Moroccans determined to overcome the bombings distress

By Nourdin Bin Malik, IOL Morocco Correspondent

RABAT, May 25 (IslamOnline.net) – Major Islamic movements in Morocco called for a mass rally Sunday, May 25, in the country’s largest city of Casablanca under the tutelage of some political parties to condemn the 16 May deadly explosions, which left 43 people dead and 100 others injured.

Five Moroccan movements, Monotheism and Reform, Justice and Charity, the Action for the Nation, the Civilized Alternative and the Islamic Thought, urged in a statement the Moroccan people to act in concert and huddle together in such unspeakable distress to make “the ill-wishers miss out on such an opportunity.”

Moroccan Minister of Human Rights Mohammad Aujjar said Saturday the rally would help the Moroccans vent their anger on such heinous crimes.

Ajuuar, speaking on the Moroccan TV, said the march would also serve as “a strong message for all parties, who weave plots against Morocco’s stability.” 

Boycotting Rally

The Justice and Development Party (JDP) announced that it would not take part in the anti-terror march, asserting in a statement, however, its keenness on “helping the Moroccans reach a broad condemnation for such criminal acts.”

“The decision came after mammoth talks with the party’s ranks,” Abdal Aziz Rabbah, a member of the JDP’s secretariat general, told IslamOnline.net.

He said the party does not want to be dragged into clashes with Moroccan police, which might give an excuse to the party’s enemies to “harm the party’s cadres (in the demo).”

Following the attacks, the party – the third influential party in the Moroccan parliament -- and other Islamic parties came under pressure and harsh criticism.

Some party’s leaders hinted at boycotting the municipality elections set for September, but one JDP senior official strenuously denied in an interview with the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that elections boycotting.

On May 16,  a wave of bombing attacks against the Belgian consulate, the Safir Hotel, a Jewish community center, an old Jewish cemetery and a Spanish cultural center (Casa de Espana) restaurant in Casablanca.