The Casbah Connection
Why Morocco is producing some of the world's most feared terrorists
Moroccan officials are, by contrast, more sanguine. They have gutted most of the radicals' capacity for waging attacks, they say, but remain watchful. Annoyed by suggestions that Moroccans have been unusually active in terrorism, they emphasize the role of outsiders in provoking the Casablanca suicide bombings and funding extremist activities. Many of the Moroccan terror suspects arrested in Europe, these officials insist, are emigrants. "Islam in Morocco," says Justice Minister Mohamed Bouzoubaa, "stands for tolerance and dialogue." His colleague, Interior Minister El Mostafa Sahel, agrees. "Terrorism is global," he says. "It has no religion, no nationality."
That hasn't prevented American officials from keeping a close eye on Morocco, however. The FBI has opened an office in Rabat, and collaboration with Washington, Sahel says vaguely, "has probably prevented some things." Many officials play down the Moroccan connection with terrorism, but a certain frankness is spreading in Rabat. "Moroccans are involved in lots of attacks around the world. I'm not one who says there is nothing wrong," says Mohamed El Gahs, an outspoken Socialist who is the deputy youth minister. "There is a terrorist ideology that is here, and that does present a threat."
That, of course, is not the official view. Bouzoubaa says flatly, "According to our information, all extremist groups have been dismantled." Sahel confides that security forces recently "have not detected any threats or actions against any target." Such confidence may reflect the scope of the crackdown conducted here since the Casablanca bombings. Between 5,000 and 7,000 suspects were detained, and about 1,500 were convicted of terror-related offenses, according to outside experts and human rights groups. Officials cite lower figures: about 2,000 arrested, 700 convicted, and 300 or so still in prison. Certainly, the initial fears of a terrorist onslaught have passed. "Now, we are almost in a normal situation," assures Serge Berdugo, the leader of Morocco's Jewish community, as he shows off a refurbished Jewish club in Casablanca that was hit by three suicide bombers.
U.S. officials, however, believe terrorists are still hiding in Morocco. Last year, McDonald's restaurants in Morocco were considered possible targets, according to intelligence received by U.S. officials. Concern also centered on western hotels. A Moroccan security guard assigned to the U.S. Embassy was found to be reporting the movements of American diplomats to radical Muslim groups. One senior Moroccan police official recently confirmed that some of the arrested terror suspects possessed explosives. But the official added that 44 cells of radical Muslim fundamentalists, known as Salafists, have been dismantled.
Islamic rule. The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group is an operational offshoot of a larger ideological movement known as Salafia Jihadia, say U.S. and European officials and Moroccan terrorism specialists. Salafia Jihadia's Moroccan branch was established in the mid-1990s, fueled by radical Islamist ideas and by money and manpower from Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations. The organization seeks to bring down the monarchy in favor of a caliphate, or Islamic rule. Cells of the organization persist, though its leader is now in prison.
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