who is well known for
his controversial pronouncements, declared in a recent sermon that Elmokhtar
Laghzioui was a "dayoute," or cuckold in colloquial Arabic, and that in Islam
"the 'dayoute' should be killed."
Nhari was reacting to Laghzioui's remarks, on a satellite television channel,
indicating that he supported personal, and in particular sexual freedom, even
in the case of one's "mother or sister."
Around 100 journalists held a sit-in on Thursday outside the headquarters of
the newspaper in Casablanca where Laghzioui works, to protest against Nhari's
comments, denounce "terrorism in the name of religion," and voice their support
for freedom of expression.
The imam has since insisted that his words, which were swiftly disseminated by
social networks and the local press, did not amount to calling for the death of
the journalist.
But the public prosecutor in Oujda has ordered a judicial inquiry into the
case, fuelling the debate on sexual freedom that was rekindled with the opening
last month of a theatre production in Rabat openly supporting freedom for women.
The production was a Moroccan adaptation of "The Vagina Monologues," an
award-winning play by US author Eve Ensler that celebrates female sexuality and
focuses on the abuses women suffer.
The mostly secular defenders of sexual freedom in Morocco want to see the
abolition of article 490 of the penal code, which stipulates a prison sentence
of one year and one month for anyone caught having extra-marital sex.
In reality, sex outside marriage is common in Morocco and largely tolerated,
with unmarried couples behaving discreetly.
"I don't understand why the state sets itself up, through this article, as the
champion of chastity while claiming to have a democratic constitution," Zineb
El Rhazoui, founder of a civil society group promoting individual liberty, told
AFP.
"The reluctance to decriminalise extra-marital sex amounts to an admission of
hypocrisy both by the state and society," the activist said.
Khadija Ryadi, who heads the Moroccan human rights association, agrees that the
law is an anomaly.
"We know that sexual relations outside marriage are common in Morocco. The fact
that all that is hidden encourages abuse, and attacks on individual liberty,"
she said.
For their part, the Islamists continue to denounce calls for sexual freedom
outside marriage.
Attajdid, the newspaper of Morocco's ruling Party of Justice and Development
(PJD), has weighed in on the debate repeatedly, denouncing the sophistry of the
liberals.
"There is an intellectual terrorism being exercised against the Islamists to
prevent them from communicating their point of view with respect to art and
creation," the Islamist daily complained in an editorial last month.
Secular movements "use provocation and permissiveness in their calculations...
in order to attack the Islamist movements," it added.
El Moukri Abouzeid, an MP and PJD member, made the point more bluntly.
"Any sexual act outside marriage is considered an act of debauchery, a crime.
"The permissive philosophies, which were born in Europe, have they improved
social and family relations there? I don't think so," he said.
AFP
Lifestyle
Source URL:
http://www.france24.com/en/20120708-morocco-sex-debate-rages-after-imams-death-call
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