Islamic State tempts Morocco jihadists

Terrorism 2014-11-14

Islamic State tempts Morocco jihadists

Analysis by Mawassi Lahcen in Casablanca for Magharebia – 14/11/2014

For Morocco's Salafiya Jihadiya movement, the rise of ISIS may mean taking a stand for or against violence.

Moroccans have long felt insulated from jihadist violence in neighbouring countries. But the advent of the Islamic State (ISIS) brings the risk of violence closer to home than they ever thought possible.

Observers expect a qualitative shift in terrorist activity in Morocco, due to the recent conversion by expat jihadists to ISIS.

In a surprise change-of-heart, Moroccan leaders of jihadi groups in Syria recently declared fealty to the group. These figures used to be neutral regarding the fight between al-Qaeda in Syria (Jabhat al-Nusra) and the Islamic State.

Analysts now expect this turnaround by Moroccans fighting abroad to push the Salafia Jihadia movement back home into the arms of ISIS, thereby making it more violent and bloody.

The country's best-known radical clerics have thus far rejected the Islamic State's so-called "caliphate". Mohamed Abdelouahab Rafiki (known as Abou Hafs) has criticised violence, while another Moroccan radical cleric, Omar Haddouchi, spoke out against joining up with "a stranger in a strange place".

But according to Cheikh Mohamed Fizazi, Moroccan salafists have yet to choose a common ideological side behind which they can rally.

"Salafism in Morocco comes in different forms. Their only problem is that they don't follow one school of thought or one path," the former leader of Morocco's Salafi Jihadism movement told Magharebia last July.

Many are uniting in Syria, however. Beginning in mid-October, several groups operating in Syria under the umbrella of Jabhat Ansar al-Din announced their adherence to ISIS.

This alliance includes al-Qaeda inspired jihadist group Sham al-Islam, whose Moroccan founder Brahim Benchekroune was killed last April in Syria. Salman Arjani on November 8th said that he was travelling to Raqqa with 100 fighters in order to pledge loyalty to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's organisation.

Arjani, a Saudi national, is considered the ideological mind behind the Sham al-Islam movement.

Days earlier, Moroccan national Jawad Achraf, known as Abu Anas al-Andalusi, announced that he too had joined ISIS. He made the switch along with emirs allied with the Moroccan jihadist group.

The leaders had been among the harshest critics of the Islamic State.

This new orientation of these figures is expected to have significant resonance in Morocco.

According to political analyst Abdellah Rami, the pledge of allegiance by leaders of Moroccan fighters in Syria will divide Salafi Jihadi elements in Morocco between those who support ISIS and al-Baghdadi, and those still loyal to al-Qaeda central and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"The declaration of allegiance to the organisation of al-Baghdadi by ideological and on-the-ground leaders in Syria will have a big impact in Morocco," he says.

"It will lead to the isolation of local leaders such as Omar Haddouchi and others," Rami adds.

He predicts that Morocco will witness the emergence in the future of brigades affiliated with ISIS, which will use the same methods followed in Syria and Iraq.

Bloodbath for Morocco?

African Federation for Strategic Studies (FAES) head Mohamed Benhammou also warns that Moroccan Salafi Jihadists may turn to ISIS methods and behaviour in the kingdom.

"ISIS considers murder and bloodshed a goal unto itself. The terrorist organisation advises its members to use all available means to achieve its goal, from suicide bombings, to other methods of killing," Benhammou tells Magharebia.

"ISIS is the bloodiest and the most brutal terrorist organisation. They glorify slaughter and murder and make it in the heart of their faith," he adds.

For his part, Amazigh analyst and activist Boubaker Ounghir worries that the pro-ISIS movement in Morocco will create unprecedented security concerns.

"Although this movement poses a real threat to all Moroccans because of its ideas, which allow the killing of everyone, ethnic and religious minorities in Morocco are more susceptible to these risks," Ounghir tells Magharebia.

In Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State has directed its guns and knives mainly against the Kurdish and Christian minorities, the activist notes. And admirers of the terror group in Morocco would likely follow the same trend. 

Amazigh activists have already been the subject of fatwas calling for their blood, he notes. Jewish and Christian citizens are also at risk.

If the number of recent terror arrests is any indicator, the danger is growing.

There has been an increase in the number of ISIS elements active in Morocco. Sale judges were recently surprised by militant statements made by citizens charged in connection with fighting in Syria.

The defendants said they considered Moroccan society heretical and the court illegitimate.

One cell also planned terrorist operations in Morocco targeting military and security installations, economic and foreign interests, and several well-known figures.

The shift in allegiance to ISIS is even happening in prisons.

Detainees in terrorist cases, such as Mohamed Fartakh and Abdel Ilah Ahram, issued audio tapes from prison declaring allegiance to al-Baghdadi. The statements posted on social networking sites were dubbed "Moroccan Support to the Islamic State".

In just the past month, several other arrests prove that Morocco has reason to worry. A Moroccan man, his two young daughters and a woman with whom he had an "orfi" marriage were stopped October 15th before they could reach Islamic State contacts abroad.

Another suspect was arrested in Al-Hoceima for online posts glorifying the "savage terror operations" committed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the interior ministry said.

Still another man in his 30's was arrested in Oujda. He had sworn allegiance to ISIS and called online for "operations of destruction".

He had also served 10 years in prison for his role in the 2003 Casablanca bombings.

Given these developments, Morocco has raised its security vigilance to the maximum level. Last week, the government launched new security plans that combine military, police and parallel forces.

The country is not facing any direct, tangible threats in the foreseeable future, but caution and vigilance are necessary in the face of terrorism, Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said.