ISLAMISTS SETBACK IN "GAY WEDDING" CULTURE SKIRMISH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 001863

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2017
TAGS: PHUM KISL SCUL MO
SUBJECT: ISLAMISTS SETBACK IN "GAY WEDDING" CULTURE SKIRMISH

Classified By: Polcouns Craig Karp for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary
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1. (C) The case of an alleged gay wedding in a rural town
led to a national debate over morality and forced government
leaders to publicly call for tolerance. Convictions against
six defendants implicated in the case were overturned on
appeal despite strong pressure from Islamic newspapers, Imams
and the (Islamist) Party of Justice and Development. This
was hailed in the secular press as a victory for
modernization and progress over tradition and religious
extremism. The defense attorney in the case alleged to us
that police corruption and judicial tampering played a role.
A diplomatic contact mused that the PJD might have used this
issue to indirectly target the king and his court's
reputation for excess and moral corruption. End Summary.

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A Seemingly Simple Chain of Events...
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2. (U) During the weekend of November 18 and 19, a group of
men and some women from the village of Ksar El Kebir in
northern Morocco had a party that has been described
(depending on political bent) as either a mystical "Gnawa"
ceremony or a gay wedding. A guest took a cellphone video,
which was then posted on the internet site YouTube - some say
by local fundamentalists. The video showed the host wearing a
wedding dress. By November 22, the Islamist press was
decrying the event as an example of Morocco's moral
deterioration and demanding government action.


3. (U) Imams (prayer leaders) in Ksar El Kebir condemned the
participants during sermons on November 23. Their
congregants took to the streets as a mob and forced their way
into the home where the event had taken place, threatening
the owner (and "bride"),destroying property, and liberally
helping themselves to his liquor selection. The owner called
police, who took him into protective custody. A further five
people were subsequently arrested in connection with the
case. On December 10 they went on trial for violating the
law against homosexual acts and were convicted. On December
13 the convictions were overturned (with unprecedented
dispatch) by a higher court and they were released.

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... Leads to a National Crisis over Tradition vs Modernity...
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4. (U) Islamists' calls for prosecution and the uproar that
followed the arrests, forced the Minister of Interior and
Prime Minister to make strong public statements (the PM on
the floor of Parliament) dismissing the incident as simply a
misunderstood mystical ceremony. They called for tolerance,
asking people to focus on issues of "actual importance" such
as terror in Algeria and poverty. A large portion of the
mainstream secular Francophone press published editorials
condemning the residents of Ksar El Kebir as "intolerant" and
also urging a refocusing on "substantive" questions.


5. (U) At the same time as government officials, and many
parts of civil society and the human rights community in
Rabat were pleading for calm and tolerance, a surprising
number of letters to the editor in a variety of media outlets
(including L'Economiste which caters to the educated economic
elite) condemned homosexuality in general and the "wedding"
in particular. Lawyers in northern Morocco refused to defend
the six detainees for fear of professional ostracism and
possible physical harm.

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...Exposes Issues of Corruption and Impunity...
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6. (C) On December 12, poloff met with attorney (and former
MEPI grantee) Abdelaziz Nouidi, (protect throughout)
President of the NGO Adala (Justice). He was the first (and
initially the only) lawyer who publicly volunteered to
represent the defendants. Nouidi told poloff that Fouad, the
host and "bride" at the event, was a well established local
liquor bootlegger who had a "cozy" relationship with the
local police; several of whom were at the party. Nouidi went
on to say that after Fouad's arrest, police reviewed the
video and identified most of the people attending the

RABAT 00001863 002 OF 003


ceremony. Officers then went their homes and asked them to
bring the equivalent of $5,000 to the police station to "make
the charges go away." Those who could not pay were arrested.
Nouidi said that Fouad was part of the shakedown and
pocketed some of the proceeds.


7. (C) Nouidi complained bitterly about the way in which his
clients were forced to sign confessions they had not read and
said that this was a widespread problem in Morocco. (Note:
This conforms with our observations. End note.) He added
that several of the defendants were illiterate and could not
have read their confessions. They said that their statements
had not been read to them prior to signature. They made no
allegations of physical mistreatment during pre-or-post-trial
detentions and Nouidi said there had been none.

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...And Problems with "Telephone Justice."
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8. (C) Nouidi had heard "rumors" that the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) had suggested to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
that a quick conviction in Ksar El Kebir would help calm the
national waters. A higher court in more tolerant Tangier
would then subsequently overturn the verdict. Nouidi said
that the conduct of the trial seemed to bear out the rumors.
The prosecutor barely made an effort to present his case and
often agreed with the defense, as did the judge. He said
that it appeared that they had "received a call" telling them
that both the conviction and dismissal were pre-ordained.
True to his prediction, the day after he met with poloff, the
appeal succeeded and the verdict was overturned on the
grounds that no crime had been committed.

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Generational and Economic Divides
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9. (U) Imam and mathematics professor Idriss Kharchaf told
poloff that the controversy over the Ksar El Kebir case
sprung not from religion but generational differences. He
said that a large portion of Moroccans older than 40, both
secular and religious, felt strongly that homosexuality
merited stiff punishment. Moroccans under 40 were more
laissez-faire about the case. He also said that the incident
was a symptom of a deeper cultural gap between urban areas,
which he said are more focused on modernity and the outside
world, and rural areas like Ksar El Kebir, which are more
inward-looking and have not benefited from Morocco's economic
growth.

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The Plot Thickens
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10. (C) Some European diplomats believed that the Islamist
press and the Party of Justice and Development (PJD) seized
on the issue as a veiled way of criticizing the king and
forcing him to address allegations of corruption and moral
excess within the Makhzen (royal court),including, perhaps,
the king himself. The Makhzen is often seen as a symbol of
the patronage, nepotism and corruption that hampers Morocco's
development, a Nordic diplomat said. By choosing the issue
of homosexuality and publicly calling on the "national
leadership" to address it, she suspected that the Islamist
movement was throwing down a gauntlet to the king, hoping to
paint him into a political corner.

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Comment
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11. (C) Morocco has long had a reputation for acceptance.
Controversial social practices have been generally tolerated
on the understanding that they should remain quiet and behind
the high walls that surround most residences. This case
represented the first time that high GOM officials publicly
(albeit obliquely) called for tolerance of homosexuality. The
initial reaction of the mob, stirred up by Islamists, was not
surprising; but the fact that the secular media and elite
opinion makers mobilized in defense of the accused, coupled
with their ultimate acquittal, represents a significant
victory for modernizers over traditionalists. The debate was
a microcosm of a culture war that rages over many issues from
the wearing of the Hijab (veil) to the wine industry, to the
tourism that forms the basis of Morocco's growth.


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12. (C) The appeals court's decision does not, however,
resolve the tensions and disagreements that generated the
controversy in the first place. The overturning of the
verdict, and subsequent disappearance of the story from the
pages of newspapers suggests intervention by the power
structure. The Islamist movement may use this as a
recruitment tool to show the moral failure of the current
political elite and force a hardening of moral attitudes. At
the same time as the final verdict sets an apparent legal
precedent for law over mob justice, it also illustrates
continuing issues related to a lack of judicial independence
and systemic corruption. End Comment.


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Jackson