RABAT Dec 8 (Reuters) – Morocco’s PJD party, the first Islamists to head a government in Rabat, will not impose a strict moral code but instead champion arts that reflect the north African nation’s cultural heritage, a leading party figure said.

First place for the liberal Islamic PJD in parliamentary elections last month came quickly on the heels of a similar win for an Islamist party in Tunisia, following “Arab Spring” uprisings across the region.

“We are not interested in people’s private lives. We don’t care about their beliefs, nor their behaviour,” Mohamed Yatim, a member of PJD’s general secretariat, told Reuters in an interview.

“Our priority is to improve Moroccans’ social and economic conditions,” he said, rebutting concerns that the party’s victory could lead to tensions like those seen between Islamists and secularists in Tunisia.

A strict moral code would pose a challenge for Morocco’s tourist sector which accounts for 10 percent of GDP and provides 450,000 jobs, but Yatim said the PJD would not force holidaymakers to cover up.

“We will never force women to wear the veil because our religion is about tolerance. As Allah said, “There is no compulsion in religion”.

“We will never create a morality police, nor will we stop people drinking alcohol,” he said.

Morocco has an Islamic-inspired penal code that bans sex outside marriage and Moroccans buying alcohol, but authorities favour a tolerant brand of Islam in which young urban couples display affection in the street and locals often outnumber tourists in bars and night clubs.

Senior PJD officials have previously attacked music festivals as debauched, despite the fact that King Mohammed has frequently backed such events. Yatim said they would flourish under a PJD government if they contributed to Moroccan culture.

In 2010, PJD politicians told Elton John he was not welcome because his presence “would tarnish Morocco’s image”, though the gay British singer still performed in front of thousands.

Street protests criticising the festivals have focused not on their morality but on the hefty fees paid to stars like Shakira, Kanye West and ‘Earth, Wind and Fire’ in a country where almost a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line.

“We have never criticised arts and culture. We have criticised the extravagance of the fees in such a poor country,” said Yatim. “These (fees) can deepen the sense of outrage.” (Reporting By Souhail Karam; Editing by Ben Harding)