Morocco prides itself on a relatively moderate brand of Islam, and has been battling a rise in radical Islamist tendencies with some of the most sweeping political and social reforms of this decade in the Arab world.  Moroccan women, in particular, have achieved some important victories, playing an increasingly active role in politics and successfully lobbying for a new family law which now grants them equal rights in marriage, divorce, and the ownership of property.  Since 2004, Moroccan law stipulates a minimum age of eighteen for women to marry.

Public outrage over the controversial fatwa prompted Moroccan authorities to act decisively.  Morocco’s highest religious authority, the Council of Islamic Scholars, issued a statement condemning the marriage of underage girls and denouncing al-Maghraoui as an “agitator.”  A court inquiry has been launched against him and on September 25th, the government closed 60 Koranic schools run by the Sheik’s organization, as well as his headquarters in Marrakesh.

The organization reportedly receives its funding from Saudi Arabia, which promotes a particularly rigid strain of Islam known as Wahhabism.  The organization’s website www.maghrawi.net is also slated to be shutdown, but is currently still accessible and a cryptic disclaimer on its homepage suggests the organization may be regrouping elsewhere on the web: “For the sake of the advancement of the site, we would like to advise our brothers and sisters that a new membership site will open very soon.  Hence we are asking all registered members of this organization to consult their email messages where we will send the password to check into the new site.”

In this YouTube video of a Moroccan television report about the controversy, al-Maghraoui defends himself saying his fatwa was wrongly interpreted: “When this question came up, I cited certain criteria: the girl has to be physically strong, has to have a mature personality, and other capacities that are rare for a nine-year-old.”

WIDE ANGLE’s Class of 2006 profiled the first group of Moroccan women to be officially trained as religious leaders, against the backdrop of heated debate about Islam and women’s rights.

CIA World Factbook 2006

Marriage Age: 21 for males and 18 for females; a “qadi” (judge of religious law) can waive the age requirement.

Polygamy: A man may take up to four wives. A wife maintains the right to notification that her husband is taking another wife, and may sue for divorce if her consent was not given to the marriage.

Marriage Guardianship: A guardian is not permitted to force his ward to marry without her consent; however, there are no legal penalties for such action.

Divorce: Divorce by mutual consent is permitted after a mandatory reconciliation effort has failed. The wife can apply for divorce on the following grounds: non-payment of maintenance; infirmity preventing marital relations; husband’s abstinence from sexual relations for over four months; husband’s imprisonment for over a year for an offense that brings disgrace to his family; husband’s absence without provision of maintenance or valid reason for over a year; and any grave moral impropriety.

Child Custody: If a mother is given custody, she will lose custody to the father if she remarries.

Sources: Islamic Family Law, special project of Emory Law School; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Rand Corporation

Source: CIA World Factbook 2006

Marriage Age: 16 for males and 15 for females. Women under 18 must obtain court permission to marry men older by 20 years or more. A royal decree in 2001 raised the minimum marriage age to 18 for both genders; however, the decree has not yet been formally incorporated into the law.

Polygamy: Polygamy is permitted; legal injunctions state that a man must treat all co-wives equitably and provide each with a separate dwelling.

Marriage Guardianship: A woman under 18 years must obtain her guardian’s consent to marry.

Divorce: Either party may petition for divorce on many grounds, including discord or physical or mental health. Wife-battering is considered legal grounds for a wife to divorce her husband.

Child custody and guardianship: A mother is entitled to custody of her children until they reach puberty, at which time the court will reconsider the arrangement.

Source: Islamic Family Law, special project of Emory Law School; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Rand Corporation