Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Taroudant- The Party of Modernity and Authenticity, a Moroccan opposition party, has submitted a draft law that aims to criminalize accusations of apostasy and incitements to violence.
In the light of the ongoing debate taking place in Morocco following the circulation of a video of a Salafist sheikh on YouTube accusing some Moroccan intellectuals and Driss Lachgar, the head Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), an opposition party, of “apostasy”, the PAM submitted a draft law to the House of Representatives with the view to outlawing any form of “Takrfirism”.
The proposal presented by the PAM plans to punish all offenses mentioned in Articles 707-712 of the Penal Code, even if committed outside the national territory by a Moroccan or a foreigner residing in Morocco.
For the PAM "Moroccan society witnessed the emergence of several dangerous phenomena threatening the security of individuals, including the call to jihad abroad preached by extremists who run counter to the principle of democracy, pluralism and modernity."
In response to the video posted by a Salafist sheikh, Abdelhamid Abounaim, on YouTube, the Executive Office of the Forum of Authenticity and Modernity for professors of Higher Education and Scientific Research issued last Sunday a communiqué in which it denounced the acts of Takfirist ideology in Morocco and abroad.
Last Monday, the Union of Writers in Morocco also condemned what it described as "a discourse of Takfiri ideology circulating on social networks, targeting some of the symbols of Moroccan culture, and contradicting democracy and human rights."
The National Constituent Assembly in Tunisia approved on Sunday an amendment to article 6 of the draft constitution banning "accusations of apostasy and incitement to violence."
Takfiri is an Arabic word used to denote a Muslim who accuses another Muslim of apostasy. The accusations are generally made by Muslims who adopt the ideologies of Islamic fundamentalist groups.
