|
| Second part : practice |
|
|
|
| The challenge for the movement justice and spirituality is to combine the renewing at the spiritual and societal level alike. It’s important to note that the fact that we have a theoretical premise governing all our actions implies the evidence of certain praxis. This basis theory consists of about thirty books. |
|
| Therefore, the movement that has been created in the 80’s, partitions its agenda between an intensive spiritual practice and a resistance to the régime in place. It has chosen at the onset to take the form of an association refusing to play the partisan game corrupted since the inception by the nature of the Makhzanian power. |
|
| The three founder principles of the movement are:- No violence - no clandestine actions - no external financing. |
|
|
| 1- Spiritual practice : |
|
| Our spiritual practice may lead the uninformed observer to mistakenly think that we opt for the classic schema of Sufism. But in reality, even in this area we have chosen to go beyond schools and draw directly from the original model. Many Sufi concepts have surly been adopted but they were reoriented to fit a less esoteric and a more voluntaristic model. The heart’s renewal by means of drawing from the source remains central. Return to sense is vital, as Islam is first and foremost about preparing for the afterlife. |
|
|
| 2- Resistance to the locked political model entails a multidimensional effort. |
|
|
|
|
| - Education |
|
| Work to awaken awareness by vulgarizing political thought, but also by setting the good example. A critical reading of official History is indeed to be promoted, because understanding the illness is the first step towards healing. Non violence is in fact the most important lesson to learn for our movement. There’s no question of us confronting the system to impose another, we aim at educating a base that will produce a new fresh society. |
|
|
| - Guerilla |
|
| Our guerilla against the power consists in undermining its very foundations. We breached the taboo of free expression, closely linked to the infamous heba( reverential fear). The open letter was a major infringement of this heba, and so was the story of my gag at the time of my trial. |
|
| We established in Morocco the tradition of peaceful demonstrations in the 90’s, at the time when members of our association were being sued. Moreover, we were the first to challenge the alleged sacredness of the mudawanah (charter for personal status), seeing that it is based on the same jurisprudence that legitimizes the present régime.We surely do pay the price for this constant struggle for our rights and those of our people. My father was mentally institutionalized for four years, and then he was imprisoned for two years along with some members of my family and was later put under house arrest for ten years. Likewise, many members of our movement are to this day still serving twenty years of prison for unjustified accusations. |
|
|
| 3- Concrete proposals : |
|
| We have created a political circle inside the movement that we regard as a space for communication with all other living strengths of the country. For if the system is rigid, Morocco doesn’t lack evolved consciousnesses and people of good will. |
|
| The proposition that we offer them is a national conference that would allow the creation of an authentic civil society that plays its actual part as an opposition force, versus a civil society created by the government via political parties that, soon enough, go over into a multitude of little associations just about good enough for sealing gaps. This national conference will set out to rethink the Morocco of tomorrow by letting go of the will to divide in order to better rule, and taking advantage of the common denominator that secures the attachment of the whole lot of us to the Islamic identity; the identity that transcends all the particularities exacerbated by the government. The Islamic pact we are advocating is not a treaty of exclusion, far from that, it is for us a platform that will allow all our scattered identities to come together and exert momentous pressure on the padlocked system. |
|
|
| 4- A social project : |
|
| The first step of this project is the Islamic pact where every party will commit itself to make its best. The next thing to do will be a thorough questioning of the Constitution which will allow: |
|
| 1) At the political level : the outset of a veritable democracy by means of a parliament that no longer plays the role of a mere intercessor but that of a genuine representative. A separation of power, and sweeping measures to eradicate corruption. A totally independent and egalitarian juridical system. And, of course, a real changeover of political power between parties.2) At the economical level: a more equitable redistribution of assets in order to reinvigorate the dying economy. 3) At the social level: give major priority to education by opting for an extensive rescue policy for schooling.This social project will put the human element above all things and at the center of all things. |
|
|
| Conclusion |
|
| Like all bearers of revolutionary plans for societies, who believe in the human element and decide on non-violence, we are aspiring for long-term results through tenacity and pragmatism. For thirty years we have been advancing; we’re doing it steadily but firmly because our aim is not to change the face of Morocco, it is rather to make a Copernican revolution that clings to the age-old history of Muslims. |
|
| Fighting our way back again from fourteen centuries of decadence is no easy job. Resistance is as tenacious from the inside as it is from the outside particularly because we’re coming from a background of division and disjointing devotedly uphold by the Power. However, I’m taking it to heart to address a meaningful indicator that attests of the development of mentalities and specificity of our movement that likes to think it’s original in this respect as well. I am alluding at the women’s participation. Thanks to our founder theory, not only has the female’s section of the movement acquired great independence in the making of its programs and choices, but it has also found its way to all the decision-making institutions of the movement. Without even having recourse to a quota rule, the feminine presence amounts to about 30% of the very political circle’s general secretariat. It is worth mentioning that the female’s section is presently developing an approach based on the Kuranic concept of “ hafidya” , a term that the classic Fiqh expeditiously translates into “conservatism” but which we understand as the “feminine perception of the world”. Using this perception we make our own lectures of original texts. The fact is, we want to lend weight to this feminine “Ejtihad” by encouraging more and more women inside the movement to re-appropriate the instruments of classical theology and earn diplomas in this area. Thus, we witness a new current of women who have taken up their studies again after long believing in the inborn illiteracy of Muslim women. |
|
| I end my presentation by inviting you to deepen the subject with your questions but most importantly, I suggest that you come take a closer look at the movement at work.Thank you. |
|
|
