Another outrage, another easy target. The Argana restaurant was a popular eatery with wonderful views over the Jemaa-el-Fnaa square. Brenda and I walked in and ate there last year. It was a fun place with excellent multi-lingual waiters. We ate whilst watching the late afternoon light cast long shadows over the busy stallholders and mysterious fortune tellers as they set up on their pitches for another night of noise and entertainment.
Morocco is no stranger to terrorism. But the formula for much Islamic terrorism, wherever it appears, seems to follow a fairly tried-and-tested route that begins with desperation which, with a little admixture of poverty and a dash of politicised religious principles, leads some down the path that ends with the sort of scene at the Arjana restaurant in Djemaa el Fnaa square. So, we can blame religion. Or can we?
Each suicide bomber, however, has his reasons for their actions and it is very hard to profile what is 'typical'. In all cases it appears that zealotry by itself does not a terrorist make. That the bombers adhere to a puritanical religious motivation cannot be denied, but throughout the ages strictness in terms of faith and practice has not resulted in similar acts. Contrary to the simplistic finger-wagging of anti-religionist such as Dawkins, it is not the depth of experience that turns a faithful follower into a frothing fanatic. I would argue that religion, in many cases, may not be the poison, but is more likely to be the cure.
Travelling around Morocco last year we were aware of the great impact made by international tourism. Along the roadside every few miles are little rickety tables selling something local whether that be prickly pears or lumps of impossibly coloured quartz or fossils. Setting down next to one of these is to invite instant attention -so desperate are the locals for some cash. Yet without these few pennies life would be even tougher and the kids' old shoes might just have to be fixed rather than replaced. In the cities the scene is slightly different and opportunities for the hard-working, the quick and the savvy are at hand. Tourists (such as muggins here) are easy prey and, often more than not, will have only fuzzy ideas about the value of something unless it has a neat price tag around it. Add confusion over differences between currencies and they'll usually hand over more than they should. A life of crime may often begin with such simple exchanges with greed motivating the spiv to move onto more slippery scams.
Those without opportunity or connections may therefore resent the wealth and lifestyle of the rich. It is as well to dwell on the thoughts of our Marrakech taxi driver who whilst trundling his battered cinquecento through the impossibly narrow streets of the medina clearly expressed his usease at single European ladies that take advantage of handsome young Moroccan boys for sex (except he was too polite to use the term). This is nothing new of course, but that the morality of the exchange was still up for discussion illustrates that Moroccan society still has a problem with the cultural values the tourists import.
For many Moroccans those opportunities for a quick buck might never arise. But even that will not inevitably lead people to blow themselves up in a touristy restaurant. Indeed people may live in relative poverty all their lives with a modicom of happiness and even self-respect. Perhaps this is the time for King Mohammad VI to show his true colours -he's already done a lot for Morocco and is widely respected.
In the recent past suicide bombing has been largely linked to perceived injustices, particularly in strife-torn regions such as Palestinian territories, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Bombers may do what they do in response to invasions, corruption in power or politics. If one includes the perceived purity of religious sanctions for their actions and understand sizeable rewards for the families is forthcoming, then it begins to look like a noble thing.
Some suicide bombers, however, are coerced into their activities. Vulnerable groups, the suicidal, and even children are sometimes given little option other than to do as their operational directors command. Their families lives may be as stake.
The difficulties with suicide bombing is knowing the motive of the backers. Some, such as the groups associated with al-Qaeda or Hamas, want to destabilize the region, polarize opinion and step in to fill the power. The murky world of these financial backers is linked to a simple but radicalized view of Islam (Salafism or Wahhabism), a retrospective glorification of the ideal early golden years of the religion when the religious warriors conquered large parts of the ancient near-east. In this regard blowing up mosques, particularly of those Muslims they regard as 'errant' such as Shi'as or Sufis, is an extension of the purification of the religion -God knows his own!
The attacks on non-Islamic or soft western targets (aka tourists) accomplishes many things such as raising fear or highlighting attention to issues that might otherwise not be covered in the western press. It's all about power.
So, if suicide bombing is so effective, why hasn't it been used extensively in the past? Suicide is banned in Islam. Interpreting the few passages of the Qur'an that mention it is an activity fraught with many difficulties (tenses and plurals, etc), but it is clear that this is not a route down which Muslims are supposed to go. So why do some do it? Effective jurisprudence: some scholars (with anti-western axes to grind) have interpreted the Qur'an in a way in which prejudices and half-truths are accepted and aggressive action justified (I'm afraid it was ever thus in all religions). Radical and reactionary these instructions may be, but they have led to a bit of a backlash amongst many in the ordinary Muslim majority. It's just not... respectable and people don't want it any more. There are even arabic TV ads that seek to change people's opinion of it.
Barring the hornets nest of 9/11 and the issues surrounding the Tamil Tigers, by far the most effective suicide bombs were used during World War II. A total of 2,800 Kamikaze attacks were waged against the allies in the War of the Pacific largely as a response to the decline of Japan's military capacity and the decision not to surrender. 'Death before dishonour' may have been the rallying cry that motivated the young pilots, but their efforts were ultimately futile.
Sitting in the Argana restaurant was a pleasant experience. I hope to do it again. I think, however, that a lot of Moroccan soul-searching will have to elapase before we are back in the square enjoying the madness of Marrakech. After all, the last thing Moroccans need is for their tourists to keep themselves (and their dollars) at home.
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