El-Mokrie el-Idrissi; The Moroccan Parliamentarian and Thinker Who Disturbed the Regime
The Moroccan thinker Abouzaid el-Mokrie el-Idrissi raises controversy throughout his statements and positions. He is often at the center of the media storms, because of his brave and vibrant words on various polemic topics, according to his followers.
For years, Abu Zayd has been banned from appearing in the official media, and there are strict instructions for media officials and journalists in the Kingdom not to broadcast his ideas and not even to take his opinions on public issues.
This ban does not prevent the man from contributing to the scene and from being engaged to advocate different issues, related to identity and values, especially his defense of the Arabic language and his continuous struggle against the Francophone trend in the Kingdom. In another word, he strives to stop the dominance of the French language in Morocco.
Religious Family
In fluent Arabic and distinctive words, el-Idrissi travels all over the Moroccan cities and moves from one continent to another, attending seminars and participating to conferences, ignoring the blows and criticisms of his opponents inside and outside the Kingdom.
Abouzaid el-Mokrie el-Idrissi was born in 1960 in Marrakesh, from a religious family. He is an Islamic politician, preacher and thinker. He is a parliamentarian for the Justice and Development Party, and one of the theorists of the Unification and Reform Movement (the party’s advocacy arm).
He received his primary and secondary education in El Jadida, then joined Mohammed V University in the capital, Rabat, and obtained a BA in Arabic literature in 1982, a master degree in linguistics in 1984, and a PHD in linguistics in 1987.
He worked between 1984-1997 as an assistant professor, and then a professor at the Hassan II University in Casablanca. Since 1997 he was elected several times the parliament for the "Justice and Development Party”. Between 2002-2007 he worked as chairman of the Moroccan-Iranian Friendship Committee of the Parliament.
He was also a member of the Parliament's "productive sectors" committee, the social sectors committee, and then the Justice and Legislation Committee.
He served as member of several scientific and advocacy bodies, such as, the Shura Council of the Movement for Reform and Renewal, the International Islamic Literature Association, the Islamic National Conference, the General Secretariat of the Justice and Development Party, in addition to the International Union of Muslim Scholars.
He has several books, including "Exaggeration in Religion", 2010, "Public Compassion and the Universality of Islam" and "The Qur'an and Reason".
Silenced Voices
His statements were always provocative to his opponents. As such his vigorous intervention on April 28, 2021, that outraged the Minister of the Interior, Abdel-Wafi Laftit. Al-Moqri requested the minister to reveal the study that had been conducted to show the importance of legalizing “Indian cannabis” (the drug of cannabis) before approving it.
During the debate in the House of Representatives (the first chamber of parliament), he said that he represents a voice of "Parties that were forced to be absent, and if they were consulted before drafting this project, many of its flaws and shortcomings might have been overcome".
He pointed out that there was a coalition between many organizations from the civil society that had worked hard in the field to suggest a feasibility study. The proposed study had been ignored by the ministry. The minister argued they have already conducted a “confidential study”.
El-Idrissi expressed his frustration by saying "what does it mean to have a confidential feasibility study?! If the study does not exist, it must be conducted before discussing this law."
He also called for the intervention of the Ministry of Health to ensure health safety, and to guarantee the public health. He requested the ministry to be open to international experiences by conducting comparative studies taking in account the Moroccan authenticity.
He stressed out the need to involve the religious actor represented by the Supreme Scientific Council, as it is the official Ifta body charged with examining legal issues.
El-Idrissi had appealed to Parliament, in his intervention, to hold back and not to vote the draft legalization of the legal uses of cannabis, warning of “disastrous effects” that could result from this legalization. He also claimed “It is impossible for this law to find its way”.
El-Idrissi called on the Ministry of the Interior to confront what he described as “Emperors” before turning to the discussion of legalizing cannabis. He said: “The priority is to stop the Emperors or the agricultural estates owners from stealing water and electricity then we can think about laws that protect the poor”.
He called for the need to seek the opinions of a number of constitutional bodies on the draft legalization of the legitimate uses of cannabis, including the Economic, Social and Environmental Council. He also demanded to write to the Supreme Scientific Council, to ask its opinion.
The issue of legalizing the uses of the Indian Cannabis for the legitimate medical and industrial purposes has raised controversy in Morocco between supporters and opponents. The debates are continuing on social media platforms, especially after the approval of the government on March 11, 2021.
Honest Words
El-Mokrie el-Idrissi does not miss any opportunity of uttering the word of truth in public and asking for reforms. One of the most important criticisms he constantly raises in his lectures and seminars concerns the “Moroccan Francophones” (French-Speaking Moroccan).
In one of his most famous words, the Moroccan thinker said that the French language has turned into a tool for the systematic exclusion of Moroccan people. It empowers and facilitates the domination of the Francophone elite through the illusion that success is linked to France (which colonized Morocco between 1912 and 1956) and failure is linked to "Arabization".
This came during an inaugural lesson at the Moroccan Center for Contemporary Studies and Research (non-governmental) in the capital Rabat 3 years ago. The lesson’s topic was "Teaching in French in Morocco... Background and Prospects". He criticized the directions of the Ministry of Education for monitoring 17 decisive measures to empower the French, compared to only 4 measures for Arabic services.
El-Mokrie el-Idrissi articulated that this is “an insult to the homeland and to the Moroccan mind, and an expression of psychological defeat,” and considered that “Although the Arabic language today is weak, along with its people, it is the most open in the world, as the whole world is about to learn it.”
He stressed that "French is not a bridge to the modern sciences in which we are lagging behind, but it is a sign of domination and psychological defeat," stressing at the same time that "there is no objection to learning all languages in the world."
El-Mokrie el-Idrissi criticized the constitution “National Council for Moroccan Languages and Culture” (Established in 2016 to end the tension between opponents of languages spoken in the Kingdom), whose draft organizational law is being circulated in Parliament. He considered that this council, according to its draft law, has no authority, and its prerogatives do not exceed the ability to propose, counsel, study or monitor.
He concluded that "A council of this kind will not change the status of Arabic and will only cost the state big losses in terms of budget and time, because no one can destabilize French influence in Morocco."
Palestine Lover
In December 2020, after Rabat resumed its official relations with Tel Aviv, el-Idrissi decided to freeze his membership in the Justice and Development Party; due to the “Normalization”.
El-Mokrie el-Idrissi criticized the leaders of his party, and attacked number of the Islamic movement leaders. The reasons behind his decision to freeze his membership in the party are many, but on the top of its stands the “Regressive orientations hold by the Party” on identity-based issues. Such as, complacency in defendùng the Arabic language, the acceptance of restoring relations with Israel, the party’s independence, and the lack of credibility towards its voters.
He said that the leadership of "Al-Misbah" (Justice and Development Party) knew "tragic" transformations.
El-Mokrie el-Idrissi, who published the message of freezing his membership from the party on his Facebook page explained "The party's positions have deteriorated, and it has begun to lose its guiding compass from which we all set out a quarter of a century ago, under which we have achieved this extent of popularity and spread."
He continued by saying, "The general situation is very worrying and open to the unknown intellectually, morally and popularly."
He added, "I regret to inform you through this correspondence of my need to freeze my membership in the party, until a meeting is held to discuss the recent catastrophic changes in the party’s positions. The party’s core values have deviated, its references, its programs and its speech to the people. For instance, the party’s stand about the Palestinian cause, the Arabic language, and the issue of the party’s independence and its credibility.
El-Mokrie el-Idrissi considered that the Justice and Development Party “rushed in an unprecedented way towards free normalization with Israel,” directing his speech in particular to the member of the General Secretariat of the “Al-Misbah” party, Aziz Rabah, after the latter’s statement that he is ready to visit Israel, if necessary, to represent Morocco.
He stressed that Rabah's statements were "careless and unwise and offered to the Zionists what they did not dream of."
El-Mokrie el-Idrissi also attacked the Prime Minister Saad al-Din al-Othmani, for remaining silent without taking any action against the statements of a minister in his government and a member of the General Secretariat of his party.
He called on those "outraged by the situation within the party" to continue expressing their positions “we need to disclose the villainous members rushing after the normatization instead of resigning”.
It is worth noting that El-Mokrie el-Idrissi, known for his many activities in support of the Palestinian cause, participated as a representative of Moroccan people, in the Third Freedom Fleet, which headed to Gaza in 2015, to break the siege and support the Palestinians.
