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Washington , Sept 29th, MoroccoBoard.com  The King of Morocco announced Saturday the main lines of a plan to reform the religious landscape in the country, specifically “the Higher Council of Ulemas” (Council of theologians), the imams (local preachers), mosques, and the religious affairs of the Moroccan community abroad." We will renovate the institutions that are responsible for our religious affairs and provide care and help for the people working in this field” said the king in his opening address at a work session of the High Council of Ulemas that he presides, according press agency MAP.
The King declared the creation of regional chapters of the council “so that the clerics (...) provide assistance in strengthening the spiritual security of the nation by ensuring the preservation of its religious doctrine which is tolerant Sunni Islam," said King Mohamed.
The announcement of this reform in Morocco, the second reform since 2004, comes a few days after the outcry sparked by a fatwa (religious opinion) by a local theologian who authorized the marriage of girls as young as nine years old.
The Moroccan authorities responded furiously to the Muslim cleric by announcing the shutting down of Sheikh Mohamed Ben Abdurrahman al-Maghraoui’s Internet site, which he uses to issue his decrees (or fatwas).
The authorities weren’t happy with the attempt of the cleric to, as they put it, “legalize pedophilia” and responded by closing down around 60 Koranic schools belonging to him.
The High Council of Ulemas, which is presided over by Morocco’s King Mohamed, labeled the sheik an “agitator” and denounced his “utilization of religion to legitimize the marriage of nine-year-old girls.”
According to the king, the council of theologians (Ulemas) must make sure that the imams (local preachers) are up to date … the Ulemas have a duty to deploy everywhere to guide people and combat the hoaxes peddled by proponents of extremism" he explained.
As for the Moroccan community living abroad, the Higher Council of Ulemas will soon create a department that will take into account, in its outreach, the cultural and religious specificities of this community.
The aim of these reforms is to "guard the faith (...) and the Moroccan identity against the fundamentalists and extremists" according to King.
In 2004, the first plan to reform the religious field was focused on upgrading the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, the revision of legislation for places of worship and the modernization of the teaching of Islam in Morocco.
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