Des bougies en hommage aux victimes de l'attentat de Barcelone allumées sur Las Ramblas, le 18 août. - Josep Lago - AFP
Owing to the harrowing events of recent days including the terrorist attacks committed by ISIS accomplices, the international press has not refrained from pointing out at every opportunity the nationality of these murderers.
The members of the Jihadist terrorist cell in Ripoli and the asylum seeker in Finland who killed two people in a knife attack, to cite the most recent examples, were or are (for the survivors) Moroccan youngsters, sometimes born in the Kingdom but who for the most part have grown up in their countries of adoption.
Impossible to say or believe that the repeated reference to these terrorists’ nationality does not affect us or leave us indifferent.
On the contrary, it is a scar, a sense of profound sadness and genuine sorrow felt by Moroccans on such occasions.
Stop the stigmatisation
Because, with these numerous reminders by journalists, under the pretext of providing information of course, there is a very real danger of stigmatisation, of lumping everything together, of generalising, which is dangerous because it can so easily be exploited in these populist and intolerant times, unfortunately far too prevalent in Western countries.
But even if these youngsters, either directly or indirectly manipulated by ISIS, were indeed Moroccan citizens, it is neither their country of origin nor their nationality which is the reason for them committing their terrorist excesses!
It is worth conveying this message each time the nationality of these murderers is mentioned, including those who have been brainwashed by a drug dealer passing himself off as an imam, while the murderer in Finland, the asylum seeker (!!!), is clearly suffering from psychological problems as illustrated by the fact that he primarily targeted women.
A terrorist’s country of origin is of little significance in the age of the internet, the age of social media, of sending indoctrinating messages from faraway ‘bases’!
This is a reality that one has to contend with today and it is only by making an enormous effort at prevention, raising awareness and inclusion that we will be able to prevent similar acts occurring again involving youngsters who are easily manipulated by preachers professing a perverted variant of our holy religion.
And while it is convenient for certain sections of the media to dwell on the terrorists’ nationality (as has systematically been the case, for example, with the Algerian press or self-proclaimed French radio journalists etc.), we get the impression that in many countries, particularly European, there are huge weaknesses with regard to security and prevention.
How does one explain for example that the sinister Es Satty, reputed to have died in the blast of the Jihadist hideout in Alcanar, Spain, was able to travel with total impunity between Spain and Belgium, despite being sentenced to 4 years in prison for drug trafficking?
But above all, which authority, Spanish, Catalan or local (Ripoli) is in charge of monitoring these self-proclaimed ‘imams’ who spread their terrorist propaganda without a minimum level of control by the authorities supposedly responsible for monitoring radical Islamist movements on the Iberian Peninsula?
Close monitoring
How is it conceivable to is, as Moroccan citizens, who often make mention of the Moqadam and his role, that people can settle and live for months in a district, Alcanar in this particular case, without the town hall or the police enquiring after their presence and the reason for their living there?
The comings and goings of the members of this Jihadist cell were not unknown to their neighbours. Some residents even announced to the press that they believed the terrorist hideout to be in fact a clandestine drugs laboratory!
Could such a thing be even conceivable in our country, where as soon as you settle in a new place, you are sure to receive a visit from the Moqadam?
We all know that those Moroccans who had emigrated to Europe, at least the first generation, were marginalised and ostracised, while they had simply left Morocco in search of a better future.
For many of these immigrants, it was not easy settling in a foreign country. More often than not, it was religion that was the sole refuge for these people, uprooted, outcast, marginalised and ignored by the public authorities.
The host countries needed brawn rather than brains and it was not surprising, therefore, that the ‘greatest of solitudes’, to quote the writer Tahar Benjelloun, produced such negative effects, including an inward-looking cultural identity, essentially religious in nature but imbued with a literal, backward and conservative interpretation of the precepts of Islam.
These are the truths that must be acknowledged if we are to be sincere and objective. And, as is customary beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, if we are to celebrate the dual nationality of those foreigners who have succeeded in their countries of adoption, then we must surely do the same when it comes to terrorists!
Moroccans living overseas, our pride
Morocco cannot be held responsible for the life journeys and futures of the millions of its sons and daughters who have chosen to settle abroad. At the same time, it cannot refuse to legitimately consider them as Moroccan citizens given that Moroccan nationality is inalienable.
Of what significance though are a few hundred ISIS-enrolled jihadists by comparison with three million Moroccan expatriates whose behaviour is impeccable?
The issue, therefore, is not where these delinquent deviants come from, but rather, how to deal with terrorist threats wherever they appear.
In our own country, terrorism exists and we know of and fully appreciate the magnificent work carried out, assiduously and constantly, in prevention, surveillance and intelligence by the departments responsible for public safety and combating terrorism.
These departments are also generous in sharing their suggestions, information and support with their European, American and other counterparts.
But in our country, there is only a remote chance of a drug dealer being able to pass himself off as an imam!
The work done in our country in intelligence, infiltration, surveillance and control ought to inspire those countries that may be fertile breeding grounds for plotting Jihadists.
Today, it is no longer possible for anyone to board an aircraft without undergoing a stringent security check which involves removing shoes and belts. It is now the responsibility of the countries in question to take the preventive measures that are required.
Because, irrespective of their origins or their nationality, the terrorists ae not there to wave their national flag but to sow death, terror and devastation.
Fahd YATA
Original article : https://lnt.ma/maroc-terrorisme-amalgame-facile-abusif/
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