New book - The Arab Uprisings: an Introduction

Fair Observer, a media platform that focuses on analysis and not news, has just released a new book on the Arab Spring. At the moment it is only available in a Kindle edition but a paperback is on the way. Here is what they have to say about the book - The Arab Uprisings: An Introduction

At times the ground beneath our feet shakes and the world as we know it changes forever. These are such times and the Arab Uprisings will mark the start of a new era in world history. For years, Arab regimes have expropriated power and wealth from their people. In the age of the Internet, exploding populations and greater aspirations, these regimes have been increasingly incongruous. People, regardless of their race, religion, gender or culture, do not want to live in fear. They do not want a midnight knock on their door. They want basic freedoms, education for their children, decent jobs, peace and prosperity. In short, people everywhere want a life of dignity and the Arab Uprisings are the Arab people’s struggle for such a life.

The media has been saturated with stories about the Arab Uprisings. Yet, though much talked about, they are little understood.Fair Observer, says its goal is to enable you to make sense of the world and this book The Arab Uprisings: An Introduction provides an accessible overview for the curious mind. Abul-Hasanat Siddique and Casper Wuite, the writers of the book, seek to explain what happened, why it happened, what is different, what may lie ahead and what can be done.

The following is the first of a series of excerpts that Fair Observer will be featuring from its first book — The Arab Uprisings: An Introduction.

The Arab Uprisings are the most significant events to occur in the Middle East and North Africa over the past few decades. So far, the change that young protestors called for has been slow to materialize. Either new elites have acquired political power or old regimes still survive. A report by the London School of Economics and Political Science concluded, “Uprisings across the Middle East have not led to any significant shifts towards permanent democracy even where they have toppled dictators.”

There are a number of new realities on the ground though, including the rise of Islamists, the specter of sectarianism and security, and the changing balance of power in the region.

The Rise of Islamists

Islamists did not play a key role in any of the Arab Uprisings. Yet, they have reaped the benefits in the aftermath of the revolts. Islamist parties have received the highest number of votes in most elections held since the uprisings.

Parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have long been the key opposition to the ruling regimes of the past. Through their underground network and as providers of welfare services, Islamists are more organized than the new secular and liberal parties or the still evolving revolutionary youth movements. After years of repression, Islamists are now in the best position to fill the power vacuum. They are winning power not because of their religious agenda but because they are best placed to exploit the social, economic, and political grievances against former dictatorships.

As Rami Khouri notes:

“Islamists winning free and fair elections in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco is no surprise, because of their massive followings in Arab countries for different reasons; in large because they offered the only feasible outlet for any Arab who was unhappy with prevailing government policies or socio-economic conditions.”

The victory of Islamists in elections brings into question the role of Islam and democracy. For some, Islam will always be incompatible with democracy. Under Islamic law, governance is to be carried out as per the laws of God and not the democratic mandate. For others, Islam is compatible with democracy because they believe that Islam can be placed within the current societal context and adapt to the demands of a modern democracy.

Nader Hashemi makes this argument forcefully:

“The claim, therefore, that Islam is not subject to evolutionary transformation and development – like all religious traditions obviously are – ignores what really matters: the changing socio-economic and political context, which is all important in shaping how Islam/religion manifests itself in different regions of the world, at different moments in time.”

Over the last few decades, there has been a resurgence of Islam as a political ideology in parts of the Muslim world. Islamic societies have arguably become more religious, raising questions about the public role of religion. For instance, will Islamists let others compete freely and fairly in elections once they have power? How do they intend to deal with socio-economic problems? How will they cater for the wider society that includes secularists, liberals, religious minorities, and women? Will shari'a (Islamic law) form a basis for new constitutions? The answers are yet unclear but how political Islam and democracy interact will be a key feature in the post-uprising world.

The Arab Uprisings: An Introduction is available at Amazon and the SlimBooks store in a Kindle version. Purchase it here: The Arab Uprisings: An Introduction

A paperback version has just been released. It is available at: http://slimbooks.com/arabuprisings


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Morocco introduces new bank note

Morocco has issued a new banknote of MAD 25 ($ 2.94)

The Moroccan mint - Dar As-Sikkah - was inaugurated by King Hassan II on March 5th 1987. As the new MAD 25 comes to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of Dar-As-Sikkah the back of the note carries a print vignette commemorating 25 years of banknote printing at the Moroccan State Printing Works.

The Moroccan Dar As-Sikkah has printed 4.2 million banknotes in the form of MAD 25 with a limited edition of 200,000 available to collectors. The notes have been produced by Fortress Paper Ltd who say it is the world's first banknote printed on the Company's innovative paper-polymer-paper composite produced at its Landqart mill in Canada.

The front of the banknote features an Intaglio vignette and a watermark of King Mohammed VI, and a magenta/green colourshift security thread. The thread, like the watermark, is embedded inside the banknote yet visible behind a one-sided polymer window. It also has a fully transparent polymer window embossed with the King's royal crest.

The windows in what the company calls a "Durasafe" note are formed by die cutting each side of the three layer composite substrate separately. One sided windows give a clear view inside the substrate where the security thread and the watermark of King Mohammed VI are protected, but fully visible behind the polymer core. The transparent window is created by die-cutting both the outer paperlayers to reveal only the transparent polymer core.

Chadwick Wasilenkoff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortress Paper, commented: "After a decade in development, we are pleased to see the fruits of our labour in the launch of the Moroccan 25 Dirhams. We have designed the ideal characteristics of polymer and traditional paper notes to create a new standard for high security banknote substrates. Fortress Paper would like to congratulate the Bank al Maghrib on the launch of their new 25 Dirham banknote and being the first in the world to produce and launch these high security Durasafe banknotes."

The new MAD 25 paper bill is available in the market and people have started using it in their daily commercial activities.

It should be noted that Morocco is among the few countries which design and print its money, and several other countries print their money in the Moroccan treasury.

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HM the King Pardons 413 Convicts On Independence Manifesto Day

HM King Mohammed VI pardoned 413 convicts on the occasion of the Manifesto Independence Day, celebrated on 11 January, Justice and Liberties Ministry said in a statement.

Two inmates benefited from the pardon over their remaining prison sentences, while 299 others had their prison sentences or imprisonment reduced.

One inmate's life sentence was commuted to a limited prison term.

Thirty-eight prisoners were granted pardon over their prison sentences or their remainder.

Imprisonment sentences were pardoned and fines maintained for 10 others.

Three convicts were granted pardon over their prison sentences and fines, while 60 had their fines annulled.

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Mopeds in Marrakech Medina ~ the fight back begins

Mopeds have been the scourge of Marrakech’s Medina for a number of years, but now traders in the tiny alleyways have had enough. Derek Workman reports.

As much as I love the Medina, walking around it has been getting worse these last few years. It’s not so much the crowds, that’s part and parcel of a busy shopping area, and the occasional donkey traffic-jam is just everyday life in action – it’s the only way you can get heavy things through the narrow streets, just as the hand-carts serve a very important role in keeping the shops and riads stocked up.

The main problem now is the amount of moped and motor scooters that race far too quickly through what has, for over a thousand years been no more than a pedestrian area – long before we even thought of pedestrianisation.

The traders at the Derb Dabachi, one of the main entrances to the souk, have got fed up of the noise, pollution, danger and stress of the mopeds and scooters that cause havoc in the area and have hung signs forbidding anyone to enter riding a bike or moped – and it’s working! The signs invite riders to become pedestrians and walk alongside their transport until they leave the area. Let’s hope other traders take the idea up and the Medina can once again become a ‘motor-free zone’.

When I read about this, it brought to mind an article I’d written on the same theme last year.

Mowed down by a moped in the Medina

When you are wandering through the souks, you spend half your time dodging mopeds. At least the mule carts and bikes travel at a sedate pace, but the mopeds are pretty nippy and it can give you a moment’s nervousness to be staring the rider in the eyes at a distance and speed that makes you wonder which one of you is going to come off worse in the inevitable collision. Fortunately they usually nip past without doing any physical or emotional damage – but that’s not to say it never happens.

Nine years ago, on my first visit to Marrakech, I’d just walked away from Jmaa el Fna and the handlebar of a moped brushed my side. It was summer, and I was wearing a lightweight shirt, and as I felt the handlebar touch me I turned into it to avoid anything serious happening. The rider was full of apologies, but I just patted him on the back, said something to the effect, “It’s okay, no harm done,” and he smiled and rode off. I turned to continue my walk, and felt a light breeze around my midriff, where the handlebar had torn my shirt right across the middle, leaving my stomach exposed. I hadn’t felt a thing or, in all the hubbub, heard anything either. I was more amused than anything else that I’d actually patted the chap on the back and parted with smiles, and here I was exposing my paunch for all of Marrakech to see.

And today, when an actual collision between man and moped did occur, I still walked away with a semblance of a smile.

I was ambling my way back to the riad I was staying at in the Sidi ben Slimane area, not taking a great deal of notice of anything, when I heard a moped rev up. I looked up, and about two metres away I saw a small boy on a moped careering towards me, and it was obvious by the panic in his eyes that he’d only learned how to go forward, he hadn’t quite got the hang of braking and steering yet.

If it had been a scene in an Indiana Jones film, where the hero was walking through the souk and an evil assassin was attempting to run him down, although it would probably have been a Harley Davidson in that case, and not just a tiny 50cc Yamaha, Harrison Ford would have dived out of the way at the last second, probably doing a roll through piles of antiques lamps and collapsing the tent poles that supported the awning to the shop. Me, I’m no Indiana Jones, I’m neither quick witted enough or know how to do forward rolls to end a neatly executed dive, so I just stood there and watched the panic stricken ten year-old hurtle towards me. (Although to say ‘hurtle’ is probably gilding the lily a bit.) I made a half-hearted attempt to get out of the way but he hit my leg with the front wheel, which was probably the bit of steering assistance that turned him to the right out of any other harm’s way.

When I turned around he’d managed to stop, and was on that point where he could well have burst into tears. Behind me I heard a man shouting at the lad, but as he didn’t look at me it could well have been that he was pretty brassed off because the nipper had ridden the moped in the first place. I turned around, just as an old woman joined in the tirade. When I looked at the boy again he was even closer to tears, so I just waved my arms around a bit in a huffy sort of way and walked off.

But I did have a bit of moped malarkey earlier in the day. I’d gone to do an interview with a delightful young chap who is the only hand-made football maker in Morocco – more of that another day – but stupidly, I’d left my recorder in the riad, on the other side of the Medina. By one of those delightful quirks of serendipity, he lived about three streets from the riad, and offered to take me there on his moped. It was great, and I got a chance to see life from the other side of the handlebars.

We dodged and weaved through the crowded narrow alleyways, and there were times I thought my kneecaps were getting just that bit close to the walls. As we left the tighter alleys of the souk he took some of the wider streets, in deference to it being my first ride on the back of a moped, with a rear seat which clearly wasn’t built for someone my size. It was great fun, although I think I’d stick to a bike if I’m piloting something through the souks myself in the future.


This post was first seen on the Villa Dinari web site.

Derek Workman is an English journalist living in Valencia City, Spain – although he admits to a love of Morocco and would love to up sticks and move here. To read more about life in Spain visit Spain Uncovered. Articles and books can also be found at Digital Paparazzi.

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Moroccan News Briefs #82

Happy 69th Independence Manifesto Day Morocco

January 11, 1944 was the date of the introduction of the Manifesto of Independence and today Moroccans will join in celebration of the 69th anniversary of this landmark event. The High Commissioner for former resistance fighters and former members of the Liberation Army says the country "...will pay tribute to the men and women of the National Resistance Movement who sacrificed body and soul for their country and remember the epic struggle of intrepid defenders of the integrity of our nation, starting with a firm belief in the rightness of their cause."


Morocco continues to invest in tourism

Morocco in 2012 invested 14 billion dirhams (1.26 billion euros) in the tourism sector, creating 4,400 jobs and increasing its bed capacity by 10,300, the Moroccan tourism ministry made known in its yearly budget report.

Morocco last year increased its bed capacity by 7,000 and created 3,000 jobs, maintaining its position on the international market and attracting almost 10 million tourists by November 2012. The ministry also made significant investments in refurbishing training facilities and creating new ones, according to the report.

In 2013, the ministry will focus on developing domestic tourism by breaking ground on the third phase of a new tourism resort at Medhia under the so-called Biladi Plan, which King Mohamed VI launched in September.


Morocco literacy project reaches milestone

According to a report carried by Magharebia, more than 6 million Moroccans have benefited from literacy programmes over the last decade, according to figures unveiled last month.

"Some 735,000 people benefited from literacy programmes from 2011 to 2012. This is a record for the past ten years," Illiteracy Eradication Directorate (DLCA) head El Habib Nadir said at a Marrakech press conference on December 16th.

Morocco won honourable mention at the 2012 UNESCO Confucius Prize for its efforts, especially projects aimed at helping women become more independent through literacy.

These outcomes are also the fruit of support from technical and financial partners, which includes financial aid from the European Union. The EU has been a donor since 2008 while UNESCO has provided technical assistance through its office in Rabat as part of the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE).

Nadir said that the efforts made in this field include the mechanisms created to build the capacities of the parties involved in the programme. This involves training between 10,000 and 14,000 teachers every year. The training is provided on the basis of a prescribed list of literacy trainer skills.

In addition, NGOs are being trained in various aspects of literacy project management, such as mobilising beneficiaries and programme design, monitoring and evaluation.


Law to protect young girls is rejected

The Islamist PJD has taken what many are describing as a backward step by rejecting a bill criminalizing any sexual contact with minors. In Morocco, the rapists of under-age girls are protected by law as long as they marry their victims. There have long been calls for the repeal of Article 475 of the penal code and given the public revulsion felt at such crimes it was expected that the repeal would be past. However MPs have turned a deaf ear to the demands expressed by civil society in the aftermath of suicide last March of Amina Filali. This week the commission of Justice of the House of Representatives led by the Islamist PJD rejected an amendment which would have criminalised sexual intercourse with a minor even if it is consensual. Socialists MPs wanted to put on the same level as rape.


Marrakech Marathon has 4000 entries

Some 4,000 athletes, including 950 foreigners, will participate in the 24th Marrakech International Marathon on January 27th.

The IAAF ranks the Marrakech marathon as 1st in Africa and 25th in the world.


Mixed weather for Fez

The cold weather in Fez is expected to continue this week. A slightly warmer day on Saturday (reaching 17 degrees Celsius) will be followed by showers on Sunday and Monday with tops around 14 degrees and lows down to 12 or 13.



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The Ambulance D'Imlil - Remote health care in Morocco

As the winter freeze hits Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, one valley has created a way to protect the health of its residents. Derek Workman reports for The View from Fez

We recently heard the sad news of the death of Habiba Amelou, a baby little more than a month old, whose small body couldn’t cope with a winter freeze in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Many of the villages in the area are extremely remote, with sometimes little access to medical help. Imlil, a village in the High Atlas Mountains, the Association Bassins d’Imlil, a local association covering the seven villages of the Imlil Valley, have made a major difference in the medical services of their area.

In the remote, and even not so remote villages of the High Atlas Mountains, medical assistance of any kind is rarely close to hand. Because of this there have been a number of deaths over the years, particularly during childbirth, due to lack of transport to Asni, the nearest town with a maternity clinic, or on to Tahanoute or even Marrakech for more serious cases. One of the most important projects that the Association Bassins d’Imlil has instigated is the provision of an ambulance to reduce these all too avoidable mortalities. The ambulance has been a life-line to many, particularly those in the most remote valleys who might otherwise have to wait many hours for medical assistance. But there is another ‘ambulance’ that receives scant publicity, and fulfils a role that most of us don’t want to think too deeply about. It is a hearse, on call twenty-fours hours a day, seven days a week, just as the regular ambulance is, but, by the nature of its occupants, it fulfils a more discreet service.

Abderrahim Ajdaà

The way Abderrahim Ajdaà handles his ambulance as he tackles the hairpin bends of the rough track that zigzags precariously up from Imlil to Armed, the highest and largest of the villages that form the Association Bassins d’Imlil, you would think he was still driving a taxi around the roads of Asni, seventeen kilometres away. After eleven years driving over some of the roughest terrain in North Africa’s highest mountain range, his confidence is built on experience. As it’s my first trip I spend a fair bit of my time concentrating on the Moroccan flag on its stand taped to the dashboard, and try to ignore the sheer slope of the mountainside, so close that I can’t even see the edge of the road from the passenger seat. Every pedestrian, mule, Jeep and truck gives way as the ambulance climbs the narrow road. After all, it may be someone in their family it’s on its way to.

We’re not on a house call or emergency today, but Abderrahim is demonstrating in a practical way his daily round. The road ends at a flat area of rough ground, where the Reyara River bubbles and sparkles languidly before picking up pace on its way down into the Imlil Valley below. Across an almost non-existent ford is Armed, a village of almost two thousand souls, and Abderrahim points out the pharmacy, closed for the last eight years due to lack of money.

If a helicopter is needed for a mountain rescue on Jbel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa, this is where it lands, on a piece of flat land beside the river, with the patient being transferred to Abderrahim’s ambulance for the onward journey down the mountain to Asni or Marrakech. But ‘flat’ doesn’t mean ‘smooth’; the uneven surface makes for a rocky and tricky landing. When the river is in flood – and people shouldn’t be on the mountain anyway – there is nowhere for the helicopter to land, and Abderrahim has to gather a team of villagers to bring the injured down by stretcher.

The helicopter landing-pad

In more general medical situations Abderrahim takes the first call. His main work is ferrying expectant mothers to the maternity clinic in Asni, or the hospitals in Tahanoute or Marrakech to give birth. One person is allowed to travel with the patient in the rear of the ambulance. The next most common is attending accidents, mainly motor accidents, where he’s often first on the scene, even before the police arrive. Abderrahim has been trained in first aid, but the ambulance has limited equipment and if he thinks the patient needs a nurse or doctor they will be taken to the clinic at Imlil. The resident nurse, Hamid Asbayo, calls the doctor if necessary, and the patient can be treated there. If there are complications, Abderrahim makes the sixty kilometre drive to the hospital in Marrakech.

When the Association Bassins de Imlil put forward the idea of buying a hearse in 2010, Hassan Bouyenbaden volunteered to be its driver; on call day-in, day-out, just as Abderrahim is. When Abderrahim is unavailable to drive the regular ambulance, Hassan steps in, but most of his clients are at the opposite end of their life-cycle to those of his fellow driver. At fatal road accidents, he is required to attend with the police, bagging the body and removing it to the morgue in Marrakech. Fortunately this kind of situation is quite rare, and the majority of the people he transports have died of natural causes. For those from the villages of the valley who die in Marrakech, Hassan collects the body from the hospital so that the deceased can be buried in his or her homeland.

Most of the inhabitants of the locality are strict Muslims, which means that no male outside the family other than medical personnel may touch a woman. Dispensation is also given to Hassan, as he is required to handle the body in order to put it in his ambulance. Sometimes family members are too distraught to deal with the death, and Hassan has to quietly seek help from others for the removal, without overstepping the bounds of propriety. What helps in this situation is that he has lived in the valley all his life, and many of the people he is called to attend were his friends.

“At first it used to upset me, seeing my friends dead, but eventually I came to realise that we all die, and surely it’s better to have a friend attend to you than a stranger. It’s no problem for me now.”

Women will be returned to the home to be ritually washed by their female family and friends, before being enshrouded in white cotton or linen cloth; men will go straight to the mosque, where their male family performs a similar service. Sharia law calls for the burial of the body, usually within twenty-four hours. After prayers at the mosque the deceased will be taken to a cemetery, although not one with headstones and mausoleums a westerner might recognise. In Imlil it is simply a square plot, only distinguished from the rest of the bare hillside by a fence to keep out wandering goats.

One of our regular contributors, Derek Workman is an English journalist living in Valencia City, Spain – he admits to a love of Morocco and would love to up sticks and move here. To read more about life in Spain visit Spain Uncovered

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