Happy Birthday, King Mohammed

Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover or an Emperor (OK, King) by his clothes? Mohammed VI is one dapper dude. August 21st is the King’s birthday, and a National holiday. It comes just a couple weeks after his annual Throne Day celebrating his coronation, which is also a National Holiday, and one that serves as the basis for a sort of State of the Monarchy-type speech. The birthday is a little less political, and a little more festive as the streets of Marrakech are lined with flags and bunting covers many buildings as well.



We should probably wait to post about the King until we know a bit more, but the occasion of his 43rd birthday seemed like a decent time. In short, we’re big fans. Mohammed VI is the third king since Morocco gained its independence from France in 1955. While his father, Hassan II was a hardliner until the end of his reign, Mohammed has been a progressive King, and a popular one, as far as we can tell. It’s always clear that Morocco is a monarchy. The king has palaces in every city and is constantly in the press. Portraits of the King are on the walls of virtually every shop we walk into, and most homes as well. He’s always wearing a trim-fitting Savile Row suit, and occasionally a pair of cool sunglasses.

It must be said that the King is about more than just style; not only is he the head of State, he is the religious leader of the country’s Muslims as well. As a result, his job is a balancing act between respecting his religion and trying to be forward looking. In some key ways he’s been pretty progressive, particularly in the area of women’s rights, which he sees as key to the country’s advancement. In 2004, the country enacted a new family law giving women equal rights for the first time. Men can no longer say, “I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee,” and call it quits. Women can’t marry until they’re 18 (up from 15) which means at least three more years of education. Earlier this year, the King appointed 50 female religious leaders, to balance (at least a bit) the male-dominated interpretation of the Koran, and gave women a place to turn to with their religious questions. He builds libraries faster than George Bush can read a book. He’s opened the country up to foreign investment; in fact, the only reason we were able to buy a house here is because of reforms to property law he enacted. He has increased small business loans, particularly to women, who tend to default less. ? While under King Hassan II, the press was so tightly controlled that even the name of the Queen was an official secret, the press (with a few exceptions) has been freed to write openly about the Royal family. In addition, while Morocco still has the death penalty, it has not been carried out under his reign.

Of course, the struggle is that in this constitutional monarchy, the main opposition party is a fundamentalist Islamic one. Hence the dilemma: Is democracy worth it if the majority elects to have an undemocratic country? While the death penalty has not been, well, executed, under the rule of Mohammed VI, it was the sentence for the terrorists convicted of plotting the bombings in Casablanca in 2003. These Royal steps are not without consequence. As this is not the sort of thing that is discussed in front of foreigners, we managed to go several days before we learned that earlier this month the King’s secret police thwarted a coup plot and arrested 44 members of a terrorist group called Jammaat Ansar El Mehdi. The King’s progressive policies were the motivation for the plot, and the group planned to rob banks to get the money needed to buy arms to dethrone the King and turn the country into fundamentalist Islamic Caliphate.

I’m sure that from a Western perspective there are things the King could be doing faster or better, but for a pair of Americans getting our first taste of life in a Monarchy, we’re pretty pleased with Mohammed VI, and wished we’d had a red flag to unfurl from our roof yesterday. And can we get the name of your tailor, Your Highness?