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"Morocco could prove a benefit to Spain with respect to selecting moderate imams," Toufiq
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By
Abdul Salam Basha, IOL Correspondent
BARCELONA,
May 10 (IslamOnline.net) - Morocco has offered to help Spain monitor
mosques and pick imams in a bid to end "internal problems of
extremism" in the neighboring European country, a Moroccan
official said.
"Morocco
could prove a benefit to Spain with respect to selecting moderate
imams, and Rabat is also ready to help monitor mosques," Moroccan
Minister of Waqfs and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq told El
Periodico newspaper on Sunday, May 9.
Toufiq
suggested setting up a joint Moroccan-Spanish body for this purpose.
"We
are ready to do this," the Moroccan official said, stressing his
country has no intention to interfere Spain's internal affairs.
The
proposal came a few days after the Spanish government announced
plans to monitor imams and censor mosque sermons.
The
move was denounced by several politicians and rights groups in
the country as a violation of religious freedom.
Exchanging
Ideas
The
Moroccan Minister has proposed setting up a body for exchanging ideas
between both Morocco and Spain, which will not be binding on either
country, to provide assistance in Madrid's efforts to crack down on
"fanatics".
Toufiq
has offered to hold a dialogue between Morocco and Spain, making use
of thaw in relations after the visit of Spanish Prime Minister to
Morocco on April 24.
According
to the figures released by the Spanish Islamic Center, between 700,000
and 800,000 Arabs and Muslims live permanently in Spain, half of them
are Moroccans.
Asked
whether he supports the decision of the Spanish government to monitor
mosques and select imams, the Moroccan official refused to give a
direct answer.
"We
are against radical trends in Islam, … there should be imams
conveying a culture of co-existence with the other and accepting
it," he said.
Moroccan
King Mohamed VI announced in April a reform plan aimed at improving
the highly-tarnished image of Islam and avoiding any shapes of
"extremism and terrorism".
Respectable
The
Spanish paper described Toufiq as respectable and cultured
intellectual taking up reforming the Ministry of Waqfs after losing
control of the country's 35,000 mosques, thus leading to "spread
of extremist trends".
Morocco's
proposal came one day after the Spanish government offered to fund
"moderate" mosques and Islamic cultural institutions.
Several
Spanish towns have witnessed limited assaults on Muslims, following
the Madrid
blasts on March 11, which left 200 dead and 1500 wounded
and were attributed to Muslim Moroccans.
A
number of Moroccans have been arrested as suspects. And Morocco has
sent a security team to assist Spain through the investigations.
The
censorship proposal was initially tabled by Spanish Interior Minister
Jose Antonio Alonso to control "Islamic radicals".
His
proposal was later backed by Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who
said Friday sermons should be placed under close scrutiny.
"It
is important that we know what is said in the Friday sermon. Mosques
have sprung up in Spain in a completely uncontrolled fashion,"
Moratinos has said.
