Someone please tell me this isn’t real.
In Morocco, Facebook Can Send You to Jail
WARNING: Heavy Sarcasm Zone. USA Sucks. Jews Not Welcome. Religion Is Infallible. Reader Discretion Is Advised.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I am really not that worried about it.
Sure, he shouldn’t have been sent to jail and I realise it was a joke; but identity theft is an actual crime and the prince is a part of the government.
My take is that the Moroccon government simply didn’t take into account that it was a joke and just saw someone trying to impersonate the prince. Three years is mild punishment for what they thought they saw.
However, three years (or any prison term) is unacceptable for a joke, no matter how tasteless one might think it is.
So while I am not worried about Morocco’s justice system because of it, I am worried about this single example. I think they made a mistake and he should be set free. (The fine, on the other hand, I think is justifiable.)
I don’t assume evil on the part of the government here, I think they just exaggerated a legitimate concern.
Never mess with the Royal Family …
I LOL’ed
Not because it was hilarious.
It’s just, you know, the absurdity of it all.
Andrew commented “So while I am not worried about Morocco’s justice system because of it, “…. You shoudl be. This is a system that routinely allows and abuse of detainees before trial. Once you get to trial then it’s about who you know and not what you know.
No one likes a poser!
The Moroccan justice system is corrupt to the bones. The judges pay huge bribes in order to be appointed, so the alliange to the royal family is paramount. Furthermore, anything you say which may sound critical about the royal family is seen (translating from French) as “an infraction on the sacred values..of the monarchy.”
As a secular (atheist) moroccan I wonder about the future of the country. Although I do not want to see it run by a medivial theocracy (aftermath of an islamic uprising)at the same time I am always wondering what how can this semi-medivial autocratic obscurantist monarchy can trick people into beleiving that it is the best of all possible world. The justice system runs like a type of modern mafia. It is a joke to think that morocco is a constitutional monarchy like that of Britian.
“It is a joke to think that morocco is a constitutional monarchy like that of Britain.”
I don’t think it is. Nevertheless I think it works better than most Arab countries.
It needs improvements, sure; but I think it can be done within the framework of the existing system.
How can the monarchy trick people into believing it is the best of all possible worlds? Well, I think it has to do with the problem that for an Arab country it might just be.
I can only judge Morocco (and other Arab countries) from reading about them, but it does look to me like Morocco is generally doing a lot better than most Arab countries.
Morocco seems to be rife with corruption, and the royal family enjoys privilages that place beyond a more sane approach to law, and yet…
And yet it is a country that I could visit, without having to hide the fact that I’m Jewish or Israeli even just to make sure that people don’t recoil in shock or respond in a more violent manner.
Neither of the above two is true for Egypt, or Jordan. In Jordan, they don’t let Israelis into the country who look openly Jewish or Israeli. Egypt isn’t much better in this sense - in terms of how the general populace views the matter, Jordan is actually well ahead.
But Morocco isn’t even in the race. Morocco preserved a place in the Arab Muslim Middle-East where something good and important for me remained alive. Sure, the government isn’t perfect, and a lot can be better, but when Sephardic Jews meet and speak of their old countries, only *one* community can truly say that the old memories aren’t mere nostalgia.
And that community happens to hail from Morocco.
Roman,
That is exactly what I had heard about Morocco.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Morocco#Modern_times):
“In 1940, the Nazi-controlled Vichy government issued antisemitic decrees excluding Jews from public functions and imposing the wear of yellow Magen David star. Sultan Mohamed V refused to apply these racist laws and, as sign of defiance, insisted on inviting all the rabbis of Morocco to the 1941 throne celebrations.”
“In 1956, Morocco attained independence. Jews occupied several political positions, including three Members of the Parliament of Morocco and a Minister of Posts and Telegraphs.”
“Despite their current small numbers, Jews continue to play a notable role in Morocco; the King retains a Jewish senior adviser, André Azoulay, they are well represented in business and even a small number in politics and culture, Jewish schools and synagogues receive government subsidies.”
“King Hassan II’s invitations for Jews to return have not been taken up by the people who emigrated.”
Yes, I left out the bad stuff. But none of it was as bad as even the regular in other Arab countries.
The Moroccon government certainly made sure that one cannot easily accuse Morocco of anti-Semitism. I certainly wouldn’t.
It really doesn’t look to me like a country beyond hope. A kingdom that manages to defy Arab nationalism and protect its minorities cannot be fundamentally flawed. Something is right in Morocco. And I am sure the current king will fix it. I understand he has already started working on it when he came to power a few years ago.
Andrew & Roman,
Your commentaries are to the point and valid, but they do not deal with the problem of whimsical justice system. We are talking here about a person who was given 3 years of prison adding some physical harm done to him, just because he played around facebook with the picture of the corrupt prince.
True, Morocco stands far better in terms of its relationship with its Jewish heritage and openness to western values while retaining its unique islamic and african culture. That’s besides the point. The track record of Morocco’s relationship with its jewish emigrants who left for Israel and Europe during the 40’s and 50’s is without a doubt the best encounter of truly Judeo-islamic understanding. Emigrants are allow to visits their old quarters, participate in old religious festivals honoring some of the great known sephardic rabbis. Sure, other arab countries should take a lesson or too from this relationship. Again, the point we are debating here is Fouad incarceration, not the history of Morocco.
Hamidoush,
You are of course correct. But I think our point was that the justice system can be reformed and we pointed out why.
We all agree, I think, that something is wrong in Morocco. But how to fix it depends on the context. And in Morocco the context is clearly that the system can still heal itself.
And perhaps it will.
I hope the king will pardon the guy.
If the guy paid a fine of a few hundred dollars and were then pardoned, I would consider that an acceptable way to deal with his “crime”.
roman, while I don’t know of experiences of israeli tourists, the figures do speak for themselves. In 04, approx 350,000 israeli toursits vacationed in Egypt and 99 was the record year for israeli toursits with almost half a million coming over, that’s nearly 10% of the pop. although, figures took a dive after the taba tragedy (that happens everywhere now though), I think israel today still ranks in the top 10 re: visitor numbers to egypt, but I haven’t checked. not that it’s any of my business where you or anyone else chooses to holiday but I can’t accept that hundreds of thousands of people come year on year for hostile reactions and violence.
The justice system in Morocco seems to remind me of the one in Ukraine - corruption and favorism have grown to become the norm, rather than the exception. It’s a tough issue, moreso because the system will keep getting more corrupt rather than less in its present state (as the highest rungs are pretty much filled with people who only let others advance if it serves their personal interest), and even further because this has become a *culture* of favorism - many take it for granted when they join the public service sector.
It requires a shake-up of monumental proportions - and for that, the royals have to realize that such a shake-up needs to happen, and that you can’t run a country on a hierarchy of favorism with them on the top rung.
In this case, a man got three years in prison because he wanted to look good in front of the royals. Granted, it did have some appearance of identity theft, but the facts (when presented clearly, and are listened to in the same way) clearly show harmless (if technically illegal) fun. At most, it should have ended with a fine, or a suspended (and much shorter) prison sentance.
But I still believe that with a bit of effort, Morocco can do better in the legal institutions department as well, just as it did in other issues.
Anna, these Israeli tourists aim for two things - cheap, close, yet still fun and interesting to visit, with a focus on proximity and low cost (taxes are a menace, so is work). Few venture beyond the tourist resorts, into places that are real, and not just a shiny facade of reality set out to attract tourists (Eilat here is pretty much the same way).
How many of those Israeli tourists do you see in Cairo? How many of them are distinguishable from other tourists?
In short, how many of them walk around in a yarmulke and an I Love Israel t-shirt in downtown Cairo or Alexandria? And Anna, those who *do* venture out openly Jewish or Israeli get stared at, minimum, and talked about behind their backs. Conversations where one inadvariably drops a mention of the nationality end with either a shocked expression or shouting. There are few cases of actual violence, but let’s face it - the average Israeli tourist doesn’t go beyond the beach, and *there* people largely work for the tourism industry.
Things can be very different for an Israeli who enters a major Egyptian city. And sadly, not in a good way.
In Jordan, the *most* that usually happens is staring (with the occasional cursing behind one’s back) and at least the police do their best to safeguard you throughout your stay. If Jordan had a half-decent beach, you’d see very different tourism figures there.
by the way, your mfa cites the 99 figure too. so you’re trying to tell me that 10% of your population left Eilat to go to near identical Taba, despite all the risks that are involved with going to an arab country. hmmm, can’t quite swallow that one.
and sinai does get egyptian holidaymakers. i’ve been to *that* hotel in taba, as a small child. in fact, many egyptians used to go to admire the build. as for people looking and talking, well that’s a favourite past time that’s done to annoying perfection for any tourist or native who doesn’t conform to certain standards. as for wearing a yarmulke, i actually doubt very many people would know its significance, although a wearer who has been across would know more about that. the police? if the police weren’t doing their best to safeguard israelis in egypt then taba would be in flames on a regular basis. the fact that it isn’t is testimony to their efforts.
Anna, Eilat and Taba are not identical - the most important aspect is that Taba is “abroad”. What’d be the point of playing tourist in your own, mundane, familiar back yard? This is basic tourism 101. The second issue is that Eilat is pretty small, and doesn’t have that much to do.
As for the risk in going to an Arab country, Israelis tend to shrug at those. What, we say, is riskier in visiting Egypt when you can be blown up in a bus drive near your home? So one might as well go and visit the neighbors.
And yes, the safety of Israelis in tourist resorts so far is indeed a testimony to the effort of the Egyptian police puts into safeguarding those - but that sense of security doesn’t really stay outside the tourist resorts. And Israelis do meet Egyptians in the hotels and beaches, yes - meetings that tend to start well enough, until the nationality is mentioned in a conversation.
Anna, maybe things will improve further with time - but the situation is by no means perfect.
Hmmm… this gives me an idea. I guess a cheap and convenient way to meet Israelis would be to visit resorts at Sinai.
As for Morocco, I’m with Hamidoush on this one. Morocco’s justice system might be okay compared to other Arab and African countries but from the perspective of human rights, it is still horrendous especially when you take into account the torture practices that go on in prisons.
Oh, and correction: “In this case, a man got three years in prison because the judge wanted to look good in front of the royals”
“this gives me an idea. I guess a cheap and convenient way to meet Israelis would be to visit resorts at Sinai.”
Perhaps. But Sinai with a Sudanese passport? Is that a good idea?
Yeah, not problemo at all. I know a lot of Sudanese friends who spend their holidays there.
Thing is, in Egypt if you have deep pockets, you’ll have no problem. There is obviously racism in Egypt but Egyptians are more classist. There is a significant number of Southern Sudanese men in Egypt married to Egyptians. Also keep in mind that Anwar Sadat was half Sudanese.
drims, and naguib was born and bred in khartoum. by the way, word has been passed to sinai of your impending arrival and they’re making preparations already. roman, the same applies to you, but i think we’ve got plenty of time until hell freezes over.
“As for the risk in going to an Arab country, Israelis tend to shrug at those. What, we say, is riskier in visiting Egypt when you can be blown up in a bus drive near your home? So one might as well go and visit the neighbors.” you said it.
eilat and taba offer the same thing, beach bum holiday in a tourist town on the same bit of sea. just face it, ‘these tourists’ are more discerning than you make out.
and wow, an admission that egypt gets something right. i nearly choked on my lunch, please let’s not have anymore of those.
I believe that the future will be bleak for Morocco if its monarchs do not lighten up a bit. There is a deep resentment among the vaste majority of the marginalized masses about the vast inequalities already present in the society. It is a dormant volcano which can errupt at any sign of weakness and belief in unfair injustices. The recent incarceration of Fouad will only alienate the middle class who support this quasi-absolute monachy for its stability, outlook to the west and open economic doors.
If the educated elites (who use the internet and blog) and immigrant population feel alienated by this mafia type justice system, I think you may forsee an islamic uprising, not because it is the best social movement, but because it is the one that has the most ideological power to galvanize everyone and the resources (human).
Thus, the ruling royal family has to find ways to allow some form of free speech even if it touches on its own portrait and manners or lienage. One cannot assume that people are stupid and the stick will always work instead of the carrot.
Anna, I thought *I* was the sarcastic one here.
“not because it is the best social movement, but because it is the one that has the most ideological power to galvanize everyone”
Nicely said Hamidoush. It’s too bad Islam is more and more becoming a mere political tool, albeit a very powerful one.
Anna, maybe we can meet up when I arrive there. I’m dying for some delicious kushari, DYING! Roman and Andrew can bring along some bagels. Oh and Hamidoush can get us some kouskous!
Where are we meeting? This must be a trully a guenine multicultural group that needs to meet once a week or so. I like the idea.
By the way, what type of sauce (or stew) do you want the coucous to be served with? You know there are many.
All the best to all.
awesome mix: sudani, jew, maghrebi and an egyptian. anymore?
am really liking the everyone brings their national dish idea. koshari, bas keda? 3ayez kebab meshakel ta5ood, 3ayez tahini ta5ood, za3eemna ba2a!
meeting place, top of mt. Sinai @ dawn.
LOL! Tamam ya hanem. Fikra 7ilwa!
I will be there. I will light a burning bush for us for warmth.
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