February 22, 2011
The Arab Spring reaches the Moors
Morocco is not the first place one would expect the Arab Spring to strike. Although the state is a monarchy, unlike much of the Arab world, the reformist monarchy has been implementing reforms to provide greater freedom to the parliament and fairer elections for the people. The economy is performing well, unlike the rest of the Islamic world. Yet Rabat has been flooded with protesters over the last two days, and protests appear to be spreading throughout the small heavily Islamic country. So what could protesting Moroccans want? Most want greater political freedoms, seeing the current parliament as a rubber stamp for the monarchy. Many are young and are unemployed. They point to corruption and a widening income gap as the sources of the protest. Wikileaks last year had released documents strongly suggesting that the current King Mohammed VI was involved in corruption, and that corruption has become institutionalized in Morocco.
What is the next way for the Moroccan government? Given the reformist ethic of the current administration it seems likely that the protesters will get some of their demands. Moroccans have been seeking greater rights, especially in regards to language. Currently the Arab government primarily uses Moroccan Arabic or Darija. Much of Morocco, however speaks the distantly related Berber languages. It is likely that the government will end up enshrining the Berber language in the Constitution to avoid a repeat of the At the same time, it is extremely unlikely that the monarchy itself will be disestablished without violence going further. So far violence has been at a minimum in the current protests, although as the protests spread, the military will find itself more willing to intervene. Very few protesters or military officials want a repeat of the 1967 Rif Rebellion or the 1958 Rif Riots.
The Mystery of the Desert
Re: The Mystery of the Desert
Finally, an update.
Now let's get this whole mystery solved, eh.
Now let's get this whole mystery solved, eh.
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- korean
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Re: The Mystery of the Desert
I'm glad to see this thread is back, too, but this is qwed117's project, so let's let them unveil it at whatever pace they choose.