Muslim cleric to stand in Moroccan election
MARRAKESH – The surprise candidate in Morocco’s legislative elections next month is an ultra-conservative preacher who says political Islam is the best tool for tackling violent extremism.
Cleric Hammad Kabbaj, 39, is the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party’s main candidate in the modern and trendy Gueliz district of Marrakesh.
The preacher has proved a controversial choice for the PJD, which is in a tight race with its liberal rival, the opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), in the October 7 poll.
But Kabbaj said instead of fearing Islam – in particular the fundamentalist Salafist doctrine he espouses – politics should embrace it. “If the political scene was more open to religious [people] and to Salafism, that could help absorb and weaken extremism.”
Born to an influential Marrakesh family, Kabbaj has been quadriplegic since an accident when he was 16 and largely taught himself the Koran.
He made a name for himself in Moroccan Salafist circles and attracted a strong local following in Marrakesh. He is seen as close to leading Salafist Mohammed Magraoui, who hit the headlines in 2008 for issuing a religious ruling authorising marriage for nine-year-old girls.
Last year Kabbaj was accused of anti-Semitism after posting a – a saying of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed – that talked of killing Jews.
He insists his comments “were taken out of context” and that he was only referring to “Zionists … responsible for terrorist practices against the Palestinians”.
Kabbaj said his brand of Islam rejects all forms of violence. “We have a principled position against all extremism, violence and hatred, whether committed by Muslims or non-Muslims.”
Salafism emerged in the late 19th century as a puritanical reform movement in Sunni Islam and has millions of followers worldwide.
It has been accused of promoting extremism through its rigid interpretations of the Koran but Kabbaj said Moroccan Salafism, which follows the Maliki school of Islamic thought, is more moderate and tolerant.
Kabbaj has written extensively on how religious thought can be used to oppose extremists like the Islamic State group, which has found a key recruiting ground in Morocco.
A study in December said at least 1 200 Moroccans had travelled to fight alongside IS in Iraq and Syria in the previous 18 months.
Rabat says more than 150 “terrorist cells” have been bust since 2002, including dozens over the past three years with ties to jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
“Legitimate, moderate Salafist discourse can persuade young people to retreat” from such tendencies, Kabbaj said. –