Morocco prevents religious leaders from participating in politics

The king of Morocco has signed a royal decree preventing the country’s religious leaders from participating in any form of political activity.

King Mohammed VI’s decree prevents religious leaders, imams and preachers from taking a public political stance and aims to curb against religious leaders “disturbing the peace.”

The decree called on all those who work in Morocco’s religious institutions to display “characteristics of poise, righteousness and prowess,” and prevents them from “practicing any activity” that seeks financial gain in the public and private sectors “unless there’s a written license form the government.”

However, the decree excludes “educational, intellectual and creative works which do not contradict with the nature” of religious institution’s tasks.

The decree also stipulates establishing a commission to take care of complaints against religious institutions.

According to the decree, those who work in religious institutions must “commit to the principles of the school of Maliki and the Ash’ari doctrine and the principles of the [Moroccan] nation while taking into consideration the sanctity of places allocated for holding rituals of the religion of Islam and the duty of wearing the Moroccan costume.”

It comes in the context of what Rabat called reforms in the religious field which were launched in the wake of terrorist attacks that struck Casablanca in 2003.