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) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶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. -------------- A Seemingly Simple Chain of Events... -------------- ¶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. -------------- --- ... Leads to a National Crisis over Tradition vs Modernity... -------------- --- 
¶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. -------------- -- ...Exposes Issues of Corruption and Impunity... -------------- -- ¶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. -------------- ...And Problems with "Telephone Justice." -------------- ¶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. -------------- Generational and Economic Divides -------------- ¶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. -------------- The Plot Thickens -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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. RABAT 00001863 003 OF 003 ¶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. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** Jackson