MOROCCAN ULEMA PUSH QARADAWI OFF THEIR TURF

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001882 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2016 TAGS: KISL PGOV PREL EG SUBJECT: MOROCCAN ULEMA PUSH QARADAWI OFF THEIR TURF REF: RABAT 1621 Classified by Political Counselor Craig Karp for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Sheikh Qaradawi, the prominent Egyptian cleric, has been attacked by Moroccan newspapers this Ramadan after he issued a fatwa concerning interest-bearing loans in Morocco. The controversy put the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD),which had hosted Qaradawi in Morocco this summer, and subsequently publicized his fatwa, in an awkward position. The row is indicative both of North African sensitivity toward being patronized by clerics from the Middle Eastern Arab-Muslim "heartland," and of the eagerness of the PJD's rivals to question the party's Islamic credentials. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) This Ramadan, Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi, the Doha-based scholar popular for his weekly spiritual program on Al-Jazeera TV (and notorious in the west for his fatwas legitimizing terrorism in Iraq and Israel/Palestine) found himself in the center of controversy and the target of criticism in the Moroccan media. The country's Supreme Council of Ulema (religious scholars) reacted angrily to a fatwa issued by Qaradawi in mid-September, accusing him of overstepping his bounds. ¶3. (SBU) Qaradawi's September fatwa was issued in response to questions Qaradawi received during his summer visit to Morocco (reftel) from pious youth concerned that they were unable to purchase homes without taking out interest-bearing mortgages. Qaradawi ruled in his fatwa that since interest-free mortgages were not available in Morocco (pointedly contrasted with other Islamic countries),Moroccan home buyers could be excused for taking out the loans which might otherwise be deemed "haram" (forbidden). ¶4. (SBU) Moroccan Islamic scholars responded angrily to this perceived encroachment on their turf, claiming Qaradawi had no knowledge of local conditions, and charging that he was operating outside his area of competency. Particularly offensive to the Moroccan Ulema was Qaradawi's contrast of Morocco with other states where "Islamic banking" is available, and the implication that the Moroccan state sits outside the "Dar al-Islam" (a concept connoting the community of Islamic nations). "The Mufti (Qaradawi) was prejudiced against Morocco in his comparison of the Kingdom with the countries of migration (the west)," complained the Secretary-General of Morocco's Supreme Council of Ulema. SIPDIS Pro-government papers made the most of the controversy, with one running the headline "when outsiders second-guess Morocco's religious scholars." ¶5. (SBU) The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) found itself in an awkward position, having hosted Qaradawi in August and initially publishing his fatwa - apparently without anticipating any local backlash. The PJD's daily Al-Tajdid reacted to the subsequent storm of criticism in the leftist and pro-government press with the headline "Rather than pin the blame on those who have denied housing to Moroccans, the Socialists' newspaper attacks Qaradawi, whose intent was to assist the people.8 Qaradawi was also apparently caught off-guard by the controversy and himself told the Moroccan press that he intended his fatwa only to facilitate the purchase of homes, not to slight the Kingdom. ¶6. (C) Comment: The controversy was largely generated by papers hostile to the PJD, which is expected to perform well in the 2007 parliamentary election. While this row is likely to blow over quickly, it is illustrative both of how eagerly the PJD's opponents will seek to question the party's Islamic credentials and more generally of Moroccan Muslims' sensitivity toward being patronized by clerics from the Middle Eastern Arab-Muslim heartland. End comment. ****************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ****************************************** RILEY