Moroccan King calls for united front to fight terror, reject Islamic fanaticism

Morocco’s King, Mohammed VI has called for a common front to fight fanaticism in Islam, with a special call on Moroccans in the diaspora to defend a tolerant form of Islam.

In an address to the nation, the Moroccan King said Islam’s image has been tarnished by acts of terror committed by some Muslims in the name of the religion.

‘‘We are all targeted” he said. “Anyone who thinks or believes in what I say is a potential target for terrorism, which has already hit Morocco and Europe and many parts of the world,” the monarch said in his address.

“Faced with the proliferation of spread obscurantism in the name of religion, all Muslims, Christians and Jews, must draw up a common front to counter fanaticism, hatred and isolationism in all forms,” he added.

King Mohammed VI’s appeal is the first to the five million Moroccans in the diaspora after a recent spate of attacks in Europe.

Some European citizens of Moroccan descent have been implicated in the terror attacks that have hit France and Belgium in recent times.

The King singled out the killing of the 84-year-old priest, Father Jacques Hamel in northern France as he condemned the murder of innocent people.

“Killing a priest in forbidden by religion. Murdering him inside a church is unforgivable madness, for he is a human being and a religious man – even if he is not a Muslim,” said the King.

King Mohammed VI denounced those engaged in terrorism in the name of Islam saying they are “not Muslims”.

“Their only link to Islam is the pretexts they use to justify their crimes and their folly. They have strayed from the right path and their fate is to dwell forever in hell,” the BBC quoted the King as saying.