1. Theoretical debate: Overview
4.2 Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan
4.2.4 Distribution network
restrictions, described above, we may suggest that Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan’s publications have had a limited audience, since they could not regularly reach the population.
Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan’s print press at this early stage catered to those few who already sympathised with it and were disposed to learn from it. These magazines were and still are read exclusively by Islam-oriented people who yearn for Islamic political and religious content. The reading circle of Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan’s magazines was limited primarily to their audience that consisted inherently of a relatively small group of people such as members, urban sympathizers, teachers, students and Islam-oriented professionals.
To sum up the media policy of the organization has attempted to create a balanced middle way. Some tools are for the elite, others are designed for the mass. The organization has been quite successful in utilizing information and communication of the second generation, namely cassettes and videos as effective tools for political communication, religious and political instruction and mobilization.
Abdessalam Yassine, whose media savvy can not be easily denied, used videos not only to evade the regime’s blockade, but also to broaden the range of his audience. Copies of cassettes and videos were often distributed outside mosques.
threats, detentions and large fines levied against those who were directly or indirectly involved with Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan communication channels.
During the Risalat Al-Futuwa’s first year of publication, Sochepresse, the distribution firm, was in disfavour in distributing the magazine.135 The situation did not improve in 2000. By most measures, it has since deteriorated. Mohamed Aghnaj, managing editor of the weekly, said that many copies were held back by the distributor. According to him, “the regime exerts strong pressure on printing presses and distributors to prevent the weekly from being sold”.136 A journalist of the weekly Al-Hayat Al-Yaumiya said that on April 6th, 2000 police broke into the distribution company in Casablanca and seized 10,000 copies of Risalat Al-Futuwa. Thus the weekly Risalat Al-Futuwa was again technically banned. In November 2000, Sochepresse stopped distributing the weekly under strong pressure and constraints from “above”.137
Deprived of an easy and normal distribution system, Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan had no other alternative than to organise an autonomous and secret network of voluntary distributors.
Despite restrictions over the organization's members and activities, Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan was able to distribute magazines and tracts to its members, followers and to interested sympathizers throughout Morocco through a network of activists of the organization. The organization has a great interpersonal network of students, teachers and voluntary distributors who circulated magazines and audiocassettes. This takes the form of informal communication networks.
To face this new challenge, the regime reacted by issuing administrative orders and by putting “bureaucratic manoeuvrings”, including temporary seizure and harassment of distributors and sellers to silence Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan and critical voices. Several distributors, belonging to Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan, were thereafter arrested on several occasions as they distributed copies of Risalat Al-Futuwa and Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan. On October 20th 1999 for instance, a member of the organization was arrested and charged with “disseminating false information via an illegal paper and distributing a magazine belonging to an unauthorized association.138 On December 8th 2000 a number of distributors were sentenced to prison.
On January 27th 2001, some members of the organization were detained for two months for
135 In Morocco there are only two distributors: Sapress and Sochepress.
136 Mohamed Aghnaj, managing editor of the weekly Risalat Al-Futuwa, personal interview with the author, May 11, 2001, Casablanca, Morocco.
137 www.alJama’a.com/tawarikh.htm.
138 http://www.alJama’a.com/tawarikh.htm.
distributing underground publications, including pamphlets, sheets and booklets.139 On February 2nd 2001 a newspaper salesperson was arrested for selling Risalat Al-Futuwa.
The newspaper, Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan has been subject to similar restrictions and difficulties. On 8th December 2000, 64 members of the association were arrested in different cities for distributing the second issue of the Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan and eleven were judged. On January 18th 2001, a member of the association was arrested in Tata, a small town in the south of Morocco, and was sent to prison for two months and charged a fine of about 1000 DH, because he distributed the newspaper of Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan. On March 13th 2001, Ali Al-Qadouri was sent to prison for three months because he distributed the newspaper Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan.140
The last recent cases were reported in June 2001, when another person was detained for possessing the daily. On July 26th 2001, in Taroudant, a medium city in the south of Morocco, four members of the Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan were jailed for a period of three months and were fined 3000 DH because they were caught distributing the organization’s newspaper. In September 2001, another member was sentenced to three months in jail for distributing magazines critical of the regime to friends. On September 10th, 2001 the authorities arrested Mohammed Zarhouni, a member of the Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan in Oujda and confiscated from his home 50 video cassettes and many books including all books of Yassine. He was trailed on September 13 for selling illegal books and magazines in public places.141
Consequently, Al-Adl Wal-Ihsan was confronted with difficult tasks of distributing and circulating its magazines and newspapers, since the regime has made distribution untenable by putting a number of strong pressures on the two existing distribution firms.
The regime arrested any person who happened to distribute these publications. As a result, the number of the distributed magazines and newspapers seemed to be very limited because of the impediments in the face of normal distribution process. The distribution targeted only among the organization members and sympathizers.
139 http://www.alJama’a.com/tawarikh.htm.
140 http://www.alJama’a.com/tawarikh.htm.
141 http://www.alJama’a.com/tawarikh.htm.