Tag: Europe

Catalonia is an important part of the kingdom of Spain with separate national aspirations and its capital city of Barcelona is the second biggest city in Spain after Madrid and it is arguably the most beautiful and most cosmopolitan city in Spain. It was once host to the Olympics Games and it is host to the famous football team “Barca”. This is the city and neighboring other two towns that were reeling under terrorist attacks which at the last count have led to more than twenty people dead including some of the terrorists and tens of people seriously wounded. For more than a decade, Spain has been spared of terrorist attack  at least of the Islamic variant. The last time Spain had anything to do with terrorism was the fact that one of those Saudis, named Mohammad Atta, who piloted one of the planes during the 9/11 attack on New York once lived in Spain.

The Iberian peninsula still known to the Arab world as Andalusia, was for more than five centuries, off and on, either partly or totally under Muslim rule. The most effective period of Muslim rule was when a caliphate existed in the Iberian peninsula from 929 to 1031 and and this was followed by the Almoravid’s (Al murabitun) conquest of Spain from 1031 to 1130. In spite of Christian reconquest of Spain  between 1130 and 1492, the blood of  Moroccan Arabs flow in the veins of many spaniards. Perhaps because of this and the proximity of Spain to Morocco in particular, Muslims particularly from Morocco until recently have always been welcome in Spain.

Moroccans historically have been tolerant and moderate Muslims who shared with others in the Mediterranean, common cuisine and love for good life of wine and song. Wine is openly consumed in restaurants in the major Moroccan cities of Rabat, Fez, Marrakech and Casablanca. The sharifian dynasty established during the Arab conquest of Morocco  circa 700 to 900  provide a rallying point for the country.  The Sharif or sultan since the 19th century has been a modernizing monarchy perhaps as a surviving strategy in the face of European imperialism. The kingdom likes to see itself as a constitutional monarchy although even today the Moroccan king is still too powerful to fit into the category of constitutional monarchy found elsewhere in places like Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Japan. Morocco enjoys political stability unseen in many Arab and North African countries. It attracts because of this, western investment and political and military support. It is a major ally of the United States  in its fight against terrorism. When many Arab regimes were shaken to their foundations during the so-called Arab Spring, Morocco stood like a rock of Gibraltar against salafist jihadists, only making minor political  adjustment to contain demands for reforms.

The political stability in the kingdom has not translated to economic prosperity and this has led to massive migrations of Moroccans to continental Europe particularly to Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany where they mostly did the jobs such as cleaning the streets, removing of garbage and other low income jobs that the Europeans were not eager to do. Through natural growth, the number of this immigrants has increased exponentially to the point that they have become visible minorities in these European countries to the point where politicians particularly in the Netherlands have exploited their presence for political leverage and support. The cultural divide especially religious divide has made it impossible for the immigrants and their children to be assimilated into the wider European culture. The Moroccans involved in these acts of Islamic terrorism are usually not the immigrants themselves but their children.

In the same week Moroccans were involved in acts of wanton terrorism in Spain, they also showed up in Finland where an apparently deranged young man killed two women before he was incapacitated and brought down by police bullets on his feet. Finland has never witnessed this kind of terror before until now. A few weeks ago, a young Libyan in Manchester killed scores of young people at a musical concert. Some months earlier, Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Nice in the Mediterranean coast of France were brought to their knees by young Muslims most of who were born in Europe. What is now new since Nice, Berlin  and London is the weapon of choice being employed by these terrorists to inflict maximum casualties. This new weapon is the automobile, either cars or trucks. Vehicles are driven into crowds of people at maximum speed with intention to kill. All the people targeted are innocent people. Be they men or women, children or adults, Christians or Muslims, firm or infirm or black, brown, yellow or white.

The question to ask is for what purpose? Killing people at random and for no just cause than to attract attention is absolutely senseless and insane and is not in consonance with any Islamic beliefs. Even if these perpetrators of murder are angry with society for any reason,  the terrorism they indulged in is not the way to air their grievances. Unfortunately these people are giving the religion of Islam a bad  name to the effect that innocent Muslims are being tarred with the same brush of terrorism as those of the terrorists.

What is to be done and who is to blame? One of the fathers of the Moroccan terrorists in Barcelona blamed the Imam of the mosque attended by his two children involved in acts of terrorism who were shot dead as being responsible for indoctrination of his children. Others blame some majority Sunni countries in the Middle East for spreading hate, salafism,wahabbism and fanaticism generally.  There is no doubt that some rich people in the Middle East, driven by more religious enthusiasm than wisdom are funding without control their own brand and interpretation of Islam. We can also point to the failure of society that may have been responsible for alienation of children born in these societies but  who are treated as aliens. There is also the failure of intelligence on the part of security organizations in host countries of the immigrant young people.

Whatever reasons that may be adduced to explain this recrudescence of terrorism in Spain and other places would still not justify wanton killing of innocent people. Short of turning all centres of major cities into pedestrian area without vehicles allowed in, this problem will persist. Even if motorists were banned from city centres, it is inconceivable to ban them from all city roads which means determined killers can still hunt for their preys. At the end of the day, peace can only be built in human hearts through change of heart, correct teaching of the pillars of whatever faith we hold dear, and through mankind realizing that we are all children of God in spite of whatever apparent physical or religious differences we can identify.

The immediate consequences of what happened in the weekend of August 17-20 is that Morocco and Moroccans will be stigmatized. I know Moroccans are basically good people. I have personal experience of Moroccans and some friends among  these generally friendly and tolerant people. The economy of the country depends hugely on tourism unlike any Arab country. Morocco is not like any Arab country in fact most of the people are arabised berbers with substantial portion of the population being descendants of African people. Morocco has always looked towards Africa rather than the Middle East and its  Sunni Islam is tempered by history and geography and this makes Morocco unique of the countries in the Maghreb. It is hoped that this time of national infamy will pass and Morocco and Moroccans will come into their own once again.