Morocco ditches Iran

-

News Reports:

Morocco cuts diplomatic ties with Iran - F24
Morocco severs relations with Iran - Al Jazeera
Morocco cuts relations with Iran - BBC

[ Shiites converting Sunnis in Morocco]

.

FRANCE 24 - March 3, 2009

MOROCCO CUTS DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH IRAN

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry has announced it is severing its diplomatic relations with Iran. Sunni-dominated Morocco has expressed concern for what it sees as Iran’s efforts to convert Sunni Muslims to Shi’ism.

Morocco has cut diplomatic links with Iran, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said on Friday, in the wake of an outcry in the Sunni Muslim world over a statement by an Iranian official questioning Sunni Bahrain’s sovereignty.

Rabat also criticised Iran for its efforts to spread its Shi’ite brand of Islam in Morocco, a move the ministry said it saw as threat to the North African country’s moderate Sunni religious identity.

“The Kingdom of Morocco has decided to break its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran beginning this Friday,” the ministry said.

Sunni scholars in Morocco and elsewhere have denounced what they see as Iran’s efforts to convert Sunni Muslims to Shi’ism, arguing the drive would create strife similar to the often bloody Shi’ite-Sunni divides in Iraq and Pakistan.

According to media reports, Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said last month Shi’ite-ruled Iran had sovereignty over Bahrain.

In response Morocco’s King Mohammed sent the Bahraini monarch, King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa, a message of support, calling the Iranian remarks “absurd” and a contradiction of international law.

On Feb. 25, Rabat recalled its envoy to Iran to protest what Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri said was “inappropriate language” directed against Morocco in a communique reported by the Iranian news agency IRNA.

Morocco had asked Teheran for an explanation as to why it had singled out Rabat in the statement but Iran ignored the request made one week ago, the ministry added in a statement.

The foreign ministry said this was “unacceptable” and accused Iranian representatives in Morocco of seeking to alter “the kingdom’s religious fundamentals,” it said in reference to Iran’s alleged state-backed drive to expand Shi’ism in Morocco.

SUNNI MOROCCO FELT UNDER THREAT

Religion a highly sensitive issue in Morocco because King Mohamed is the only Islamic leader who jointly holds the title of Amir al Mouminine (Commander of the Faithful) and head of the state.

The ministry said efforts by Iran to spread the Shi’ite version of Islam threatened Morocco’s Islamic unity and its identity built from the foundations of the moderate Sunni Malekite faith. It said:

“This kind of organised and sustained actions constitute an intolerable interference in the kingdom’s domestic affairs and are contrary to the rules and ethics of diplomatic action.”

Morocco, which enjoyed warm ties with Iran under the Shah until he was deposed in 1979, only normalised its relations with Iran by exchanging envoys in the late 1990s.

The government has always been concerned of Iran’s role in the Sunni world since its Shi’ite Islamic revolution toppled the monarchy in Tehran.

Religious figures have warned of what they call the menace against the country’s spiritual security by the Shi’ite conversion among Morocco’s 30 million people.

Political sources in Morocco say Shi’ite activists numbered several hundreds but they were making steady progress because of the popularity of radical Islamic groups backed

--

AL JAZEERA - 8 March 2009

MOROCCO SEVERS RELATIONS WITH IRAN

Rabat accuses Iranian ambassador of seeking to spread Shia Islam in the Sunni kingdom.

The foreign ministry equated proselytising with challenging Morocco's monarchy

Morocco has severed diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing the Iranian diplomatic mission in Rabat of seeking to spread Shia Islam in the predominantly Sunni Muslim kingdom.

A statement from Morocco's foreign ministry on Friday accused the Iranian embassy of "intolerable interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom", and of engaging in activities which threatened the religious unity of the country.

"The Kingdom of Morocco has decided to break its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran beginning this Friday," the ministry said.

Monouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, said Morocco's decision was unexpected.

"The action by the Morocco government is surprising and questionable," Mottaki told reporters.

Bahrain controversy

Moroccan local media has repeatedly accused Iran of proselytising in recent years, claims rejected by the Iranian ambassador.

The controversy was fuelled recently by comments attributed to an adviser of Iran's supreme leader which questioned the sovereignty of Bahrain, a Gulf Arab state which has a majority Shia population but is ruled by Sunnis.

Morocco, however, has no official Shia population, with 99 per cent of the country being Sunni Muslim, and the rest either Jews or Christians.

Sunni scholars in Morocco have denounced what they say is an effort to convert people to Shia Islam, arguing that such a practice could ultimately lead to sectarian strife similar to that witnessed in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003.

Furthermore, as Mohamed VI, Morocco's king, is the country's official religious leader, any attempt to convert Sunni Muslims has been equated to an attack on the monarchy, the foreign ministry said.

Morocco and Iran have had rocky ties since the Iranian revolution in 1979. The two normalised relations only in the late 1990s.

--

BBC - Friday, 6 March 2009

Morocco cuts relations with Iran

Morocco has cut diplomatic links with Iran, amid a row over comments made by an Iranian politician last week.

Iran's former interior minister Ali Akbar Nateq Nuri said Bahrain used to be Iran's 14th province, and that it still had a seat in Iran's parliament.

Rabat led a chorus of disapproval from Arab states, who interpreted the remark as a claim of sovereignty over Bahrain.

Tehran issued an apology, claiming Mr Ali's comments had been misunderstood and saying it made no claim to Bahrain.

Mr Ali said he was merely making a comparison between the current system of government in Iran and previous systems.

Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni elite, but most of its population is Shia and many have close ties to predominantly Shia Iran.


______________