MOROCCO has shifted from mass arrests to tight surveillance in its fight against militants and hopes a new campaign to reinforce the authority of state-appointed imams will cut off support for terrorism. As militants reach a growing audience through DVDs and the Internet, the government has tried to seize back the initiative, revising laws governing mosques and adding new theological councils to tighten control of religious life in the regions. Now it is preparing to send 1,500 supervisors into the north African country's towns and villages to make sure that imams are not preaching violence and that they instill respect for King Mohammed in his role as leader of Morocco's Muslims. Suicide bombings in May 2003 killed 45 people and tarnished a reputation for stability that helped staunch US ally Morocco draw growing numbers of tourists and record foreign investment. An anxious security sweep saw the closure of unregulated mosques and the arrest of more than 3,000 people on terrorism-related charges. “The security services may have been badly prepared, which explains why we arrested thousands of people,” said Moroccan political analyst Mohamed Darif. “They have now begun to master the situation and no longer arrest just anyone.” Around a third of those rounded up since 2003 remain in prison and Islamist advocacy groups say many are held on flimsy evidence after being forced to sign false confessions, something the government denies. Security experts say the authorities have a better grip on the situation after building up a database of potentially dangerous people and managing to infiltrate some networks to ward off attacks before they happen. European governments are hungry for Morocco to share its knowledge, fearing Algeria-based Al-Qaeda could use the kingdom as a springboard for attacks in Europe, according to European security experts. Intelligence appears to have improved – arrests are announced less often and tend to involve smaller numbers of suspects. Moroccans have been linked to several plots targeting European states in recent years. Two were convicted in Spain for train bombs in the suburbs of Madrid that killed 191 people and wounded 1,857 in March 2004. A Moroccan court convicted a drug trafficker in December of links to the attacks. Analysts say Spanish intelligence officials are increasingly worried about the establishment of Al-Qaeda training camps deep in the Sahara, as far away as Mali and Mauritania. Last month, Moroccan police arrested five members of a suspected terrorist cell that was also active in Spain, according to a security source. “There's a suspicion that a lot of traffic goes through Morocco and lots of people who are important in facilitating that are sitting in Morocco,” said Peter Neumann, director at the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College London. Soft power Government officials say counter-terrorism is not the main goal of the imam training program. They say the aim is to ensure that imams have the necessary skills to do their job and are in tune with reforms carried out since King Mohammed came to the throne in 1999. They will be taught how to dispense advice, arbitrate in disputes, help with literacy programs among the poor and made aware of laws that protect the rights of people, including women. “This is more than just a response to 2003. It's a demand from society today that the state does what is necessary,” said Hakim Al-Ghissassi, a cabinet member at Morocco's Ministry for Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs. “In this era of satellite TV, people no longer accept to see religious officials who are not trained.” Morocco is also sending religious experts to Europe under agreements with countries including France and Spain that have large Moroccan expatriate populations. A new European Council of Ulema will help improve Islamic instruction in Europe and ensure imams are better trained and more socially involved, said Ghissassi. “If today we deny religious instruction to the young, where will they look for it?” said Ghissassi. “On extremist Internet sites with self-proclaimed radical Imams.”
