Morocco cleric defies taboo on inheritance
RABAT: A former radical preacher is the unlikely instigator of a debate on a topic long seen as off-limits in Muslim-majority Morocco: women’s inheritance rights. The country’s Islamic family laws allocate female heirs half the amount men receive on the death of a relative. Abdelwahab Rafiki, a former hardline cleric who served time in jail following jihadist bombings in Casablanca, says it is time that changed. “I invite... religious scholars, sociologists and human rights actors to open a dialogue, primarily in order to uphold justice,” he said. Rafiki, also known as Abou Hafs, was one of around 100 male writers, journalists and artists who published a book in April called “Men defend equality in inheritance”.
He also appeared on a prime-time television show on the popular 2M channel, arguing that the social roles of men and women had changed since the early days of Islam, meaning it was time for a debate on inheritance rules. Since his TV appearance, he said, “I have been threatened with death and excommunicated, but I also received many messages of support”. The 43-year-old was once regarded as a leader of the Salafist-jihadist movement in Morocco. He was among 8,000 people arrested after jihadist bombings in Casablanca in 2003 killed 45 people.
Sentenced to 30 years in prison, he was pardoned in 2012. Last year he stood for election to parliament representing Istiqlal, a conservative nationalist party. His efforts to spark a debate on inheritance have won him plaudits from the liberal media and condemnation from his former peers. “Thanks to 2M and Abou Hafs, a new step has been taken in Morocco: equality between men and women in matters of inheritance can now be raised in the public sphere,” local site Medias 24 said.
Weekly magazine TelQuel said he had begun “dismantling one by one the dogmas of radical Islam”. But Abou Hafs has also received anonymous death threats on social media and been expelled from a national organization for religious scholars. He has been denounced by the likes of Mohamed Fizazi and Hassan Kettani, preachers who were also jailed and later pardoned after the Casablanca attacks. “He didn’t just turn his coat inside out, he tore it up,” Fizazi said. Kettani said inheritance rules were not just a “red line” but an “impassable wall”. Islamic scholars argue that the Koran allocates women half the inheritance given to male heirs because men are responsible for protecting women and providing for them. — AFP