The Arab world is in a bloody ferment. The Yemen conflict is just the
latest in the upsurge in regional unrest, compounded by the spread of
extremist forces with their violent ideologies, that threaten to take
the region and beyond into a vortex of uncertainty.
This may have unpredictable - and possibly dangerous - consequences.
The
political volatility and theological rivalries are deleterious for not
just the region's population but is ominous for millions of expats from
different countries, particularly the South Asian subcontinent, for whom
the Gulf region has been a source of livelihood and well-being, and a
passport to a better life.
The continuing instability in some of
the countries in the Sahel and Maghreb has created a fertile ground for
the spread of fundamentalist ideology and spread of terrorist networks
such as the Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, Ansar Dine and Boko Haram in
western Africa and the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
The
horrific attack on the Bardo Museum, that resulted in the killing of 21
persons, mostly European tourists in the Tunisian capital, was a grim
reminder of the vulnerability of the region to extremist violence.
"The
Arabian Gulf is in a dangerous confrontation, its strategic security is
on the edge, and the moment of truth distinguishes between the real
ally and the ally of media and statements," the UAE's Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, was quoted as saying in
an uncharacteristic outburst. He was reacting to the Pakistan
parliament's resolution counselling neutrality to the government in the
Yemen conflict and rejecting the request to send troops for the Saudi
Arabia-led military coalition.
Many saw the Saudi decision to
lead a military operation sans a US security umbrella as a signal of the
Gulf major's assertion as the region's politico-religious overlord.
Others saw in the Yemen conflict the danger of it becoming a proxy war
between Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran, in a
region where a bevy of Islamist extremists are holding it to ransom with
their radical ideologies and medieval thinking.
Amid the
political volatility and ideological chaos, one country that has stood
out as a beacon of of peace, stability and modernity is the low-profile
nation of Morocco, wedged at the crosscurrents of the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean.
Morocco sees itself as a "strategic link" between
Europe and Africa. Because of its cultural origins, its multi-ethnic
heritage and its civilisational linkages with Europe, it has been able
to promote a moderate and tolerant brand of Islam that has been a
counterpoint to the radical fundamentalism and religious orthodoxy seen
to dominate much of the Arab world.
"Morocco remains an island of
political and social stability in a region where the forces unleashed
by the Arab Spring have engendered political and social chaos, heralding
a transformative process," remarked Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East), in
India's Ministry of External Affairs, while speaking at a recent
roundtable in New Delhi on 'India and Morocco: Imperatives of
Cooperation'.
Why is Morocco different? Two reasons stand out:
one, it is an adherent of the Malikit school of Islam, one of the more
moderate strands of the religion, that not only advocates gender
equality but also stands for women's emancipation, religious
modernisation and zero-tolerance against radical thinking.
Two,
it is led by a modernist, young monarch who has done a lot to instill a
sense of confidence in him by the people of Morocco and the region. King
Mohammed VI has undertaken path-breaking political and social reforms,
begun by his visionary father, King Hassan II, and has been recognised
for his efforts to resolve regional crises and play a useful mediatory
role.
With its new constitution guaranteeing a prominent and
credible role of an elective government alongside the monarchy, Morocco
stands in between the variety of political structures found in countries
East, West and South which can give useful lessons to the rest of the
world, The National Interest magazine in the US said.
It
commended efforts made by the kingdom to beef up security measures,
enhancing the rule of law, employing aggressive anti-poverty measures,
upping educational opportunity and reforming the religious establishment
by investing heavily in the spiritual, Sufi strand of Islam, its
traditions deeply rooted in Morocco's history and culture with its
Euro-Berber roots. that seemed to have paid it obvious dividends.
Morocco
not only ensures that mosques remain free of radical teachings but also
has taken pioneering steps to train imams from the Arab world and
Europe. An Institute for the Training of Imams - a first in the Muslim
world - has come up in Rabat as part of an integrated strategy aimed at
inculcating values of moderate Islam as a bulwark against all forms of
extremism.
The institute, equipped with a modern educational
infrastructure, trains male and female religious guides, reviews
textbooks and school curricula to eliminate radical exhortations and
seeks to promote values of moderation, openness and religious tolerance
in mosques across the kingdom.
Also, because of a highly trained
and motivated police force, the country has managed to break up over 110
terror cells, prevented over 260 terror plots and 109 deadly plans, and
arrested over 27000 militants, according to Larbi Reffouh, its
ambassador to India. These put Morocco in the frontline of efforts in
countering terror. Its initiative in setting up a 30-member Group of
Friends on Counter-terrorism at the UN in New York has been highly
appreciated.
But Morocco realises that countering terrorism is
not just a religious or security matter. King Mohammed VI launched a
rural and urban development plan called The National Human Development
Initiative, a $1.2 billion worth of social programmes that have created
thousands of income-generating activities and improved the lives of
nearly five million Moroccans.
US ambassador to the UN Samantha
Power, at a recent debate in the Security Council, highlighted efforts
made by Morocco to counter violent extremism and held out its example in
striving to spread a brand of moderate Islam.
The French
newspaper Le Monde wrote that "while many states are looking for the
means to counter the influence of radical Islam, Rabat has come up with a
Moroccan model" promoting its brand of "religious diplomacy" to
complement its political reformism and economic progress.
It is
important for India to work together not only with Morocco but with
other moderate countries in the Maghreb region like Tunisia - which has
been one of the democratic successes of the Arab Spring and also follows
a reformist Islam - to develop a joint strategy to fight terrorism and
counter the spreading poison of radical extremism.
(30-04-2015-Tarun Basu is the Chief Editor of IANS. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at [email protected])
