News Around the Maghreb – Morocco' Neighbors
FOM Newsletter Spring 1997
This page is taken from the FOM newsletter. For today' news from the Maghreb, go to Maghreb Confidentiel (A French language news magazine focusing on events in Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunesia.)
The following is a compilation of news reports concerning the Maghreb and the Arab World for an update on events on the periphery of Morocco. If you have information or reports from wire services, newspapers, and journals that would be of interest to readers, send them to the newsletter editor for inclusion in this column.
Algeria
– Press reports that continued violence and massacre in Algeria is occurring, and is being attributed to Islamic militants. Generally involving the total or near total destruction and killing of entire villages near Algiers, thousands of people have been added to the lists of dead and injured.
Frequently the attacks are "announced" by the cutting of telephone lines and roads from the target villages. The attacks occur most often at night.
– Press reports that the recent Algerian constitutional referendum asking that Islamic parties be banned and that presidential powers be expanded, saw a very high turnout for the vote – this in spite of threats of violence. The November referendum was held after seven weeks of violence and bombings, that left over 250 people dead.
Most counties announced an 80% + vote for the changes. This despite the Armed Islamic Group, the most feared of the country' guerrilla movements, announcing that it would "slit the throats of any of the 16.4 million voters who cast ballots."
The changes in the constitution would ban political parties based on religion, language, and regionalism. This is seen, too, to be a reference to Algeria' large Berber population that has worked for official recognition of its language and dialects.
– Press also reports from Algiers, that a car bomb in Algiers killed at least twenty-one people only hours after thirty-six villagers were massacred at Reghaia. January saw at least 362 deaths, bringing the total of dead to over 60,000 in just five years. Most of January coincided with the holy month of Ramadan.
The Interior Ministry recently accused the press of "exaggerating the number of victims or even inventing acts of terrorism." Though no examples of exaggeration were given, the government has threatened sanctions against journalists who "play the game of terrorist propaganda."
–' reports that the mayor of Algiers was slain by Islamic militants. He was apparently killed when caught in the cross-fire between government agents and militants fighting over the replacement of the Islamic Party' government officials.
– Reports in early 1997, reported that Richard Branson left Marrakech in a hot-air balloon for a distance ballooning record. Due to weather and technical difficulties, the Global Challenger had to end its trip in Algeria.
Libya
– Press reported on the attempt of Steve Fossett to travel around the world in a hot-air balloon, and his attempt to traverse Libya. After several days of delays, the government gave permission for Fossett to traverse Libya on the jet stream that flows across North Africa. While waiting out the decision over Chad, a lot of fuel was spent, adding to the problems that prevented him from finishing the trip successfully.
– Reports from Cairo reported according to Libyan television that Libyan military courts sentenced six officers and two civilians to death for spying. They were accused of selling "their honor, dignity, and homeland to their enemies" by giving defense secrets to foreign powers. The military officers were executed by firing squad and the civilians were hanged.
Interest Growing in Islamic Banks
– al-Awsat reports from Cairo that a militant Islamic group tried to assassinate Moammar Gadhafi on 23 November 1996. while he was on a visit to Brak, a town about 400 miles south of Tripoli. Gadhafi was not injured in the grenade attack, but was treated for shock at a local hospital. The attack was reported in Egypt soon after the military tribunal tried and executed six Libyan military officers for "spying."
Emerging Islam
Early in the new century, Muslims will displace Jews as the United States' largest religious minority, according to David Yount of the Scripps Howard News Service. There are as many as 8 million Muslims in the US today, with no geographical boundary. He notes that though Hollywood tends to depict Muslims as villainous, Islamic immigrants are typically model citizens.
Over half of immigrants are college graduates and, on average, earn higher wages than Americans born here. Many are victims of persecution in their home countries, some at the hands of Christians.
Islam is a proselytizing faith, with about ninety percent of American converts being black. That number is over 2 million and, contrary to popular belief, fewer than four percent are affiliated with Louis Farrakhan' Nation of Islam.
Paying tribute to Islam' new prominence in American life, President and Mrs. Clinton invited a group of Muslim children to the White House this year to mark the end of Ramadan.
The children were led in prayer by the first Muslim chaplain in the US Army.
– Reports followed Louis Farrakhan' visit with Moammar Gadhafi in Libya in early 1997. Farrakhan originally visited Libya to receive a monetary gift from Gadhafi for use with his ministry in the US. Because of US sanctions with Libya, the gift could not be accepted. Farrakhan visited Gadhafi three times over a period of one year.
A recent report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, via the Associated Press, writes about the Bank Islam, which was founded in Egypt over thirty years ago, and is run by Islamic principles. The most important, and difficult, element of banking related to Islam' ban on interest payments as usury. The ban stems from the Koran and its regard of making money without providing labor or sharing risks as immoral. Depositors cannot be paid interest on their accounts, so they share in the banks profits on its investments in businesses.
Today, morality doesn' generally enter into the thoughts of the bank' customers. Banks are now considered as convenience - offering local branches and full banking services such as checking accounts. Even home mortgages are offered in today' Bank Islam. Mortgage interest is avoided by charging a flat (unchanging) monthly fee for the loan.
Islamic banks pool resources to invest in construction, commodities trading and other businesses that do not profit from interest payments. A Visa card is available as well.
Islamic banks are among the fastest growing banks in the world, controlling over $70 billion in deposits. Non-Islamic banks have begun to open special windows for Islamic transactions, with Citibank establishing full Islamic branches.
