RABAT,
April 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Muslims in the Moroccan island of
Sebta, a Spanish colony, are struggling to protect their identity from
extinction and confront cultural discrimination.
Their
latest endeavor for recognition of their Arabic mother tongue in the
official cultural activities is opposed by the right-wing Popular
Party (PP), which has 19 seats in the 25-member local parliament.
The
party rejects articles in the new draft constitution on the use of
Arabic in leaflets and placards related to cultural activities in the
island.
The
PP’s position irked Muslim bodies and the Democratic Union and
Social Democratic parties, which group Spanish Muslims of Moroccan
origin.
The
leaders of the two parties, Mohammad Ali and Mostafa Mizian
respectively, threatened to withdraw from a committee assigned with
drafting the new constitution of the semi-autonomous island unless the
PP backtracked.
Ridiculous
Ali
dismissed as “ridiculous” a proposal by the local government’s
cultural affairs officer to adopt French instead of Arabic in the
Muslims’ cultural events, allegedly to make life easier for foreign
visitors.
“The
overwhelming majority of foreign visitors are Moroccans,” Ali said.
“In
suggesting so, the councilor shows disrespect for Muslims,” he
added.
“The
PP’s fears from recognizing Arabic are unjustified and I think that
the party is going politically bankrupt because of its unfounded
racist and ethnic fears.”
Muslims
in Sebta, known as Ceuta in Spanish, have been also subject to a
police crackdown in the aftermath of the terrorist March 11 bombings
of Madrid trains.
Last
week, police arrested imams in the island under terror charges,
accusing one of them of plotting to bomb ships in the Strait of
Gibraltar.
They
further arrested two persons of Moroccan origin on suspicion of links
with Al-Qaeda.
Spanish
citizens of Moroccan origin in Sebta make up 40 percent of the Island’s
some 100,000 population.
Flourishing
trade city under the Arabs, Sebta was annexed by the Portuguese in
1415 and occupied by Spain in 1580.
It
lies in the nort of Morocco on the Mediterranean coast near the Strait
of Gibraltar. Its is approximately 20 km².
In
1985, Spain moved to entrench its grip over the island, applying a law
that gave it an autonomous status.
Leila,
200m off the coast of Morocco, is another neighboring island occupied
by Spain.
Spanish-Moroccan
ties hit all time low in 2002 when a handful of Moroccan soldiers
arrived on Leila to set up an outpost against drug trafficking,
international terrorism and illegal immigration.
This
prompted Spain to send in troops that drove the Moroccans off the
island, escalating a row that was settled by the European Union, Arab
League and the United States.
