Many Moroccans distance themselves from the actions of terrorist groups like ISIS. Yet a closer look at what their kids are taught in school helps explain why their countrymen join such groups.
A relatively moderate place compared to Iran or Saudi Arabia, Morocco is a paradox of sorts. It is still puzzling to many observers that the country is one of the top exporters of terrorists and Jihadi wannabes in the world. It shouldn’t be that puzzling, though. This thorough examination of Islamic Education manuals in the kingdom helps explain why.
From first grade already, Moroccan children are literally taught to “hate those who oppose Allah’s prophet.” First grade, you heard right. The same manuals sing the praises of Prophet Muhammad’s battles and his victories against the “infidels.” The idea that Islam ought to be spread by the sword is willingly introduced to the impressionable minds of 7 or 8-year-olds. Equality, freedom of conscience and human rights are absent from such teachings.
The result is a citizenry which, even if it does not resort to violence against non-Muslims, thinks it is fine to mistreat them, lie to them or scam them. Such behavior stems from the idea that there is a hierarchy of faiths: Muslims come first, and everybody else comes second. Similarly encoded in primary school manuals is the dangerous notion that leaving Islam is punishable by death.
These are very alarming truths, if only for the fact that whatever is instructed in childhood is hard to undo later. A willing subscriber to international standards of human rights, Morocco still breeds religious hatred and discrimination within its frontiers. Don’t be surprised that it is today the third largest “supplier” of ISIS combatants…
On the speaker: The son of an Imam, Brother Rasheed began his spiritual quest by comparing the teachings of the Quran and the Bible. Initially planned to strengthen his Islamic faith, the exercise ended up pushing him away from his religion of origin. Rasheed converted to Christianity at age 19, an offense punishable by death according to official religious scholars from his homeland Morocco. Pushing the envelope even further, he undertook a translation of the Quran into local Arabic dialects, under the serious premise that local populations in the Arab world are not proficient enough in classical Arabic to get the gist of the Quran. No wonder his unpopularity in the Middle East... Now the host of a program called "Daring Questions" on Al Hayat TV, Rasheed has received multiple death threats, which is why his full name is not known to the public. Insightful commentaries such as the one above may help explain why he makes so many Muslims mad.
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