Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- A march held yesterday in Casablanca against “the Islamization of Morocco” turned into a masquarade, followed shortly by huge condemnation from mainstream Moroccans after the lid was lifted on some of its organizers: Morocco’s non-elected representatives (Qaeds, Mkadems, etc.), in coordination with the PAM and RNI parties, according to some protesters.
The protest, which drew around 3000 people, was harshly condemned by the Moroccan Center for Human rights. The Human rights body described it in a communiqué, “a march that aims to drive hatred and wage enmity among the Moroccan society spectra, including destroying the strong bonds of peaceful coexistence, and the values of security and social peace cherished by the Moroccan people.”
“I was given a sheep by Weld Zeroual during Eid day,” said an old woman when shedding light on her rationale behind joining the protest, further stressing that it was the very Weld Zeroual, apparently a local representative, who gifted her a sheep during Eid and asked her to join the protest.
“God Bless the King, god Bless Weld Zeroual. The sheep turned out to be in good health after we sacrificed it,” the old woman added.
Another woman said she was “here to stand against Benkirane’s unpopular decisions, which lead to an increase on the price of goods in Morocco.”
A group of young people said they were handed 100 DHs each and “told that they would protest against a Saudi Arabian citizen who sexually abused a Moroccan girl.”
“They lied to us. They told us you would spend a great day in Casablanca and visit its beach, but we found ourselves in the mid of a protest against Benkirane, which we do not want to take part in as we have no problems with Benkirane,” they stressed.
“We then decided to pull out of the protest. We don’t want to get into political fights or anything like that,” they closed.
Another young man from Beni Mellal said he felt betrayed by a Mkadem (local aid) as this latter rallied them to join a “protest against terrorism.”
“I feel betrayed as I was told by the Mkadem that we will take part in a protest against terrorism, but once we came here, I found myself in the middle of a protest against a political party,” the man angrily said.
“This is not serious,” the young man from Beni Mellal stressed.
Another mob of youth said they got money to join the protest and started laughing when they were asked to name the person who handed the 100 Dhs notes.
“Transportation was free. We were told we would spend a great day and get also free food to protest against Benkirane. This is the truth,” the mob added.
Most protesters did not know what they were protesting against in the first place.
One protestor said, “we are here just because we were told to be here.”
The protest was such a huge failure to the point there was no reference to it on Morocco’s state agency channels during yesterday’s news briefings.
Many protesters did not even understand the meaning of the word islamization when asked if they understood the meaning of the Arabic expression “Akhwanat Dawla.”
The protest was hugely condemned by mainstream Moroccans on social media platforms, especially on Facebook, with various Moroccans saying that “Benkirane and his party, the PJD, have never tried to Islamize Morocco, and do not have any plans to do so,” stressing that it is “the organizers that are planning to destabilize Morocco with such a childish march.”
The Moroccan Times.
