The North Africa Post
At a time most of the MENA region countries chose the status quo to tackle the crises rolling out of the Arab Spring, Morocco opted for a social contract that safeguards stability through credible reforms, coupled with measures to uproot extremism, the Australian newspaper highlighted.
King Mohammed VI brought a new social contract by choosing “stability through reform,” said Creg Sheridan, Foreign Editor of the Australian, quoting Morocco’s newly appointed foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
“There were some (in the region) who believed stability could be achieved through the status quo, through freezing everything. Our stability was achieved through a new constitution, through transitional justice, through improvement in the status of women, through big projects for human development,” Bourita added.
Creg underscored that Morocco’s stability draws its strength from the centuries-long history of uninterrupted national sovereignty in the country. “Morocco was a state for more than 13 centuries,” he said.
On the effort led by Morocco to curb extremism, a key factor in stirring instability in the MENA region, Creg pointed out to the reform of the religious sphere in Morocco.
In this regard, he shed light on the role played by the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams in countering the extremist rhetoric and championing the lofty values of moderation and tolerance inherent to Islam.
Quoting the Institute’s manager, Creg said that “one of the main objects is to correct the extremist reasoning and understanding of religion,” adding that “the extremists misuse religious reasoning for extremist purposes. This institute corrects the reasoning of extremists. Then the extremists can talk only with weapons. One day the extremists will understand they have nowhere left to work because this institute has filled their space.”
Creg concludes his article by highlighting the potential for cooperation between Morocco and Australia in terms of security cooperation and de-radicalisation.
POSTED BY NORTH AFRICA POST
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