Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10CASABLANCA5
2010-01-13 15:56:00
SECRET
Consulate Casablanca
Cable title:  

MOHAMMED EL FIZAZI AND THE SALAFIST SHEIKHS

Tags:  PINR KISL GM MO 
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FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8587
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN IMMEDIATE 0020
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT IMMEDIATE 0023
S E C R E T CASABLANCA 000005 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2020
TAGS: PINR KISL GM MO

SUBJECT: MOHAMMED EL FIZAZI AND THE SALAFIST SHEIKHS
OF MOROCCO (C-NC9-02281)

REF: 2009 SECSTATE 120771
2009 Casablanca 90
2009 Casablanca 210

Classified By: Consul General Elisabeth Millard for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

S E C R E T CASABLANCA 000005

NOFORN
SENSITIVE
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STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND INR/OPS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2020
TAGS: PINR KISL GM MO

SUBJECT: MOHAMMED EL FIZAZI AND THE SALAFIST SHEIKHS
OF MOROCCO (C-NC9-02281)

REF: 2009 SECSTATE 120771
2009 Casablanca 90
2009 Casablanca 210

Classified By: Consul General Elisabeth Millard for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: Moroccan Salafist Sheikh Mohammed
El Fizazi's letter to his daughter in Germany,
published by Der Spiegel in October 2009, in our
view signals a carefully couched reassessment of his
support for legitimate jihad but probably not a
complete renunciation of violence. Fizazi's letter
provoked almost no reaction or comments by the
Moroccan media and has not elicited a public
response from other Salafist leaders in Morocco. We
believe the Government of Morocco (GOM) has engaged
in some form dialogue with the Salafist Sheikhs in
prison but it does not appear to have brokered a
deal or persuaded them to recant. Post will
continue to monitor and report on developments
concerning the situation of Morocco's Salafist
prisoners. Paragraph 7 contains responses to reftel
A questions. END SUMMARY.

Fizazi and the Salafist Sheikhs
--------------


2. (C) Mohammed El Fizazi, along with Hassan
Kettani, Abdelwahab Rafiki (aka Abu Hafs),
Abdelkarim Chadli (aka Abu Obeida),and Miloud
Haddouchi, form the intellectual leadership of
Salafist ideology in Morocco. The Moroccan press
commonly refers to Fizazi and these other Sheikhs as
the leaders of the Salafiyya-Jihaddiyya Group.
However, Salafiyya-Jihaddiyya does not in fact exist
as an organization, but is more aptly a term to
describe a loose grouping of radicalized Salafists
ideas and the disparate Sheikhs and their followers
who adhere to them. All five of these Sheikhs were
tried and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 20
to 30 years for their alleged role as the ideologues
for, or alleged affiliation with, participants in
the Casablanca bombings of 2003.


3. (C) Mohammed Darif, a renowned expert on Islamic
movements in Morocco, told poloff that Fizazi has
never openly advocated violence in Morocco or
attempted to challenge the legitimacy of King
Mohammed VI and his role as Morocco's religious
leader. During his trial in 2003, Fizazi condemned
the Casablanca suicide bombers, "whatever their

motivation," and denied that his preaching could
have persuaded youth to engage in terrorism. He
also affirmed the king's role as "Commander of the
Faithful" and argued that only the king has the
authority to order a jihad against the enemies of
Morocco such as "the POLISARIO or Spain." He denied
the existence of Salaffiya-Jihaddiya, as described
in the indictment, arguing that if such an
organization existed, it, like the political
parties, would only serve to divide the Ulema
(Islamic community).

Dialogue with the Sheikhs
--------------


4. (C) The Moroccan press has repeatedly reported on
the existence of a dialogue between Salafist
prisoners and the Moroccan authorities (REF B).
Separate hunger strikes by the prisoners in the
summer of 2007 and in December of 2009 resulted in
conversations with authorities and GOM concessions
that improved somewhat their prison conditions and
visitation rights. Individual Salafists have also
applied for and received pardons, though none since
in 2005. At the end of 2009 a group of prisoners at
the Okacha prison in Casablanca sent a public letter
to the king proclaiming their innocence, addressing
the king as the "Commander of the Faithful," and
requesting a committee to study their situation.


5. (C) In responding to questions from the
Parliament in May 2009 about pardons for Islamists
prisoners, then-Minister of Interior Chakib
Benmoussa denied that there was any GOM dialogue

with the Salafists. He reiterated the only way for
these prisoners to be considered for a royal pardon
was for them to demonstrate remorse, change their
thinking, and apply for a royal pardon. Fizazi and
others have maintained their innocence and so far
refused to request a pardon which typically includes
an admission of guilt.


6. (C) Darif, who is familiar with the published
works and speeches of Fizazi, believes the GOM, and
not Salafists in Europe, was the intended audience
of the letter sent by Fizazi to his daughter in
Germany in hopes of indirectly winning a royal
pardon. Fizazi also notably wrote a public letter,
while in prison, to Abu Musab Al Zarqawi of Al Qaida
in Mesopotamia asking for the release of two
Moroccan embassy employees who had been kidnapped
and pleading for their lives.


7. (C) COMMENT: We believe the GOM has engaged
Fizazi and other Salafist Sheikhs in an attempt to
persuade them to reconsider their radical views.
However, the GOM is in a position of relative
strength vis-a-vis the extremists and does not have
much incentive to offer concessions to them. The
GOM's security services have proven effective in
disrupting potential terrorist cells in Morocco.
Finally, since there is no organizational structure
behind the Salafist Sheikhs, having a dialogue
ultimately means negotiating with each individual
Sheikh. END COMMENT.


8. (S/NF) Response to reftel A inquiries:


A. We have no information as to what may have
prompted this letter. However, we find plausible
the opinion of Darif that it was likely an attempt
to curry favor with the Moroccan authorities. It is
also noteworthy that the letter discusses a Muslim's
obligation to his country of immigration in Europe
but avoids touching on the legitimacy of jihad in
"Muslim occupied lands."


B. We have no prior indications that Fizazi is
moving to change his positions.


C. We have no information on whether the GOM had any
influence on Fizazi's letter. We believe that if
Fizazi had written the letter at the behest of the
GOM, the letter would have been more actively
promoted here in Morocco. There is also, as of yet,
no indication that Fizazi has had his sentenced
reduced or will be pardoned.


D. We have no information on the extent of German
law enforcement's participation in his recantation.


E. We are not aware of what if any outside
influences may have been brought to bear on Fizazi.
Among the intellectual leaders of Salafiyya-
Jihaddiya in Morocco, Fizazi stands as probably the
oldest and most widely respected of the figures.
Fizazi is reported to have been a one time student
of Mohammed Bin Abderahman Al Meghrawi who is
currently living in self-imposed exile in Saudi
Arabia following the closure of his Islamic schools
and organization for issuing a controversial fatwa
(REF C).


F. Fizazi is believed to retain have a following
principally in Tangier where he served as an imam
for more than 30 years. He remains an influential
voice among Salafists in Europe and prior to his
imprisonment travelled extensively as a visiting
imam inside of Morocco and in Europe. He is
currently serving his 30 year sentence at a prison
in Tangier.


G. We are not aware of any response by Moroccan
radicals to Fizazi's letter.

BIO NOTE
--------------


9. (SBU) Mohammed El Fizaz (aka Abu Meriyam) was
born in 1949 in Mernissa, a village in the Province

of Taza. He attended the local Quranic school in
the village and completed his primary and
baccalaureate studies in the city of Taza. In 1968
he moved to Rabat to study at the teacher training
institute where he received a teaching certificate.
In 1971, at the age of 21, he moved to Tangier where
he began work in public schools as a teacher of
French and mathematics. He started preaching at a
small mosque in Casa Barat neighborhood of Tangier
in 1976. He reportedly only became radicalized
later during his studies in Fes and with Mohammed
bin Abdelrahman Al Meghrawi who represented the
Saudi-influenced ideas of Salafism. Sometime in the
late 1970s he began his studies of Sharia and Fiqh
at the Faculty of Sharia Science in Fes. He
eventually completed a Masters in Science of the
Hadith at the end of the 1980s. It was also during
the 1980s that he was appointed the imam of the Al
Mohades Mosque in Tangier.


10. (SBU) As Fizazi popularity increased in the
1990s he formed the association Ahl Al Sunna wa Al
Jamaa (People of the Sunna and the Community) for
the propagation of Salafist ideas. Fizazi became
more radicalized in the late 1990s and publicly
attacked Abdessalam Yassine and his Islamic movement
Al Adl wa Al Ihsan, Morocco's largest Islamic
movement, for its Sufi influences and failure to
follow the Salafist interpretation of Islam. Fizazi
appeared as a guest speaker at mosques throughout
Europe, notably in Hamburg, Germany, as well as in
various Moroccan cities.


11. (SBU) In August Of 2003 Fizazi was put on trial
alongside Hadouchi and others for his alleged role
in inspiring the Casablanca bombings. He was found
guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. During
the trial Fizazi denied any involvement in the
bombings but did acknowledge that some of those
involved in the attackers had attended his preaching
sessions, which he stressed were held publicly and
with the knowledge of the state. Fizazi also
acknowledged that he had a relationship with
Mohammed Damir but stressed that he broke with him
once he learned that he had been involved in acts of
violence. (NOTE: Damir was a member of the radical
Islamist group "Assirat al Moustakim" (the Straight
Path) which was led by Youssef Fikri and responsible
for at least six murders. Both Fikri and Damir were
sentenced to death in July 2003. END NOTE)


12. (U) This message has been coordinated with
Embassy Rabat.