Harakat At-Tauhid Wal-Islah: From a group to a party

tactics against these groups. In addition, this would justify both the harsh laws and even harsher methods of investigation that the regime used against Islam-oriented groups.

186). As a reaction to this decision, the regime decided to crush down the organization. At the end of 1975, the regime announced that a group of people belonging to Ash-Shabiba were arrested for allegedly killed Omaar Ben Jelloun. This incident was used to justify the regime’s harsh measures against Ash-Shabiba (Darif, 1992). Abdelkarim Mouti left the country in 1975 and went into exile in Libya and then in Norway and was forced to lead the organization from abroad.⁷⁶

In September 1980, Abdelkarim Mouti was tried in absentia and received life imprisonment. In March 1981, Abdelkarim Mouti published in Belgium Al-Mujahid, a paper in which he increased his militancy and confrontational attitude towards the regime by severely criticizing the monarchy and its policies. In the early 1980s, many senior members and activists formally withdraw or froze their membership (Shahin, 1997: 188).

A small number of young members such as Abdelilah Benkirane, Abdallah Baha and Saadeddine Othmani became interested in the formation of political organizations or parties, especially under the impact of Abdelilah Benkirane. In January 1982 Abdelilah Benkirane published a statement in which he declared that the Rabat group distanced itself from Abdelkarim Mouti, from his organization and from all its publications. He particularly denounced the content of the magazine Al-Mujahid (Darif, 1992: 254). In 1983 Abdelilah Benkirane announced the formation of Al-Jama’a Al-Islamiya (The Islamic Group) and sought official recognition for his organization. Though the regime did not grant the group the official recognition, it permitted Al-Jama’a Al-Islamiya to open branches in different parts of the country.

While seeking formal legalisation, Al-Jama’a was urged to change its name and drop any reference to Islam in it. In February 1992, it became Harakat Al-Islah Wat-Tajdid Al-Maghribiya (Movement of Reform and Renewal). The association published a statement in which it explained why it changed its old name: First, to avoid misperceptions of the monopoly of Islam, second, to reassert that the organization is one Islamic organization among many, third, to confirm the organization’s readiness to cooperate with other political and social organizations, and finally to highlight the main focus of the organization’s activities, which is to reform the conditions of the Muslims by renewing their understanding of Islam (Darif, 1992: 276; Shahin, 1997: 190).

76 In 2000, some Moroccan newspapers reported that Abdelkarim Mouti might be allowed to return to Morocco, if he would accept the regime’s conditions.

In the early 1990s, the Harakat Al-Islah Wat-Tajdid Al-Maghribiya created its own students branch under the name of Talabat Al-Wahda Wat-Tamassul (Unity and Responsibility) in the university, one area where all political actors in Morocco have sought to expand and dominate.

Much attention was focused on political participation. The movement of Al-Islah Wat-Tajdid articulated the demands of its constituency und ensured the political participation. In May 1992, the leaders of the Al-Islah Wal-Tajdid announced the creation of a new political party Hizb At-Tajdid Al-Watani, (National Renewal Party, NRP) and applied for official recognisation (Darif, 2000: 172). The group asserted that it did not monopolise Islam, nor did it claim to be its sole representative. Despite the declared objective and means of the party, the regime seemed unwilling to accept the challenge of a party formed on an Islamic basis. The regime immediately refused to legalize the party by arguing that the approval of this party would imply that the other political parties were not Islamic.

Aware that the regime was wary of any political party laying claim to Islam, the party did not call into question any of the existing institutions, including the constitutional monarchy (Darif, 2000: 173). The leader of the organization declared that the party would participate in the political process according to the guiding rules: respect for democracy, the free choice of the people, accepting the concept of transfer of power and respect for pluralism. The organization has engaged in spreading its message through preaching and demand the right to gain legitimate power with ballots rather than bullets or through an electoral process that enable Islam-oriented movements to come to power.

After failing to gain legal recognisation, the party’s leaders were forced to look for fielding candidates in elections under the banner of officially recognised political parties.

Initially, the Al-Islah Wat-Tajdid looked after a conservative party. After the failure of an attempt to infiltrate the Istiqlal party in 1993, it opted for a small and then little-known political formation, the Constitutional and Democratic Popular Movement, of Abdel Kareem Al-Khatib.⁷⁷ Despite the regime’s refusal to legalize the party, the leaders of the party succeeded through the Constitutional and Democratic Popular Movement in gaining access to the political field. In June 1996, Abdelilah Benkirane declared the entering of an Islam-oriented association into formal politics (Willis, 2004).

77 The CDPM broke away from the Popular Movement (MP) in 1967 under leadership of Abdel Kareem al-Khatib. The party has Islamic tendencies.

The At-Tauhid Wal-Islah (Unity and Reform) was the product of the realignment and the unification of Harakat Islah Wat-Tajdid Maghribiya and Rabitat Al-Mustaqbal Al-Islami, the League of the Islamic Future of Ahmed Raissouni.⁷⁸ The movement adopted the new name the “Movement of Unity and Reform”. At-Tauhid Wal-Islah also built up a sophisticated organization run by a leadership apparatus in charge of the overall strategy, as well as a ten-member Majlis Ash-Shura (consultation committee).

The movement managed to resist any authoritarian organizational tendencies and thus was capable of sustaining a moderate political orientation by cooperating with other political forces insisting on gaining official recognition as a legal political party. This was made possible because the organization was led by a collective leadership rather than by a charismatic leader. The organization has held regular internal elections for its leadership (every four years). It has allowed the rotation of different persons in the leadership of the movement. The organization was aware to develop its structures and institutions.

The unification with Rabitat Al-Mustaqbal Al-Islami has played an important role in helping the party to gain widespread support among young educated Moroccans. As its activities expanded and recruitment ability increased, the party participated in the political process according to the guiding rules: “Respect for democracy, the free choice of the people, accepting the concept of transfer of power, and respect for pluralism” (Darif, 2000: 276). In 1997 the Constitutional and Democratic Popular Movement won a total of nine of parliament seats. The party candidates had been elected in Morocco’s main cities, including Tetouan, Fes, Oujda, Agadir, Tangier and Casablanca (Darif, 2000: 277). Thus it can be seen that the regime has been able to arrive at a fairly effective formula for the partial incorporation of the milder elements of Islam-oriented movements into its institutions. But it can also be regarded as the final of achievement of Islam-oriented movement. Given the new electoral constellation in the Moroccan political field, the At-Tauhid and CDPM was forced to find a new position.

In October 1998, the Constitutional and Democratic Popular Movement became formally the Al-Adala Wat-Tanmiya (Justice and Development) Party. As the then president of the party, Al-Khatib explained the change of he party’s name in terms of a new orientation rather in term of a new focusation on new issues of justice and development (Willis, 2004).

78 This association was created in April 1994 as a result of the emergence or unification of three cultural and education associations, namely association of Islamic Dawa, the Islamic Association and the Islamic Enlightenment association (for more details see Darif, 1999: 104-105).

After the death of King Hassan II on July 23th, 1999, the party as well as the organization declared their full support for the new King Mohammed VI. Ahmed Raissouni, the then president of At-Tauhid Wal-Islah explained that “the new Amir Al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Faithful) will enhance the Islamicity of the Moroccan state”.

In 2002 September’s legislative elections, Al-Adala Wat-Tanmiya emerged as the third largest party in Parliament and among the major opposition parties in the country.

They captured 42 of 325 seats in the lower house of parliament. The party is concentrated in urban areas. Having succeeded in obtaining almost 15 percent of the total votes and up to 40 percent in major cities, including four seats in Casablanca, they enjoyed relatively massive following in the big cities. Old popular quarters close to the city centre and peripheral suburban quarters were the main source of support.

The party cuts across different social segments in society. The diversity of the social composition of its constituency came about as a result of its increasing social awareness and its evolution from an apolitical to a political organization. Almost all the party’s parliamentary and candidates in parliamentary elections in 1997 and 2002 held graduate and post-graduate degrees, and a significant portion of the leadership and membership can be described as middle-class professionals.

In May 2004, the party chose a new president. The party congress elected Saadeddine Othmani as secretary-general, replacing the party’s founder, Abdelkrim Khatib. The party congress opened with a declaration of loyalty and commitment to Morocco’s monarchy and to democracy.⁷⁹ Othmani stated the party’s rejection of

“terrorism and all forms of violence”.⁸⁰ He recalled that the party was among the first to condemn the Casablanca attacks in May 2003.⁸¹ In his speech, he said that the key interest for his party remains the political, social and economic development of Morocco.