Modern Morocco: Myth of the Maghreb

[Heba E. Husseyn]

International concept of Morocco as one of the  utopian spots in planet earth with largely western and well-to-do Arab tourists arriving in hordes sprouts from Morocco’s political subservience at the face of Western policies. Thus the fibbed chatter that Morocco is “a peaceful haunt” and  “honeymoon retreat.”

NATO doesn’t consider the corrupt Moroccan puppet and nincompoop, Muḥammad VI, challenging to handle as they viewed the formidable Muammar Qaddafi and thus murdered him. Not to mention, Qaddafi’s Libya was among the most progressive countries in the world.  A lackey like Morocco wouldn’t stand a snowball's chance in Hell if compared with the welfare system that ran in  Libya during Qaddafi's era.  But Qaddafi’s Libya wasn’t a den for submissive backroom deals with the Western establishment like Muhammad VI’s Morocco.  Thus NATO shattered Libya using Al Qaeda as its ground force and left Morocco in ‘peace’ where tourists flock to the country’s selected spring break sites. 

Morocco is in the good books of the West as a close ally of Israel, a ‘book’ which Muhammad VI has vowed must not be soiled.  The treacherous political scenario became a victory for Muhammad VI in 2020 when he forcibly occupied Western Sahara annexing it as part of Morocco. Simply put, his occupation of WS is no different from Israel’s occupation of Palestine.  Same year Muhammad VI also normalized relations with Israel with full diplomatic ties including trade and tourism. Soon after, Donald Trump (his first term as POTUS) was ecstatic and recognized Morocco’s occupation of WS following which, Israel obliged Muhammad VI similarly.  That’s Morocco’s dirty deal with the illegal Zionist state.  Currently any demos in support of Gaza and condemnation of the gory genocide are prohibited in the perfidious Atlantic-coast kingdom. Hundreds of Moroccan Jews holding Moroccan passports have joined Israeli forces to slaughter the Gazans, but Muhammad VI finds nothing wrong with that.

No surprise, media compliments for Morocco are generous with claims of “decline in poverty, rise of middle class” and tall stories of remarkable progress in reducing poverty while the wider picture on the ground perpetually indicates the opposite. 

Spurious staements coming from the Moroccan government assert poverty at “ 6% “ while proper survey puts it at 19% in 2022, and silence over 2023 and 2024 when economies worldwide suffered bitterly because of the pandemic.  Despite the so-called economic progress, as officially in 2022, 19% of those in Morocco remain in poverty and live on less than $4 a day. Reiterating, this is the official representation. Actual figures could be three-fold or higher.  More Moroccans are desperate to leave the country by the year, willing to risk their lives sailing through the high seas in a dinghy with destinations as Turkiye, Spain or Portugal. 

Unemployment is steadily rising.  In a country with a populace of 37 million as on September 2024 with a total workforce of only 12 million, in the summer of 2024 overall unemployment was over 13%.  Youth unemployment rate in Morocco is a lot more distressing, a whopping 39.50% in 2024 !!  No wonder young Morrocans are the keenest to flee being disproportionately affected by the socioeconomic challenges.  Female unemployment rate is released by Morocco only up to 2021 when it was over 16% (actual figure was definitely higher).  In the aftermath of the pandemic, it steadily got so bad it felt embarrassing to post the figures. 

Furthermore, in a country where more than 40% of the population works undeclared, their wage stats coming from government sources are thoroughly unreliable;  and one can imagine the incredible loss to the upkeep of infrastructure incurred by non payment of taxes. 

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says Morocco has the worst income inequality in North Africa.  Challenges in reducing social and economic inequality are huge.

Rural Morocco is more affected by poverty than urban areas, a typical sign of thriving corruption in the administration where double-dealing is rife like an endemic disease starting from the king down to his palace workers!

Rural areas often lack access to paved roads, electricity, water, television and internet. The poorest Moroccans are often small farmers, landless people, rural workers with minimal wages, unemployed youth and women.

Social and political reforms are talked about often in Morocco.  Unfortunately those talks invariably end up as stories and tales. 

Known as a secular state, Morocco is one of the most Islamophobic societies in the world.  In 2011 when there were some demands for reforms, a prisoner in a Morocco prison was sodomized by prison guards as punishment for reciting the Noble Quran “too loud” unacceptable by prison authorities.  And believe it or not, this prison crime by authorities occurred at the very moment when the “king” was supposedly delivering a speech on “reforms.”   Staggering !!

In 2017, PJD  (Islamist Justice and Development Party of Morocco) won parliamentary elections in the fall, but the formation of a government was delayed during negotiations as palace loyalists felt uneasy sharing power with whom they call,  “Islamists.”  So, where does power reside in Morocco?

While the king’s loyalists make tall claims that the king maintains “an equal distance” from all parties, that without the shadow of a doubt, is falsification.  Needless to say, the unpopular king of Morocco is a totalitarian in a centralized political structure with a single authority.  No decision becomes a law without the monarch’s complete and willing consent.   Moroccans may brag they have a parliamentary system, but are shyly silent over the fact that their parliament is largely a window dressing.  Though Morocco does have a parliament with (about) 395 seats, here’s the catch:  Under Moroccan law no party can win an outright majority of those 395 seats, making coalition governments a necessity in a system where the king holds ultimate power.  This obnoxious foolery has sunk so deep in the Moroccan society over the generations, that some are genuinely duped while others pretend to be duped to cajole their helplessness.

Intellectual decline of modern Morocco is no less heart breaking.  While medieval Morocco contributed significantly of our Islamic Golden era, modern Morocco is an intellectual cesspool.  A young Moroccan writes at Reddit about his country, quote: “Financial wealth is not the only value of wealth. One must also value as wealth their health, education, friends, community and environment.   In that regard, I think a lot of people in Morocco are poor, even among the rich classes. I'm from the upper middle class so I know both the middle class and the rich class. A lot of rich people in Morocco are simply degenerates with zero education. Their interest is only having the biggest wedding, most expensive watch, biggest car.  Talk to them about books, arts, music, and they seem lost.”


Just a few images out of many, many more to read the untold of Morocco, the other side of the story
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Related links:

-  Kingdom of modern Morocco.
-  Moroccan ‘royal’ family – another set of brigands.
-  Caring more for your job than your soul.

[N. Truth Seeker]

The type of things that happen in Morocco, I would say the worst country in the modern world to live in permanently.  If anyone wants to go there for a week (at most) to look around the landmarks, okay.  But make sure you come back after a week. 

Muhammad VI is known to be among the world's longest dictators.  One of the top corrupt and abusive despots

[Zainab_M]

It's an attraction mostly for westerers and gulf Arab tourists who don't care for anything except a temporary break in the few decorative spots. 

This is informative piece, totally upfront.  Thanks sis.

[N. Truth Seeker]

After NATO's murder of Qaddafi through Al Qaeda, there are quite a lot of people visiting Morocco from Libya as well .. probably to escape the unrest that plagued Libya for years afte Qaddafi.  Some families have also moved there permanently though I don't think Morocco grants citizenship, rather residence visa I suppose.

Moroccan intelligence agency is the most dreaded, even worse than Egypt's. 

[Zainab_M]

O yes, its intellentigence agency is terrible.  Especially its treatment of the people of WS has been deplorable .. it was the worst prior to its occupation by Morocco.  But even now W. Saharans are randomly persecuted.

I heard flights between Libya and Morocco were suspended after the Libyan crisis ..

[N. Truth Seeker]

Flights were suspended for quite a long time but have resumed since approximately past one year.

[Ruhi_Rose]

Morocco and Libya aren’t next door neighbors, are they?  I mean, they don’t share a common border ..

[N. Truth Seeker]

Not at all.  In fact distance-wise Morocco and Libya are the farthest with Algeria completely in between .. and of course Libya shares common borders with various other countries in the east, north-west and south. 

This map gives a good idea 👇

[Ruhi_Rose]

OK, so traitor Egypt is north-east Africa, not included in Maghreb ..

I don't think Libya and Morocco had the best of ties during Qaddafi's time, right ?

[Zainab_M]

No, Sisi’s treacherous Egypt isn’t included in the Maghreb.   

And you’re right, Qaddafi didn’t get along with the Moroccan monarchy.   Morocco was on good terms with Libya as long as Libya too had a monarchy under king Idris (Libya’s Senussi family) which was ousted in 1969 by Muammar Qaddidi’s military coup.  That was the end of Libya’s monarchy.  Since then Libya and Morocco entered a tense chapter.  Treacherous king Hassan of Morocco and his son, the current traitor Muhammad VI, adhered to policies that were opposite to those of Qaddafi.   Modern Morocco’s monarchy has always been a set of ace puppets while Qaddafi, a revolutionary, had a completely different ideology of Libya’s sovereignty, anti colonialism and independence from the West.  Moreover, Qaddafi also supported the Polisario movement of Western Sahara and stood for its independence whereas the traitor kings of Morocco wanted to occupy WS.  This difference of opinion further deteriorated relations.  By the mid 1980s when the traitor  Hassan met Israeli Shimon Peres, that’s when Libya-Morocco relations worsened beyond repair.

[Ruhi_Rose]

I see .. thanks Sis.    Qaddifi is someone we really miss.  They killed him because they couldn't handle him.  He was too truthful, always on the side of the oppressed.  The legitimate leader of Libya, NATO murdered him by hiring Al Qaeda thugs.  Unforgivable and unforgettable!

[Zainab_M]

Agree 100% sister Ruhi.

[N. Truth Seeker]

Well elucidated sister Zainab.   

Yes, Qaddafi is dearly missed ....

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Was Morocco also at any time under Ottoman rule?

[N. Truth Seeker]

Not directly, but indirectly yes.  In mid 1500s a Moroccan by the name Abdel Malik became ruler of Morocco who was a subordinate or vassal of the Ottomans.  Ottoman Sultan of the time, Murad III’s name was recited during the Juma'ah khutbahs and also stamped on coins. Abdel Malik recognized the Ottoman Sultan Murad III as Caliph, organized his army exactly along Ottoman lines and adopted Ottoman customs.  He amicably negotiated with the Ottomans that their troops leave Morocco in exchange for a large payment in gold.  So yes, Morocco was also in subservience to the Ottomans. 

Libya was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1711 to 1835 and again until 1911. 

Later after the Ottomans, both Libya and Morocco were colonized, Libya under Italians and Morocco under the French and Spanish.  Libya gained independence soon after WW2 with the defeat of Italy and king Idris came to power in 1951 until his ouster by Qaddafi in 1969.   Morocco got independence in mid 1950s.