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Moroccan citizens view homosexual practices as unacceptable and a violation of the values of the Moroccan Muslim nation. |
In a northern Moroccan city, the wedding ceremony of a gay couple on Nov. 23, 2007, aroused national rage and caused the city's inhabitants to take to the streets in a march against gay parties taking place before the eyes and ears of people. The protesters shouted out mottos calling for expelling homosexuals from their city and held banners asking authorities to interfere to put an end to such behavior, which tarnishes the reputation of their city and its history.
Accurate statistics around the number of homosexuals in Morocco remain unavailable, but Moroccan security sources estimated their number to be over 1,000 from different regions, most of them in touristic cities like Morocco, Agadir, Casablanca, and Tangiers.
Strategic Plan and Foreign Funds
Moroccan writer and researcher in homosexual issues Hassan Al-Sarrat said that the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) targets Morocco as part of a strategic plan of various forms to penetrate the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Al-Sarrat asserted that the movements of ILGA are based on studies and data that enable it to gain recognition of homosexuality according to the legal status in Morocco, referring to Morocco as the first step and easiest port to break into the rest of the Arab and Muslim countries. He added, "The gay association exists in Morocco and is financially supported by leading figures although they are still working in complete secrecy through some associations, gatherings, and websites."
| A Moroccan court of appeal confirmed imprisonment verdicts against six persons found guilty for charges of homosexuality for taking part in the abovementioned gay wedding |
The media, as Al-Sarrat pointed out, also play a major role in passing the culture of homosexuality and gaining recognition for it.
A number of researchers also see that gay movements in Morocco are getting strong international support, especially from the ILGA in an attempt to establish an organization in Morocco, similar to the European one, that gathers homosexuals from all over the Arab World.
A number of Moroccan bodies and institutions also work on assisting and backing homosexuals besides key figures
Social Stance
Moroccan society considers homosexuals as violators of traditions. The majority of Moroccan citizens view homosexual practices as unacceptable and a violation of the values of the Moroccan Muslim nation, its ethics, and its social unity.
Speaking to IslamOnline.net (IOL), one of the citizens who reject homosexuality said that these homosexuals can be described as "people who like to spread lewdness among believers [i.e. Muslims]" and those will find nothing but rejection and outcasting from the original inhabitants because they are aiming at corrupting a good soil that gave birth to honored scholars and was home to Islamic movements that defended their religion, homeland, and nation.
Doctor Nabeel Ghazwan, a psychiatrist, said that the Moroccan society still deals with the phenomenon in two different forms; namely, combat and inclusion at the same time.
According to Ghazwan, there are two stances on the subject: Some deal with the phenomenon with sympathy and tolerance seeing homosexuals as patients who need help and embrace. Others view that they practice their individual freedom that does not hurt others' freedom. Others stand against homosexuality as it leads to the decay of religious values and social principles.
Legal and Religious Viewpoints
| Authorities are confronting the phenomenon, arresting homosexuals with charges of violating public morals, homosexuality, and corruption |
Legally speaking, according to the chapter on the criminalization of homosexuality in the section of violation of public morality in the sixth statute of penal law, Article 489, the penalty for committing homosexual acts with a person of the same sex extends from three months to three years in addition to a fine ranging from 200 to 1,000 Moroccan dirhams (USD1= dirhams7).
Authorities are confronting the phenomenon, arresting homosexuals with charges of violating public morals, homosexuality, and corruption, and bringing them for trial as in the case of the homosexual wedding in northern Morocco.
A Moroccan court of appeal confirmed imprisonment verdicts against six persons found guilty for charges of homosexuality for taking part in the abovementioned gay wedding. The final verdicts passed against them were jail sentences between 4 to 10 months.
Moroccan MP Said Khairoun commented, "The violation of the values of the Moroccan people, their morals, and factors of social unity was daring, flagrant, and alarmingly destructive for what remains of respect and sanctity in our Moroccan Muslim society". He addressed the government and parliamentarians "to keep the much-needed awareness and work on respecting the law and clamping down firmly on all corruptors who wish to turn Morocco into a den for prostitution, corruption, and all shameful deeds that pure nature rejects as well as the history and traditions of the Moroccan Muslim nation."
The Religious Take
Moroccan Muslim scholars consider homosexuality a derailment from the rules of Shar`iah, a public practice of evil, and a diffusion of sin that requires punishment. On that basis, they asked official authorities in Morocco to prevent these acts and gatherings whose organizers try to drag Morocco into public fornication.
Prominent scholar Sheikh Mohammed Al-Taweel, professor of fiqh and Usul Al-Fiqh (Arabic for: fundaments of jurisprudence) at the Al-Qaraweyeen Mosque, thinks that "when Moroccan gays declare their intention to hold a gathering and arrange themselves into organizations and similar constructs, this is categorized in Islamic jurisprudence as 'spreading lewdness'", and Almighty Allah has pledged those who commit it severe torture in life and the Hereafter as obvious in the verse "Those who love (to see) scandal published broadcast among the Believers will have a grievous penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: Allah knows, and you know not" (An-Nur 24:19)." Sheikh Al-Taweel also tapped the issue of a difference between the penalty for sodomy and spreading lewdness, which — in his view — brings about a different ruling.
Sheikh Al-Taweel said that "only the the Caliph (the overall leader of the Muslim Nation) has the right to Shar`iah ruling concerning gays, no one has the right to trespass this authority, even judges are not supposed to carry out a verdict except by the orders of the Caliph."
Treatment Methods
To confront homosexuality, Al-Sarrat sees that the solution lies in "different sides cooperating on Moroccan, Arab, Islamic, and global levels." "In Morocco," he said, "the phenomenon has to be diagnosed by religion and Shari`ah experts, as well as by sociologists, psychopathologists, and law experts. Several official and civil organizations need to cooperate to get rid of this parasitical disease. On the Arab, Islamic, and global levels, a network can be established to counter the ILGA, and it could include Western feminist associations, Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox organizations, and non-religious organizations. We can cooperate with them for common good and to overcome this spreading worm."
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