Morocco is tussling with a series of problems caused by Islamists - sadly they may be issues that split the community. The latest problem has even touched Morocco's state airline, Royal Air Maroc. The airline has banned its staff praying at their offices and headquarters. Some of the airline's workers as well as members of the Islamic party 'Al-Adala wa al-Tanmiya' say it is part of a crackdown on their religious freedom.
According to a BBC report by Richard Hamilton in Rabat, the company says that in the past its workers have abused the privilege of praying, by taking too much time away from their desks and their customers. An internal document for RAM workers quoted by the Arabic service of the BBC warned that "errors of the past whereby prayer time is used to spend hours out of the office must not be repeated."
The state airline, partly owned by the Moroccan royal family, is a great source of pride and prestige in the country.
But this latest move threatens to exacerbate divisions in Morocco.
Workers say that they have been banned from praying at work and that a number of prayer rooms have been closed and that they are forbidden from going to the mosque during work hours.
The company would not give an interview but issued a statement saying that while there is no official ban on praying, they had to do something to stop people taking lengthy breaks away from work.
But critics say the issue of praying, like the veil, is part of a more sinister move to rob the country of its Islamic roots. Raising the issue of what exactly one's religion allows one to do, especially if (for example) fasting decreases ones ability to do a particular job, such as fly an airliner.
"I feel very angry about this decision," says Moustapha Aramid from the Islamic Party for Justice and Development.
"Moroccans have had their liberty and their religious freedom taken away from them. It is very damaging. Royal Air Morocco obviously has absolutely no respect for Islam."
However when an alleged terrorist cell - Ansar el-Mehdi - was broken up earlier this year - two of the suspects charged were the wives of two Royal Air Morocco pilots.
There is a feeling that the company had to do something to respond.
Other complaints from airline staff are that pilots and stewards were not allowed to fast during the month of Ramadan and that female staff are not allowed to wear the veil - although that has been an unwritten rule at many companies for several years. Obviously the notion of a fasting pilot is absurd and many Moroccans back the company on these two issues but feel that in the case of prayer the company needs to compromise. If some workers are found to be abusing the prayer privilege, it shouldn’t be used against others to take away their right. Perhaps a fixed time break for prayers may solve the problem. There may be other ways too to resolve the issue, if only the airline bosses care to look. Preventing people from observing their religious beliefs and duties is taking secularism too far.
These issues are becoming a focal point for some very hard questions being asked of this moderate Arabic country - something that is causing serious friction between liberals and traditionalists. Out in the streets many Moroccans are worried that the Islamist will use this issue to cause further problems.
In October, Morocco forbade women state employees from wearing the hijab at work and scrapped pictures of hijab wearing women from texbooks. Back in 2004 Morocco approved one of the most progressive laws on women's and family rights in the Arab world. However, feminists in Morocco say that the law should scraped as there should not be one law for women and another for men.
Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
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