To celebrate the reigning monarch's accession, an annual
ceremony is held during which all the country's leading politicians and
dignitaries pay allegiance to the King. The bayaâ, as the event is
called, is actually a ceremony resurrected by the late Hassan II
as a public symbol of the nation's unity around its Muslim ruling
house.
There have, however, been increasing murmurs of dissatisfaction
with this ceremony because it requires citizens (or subjects) to bow and kiss
the King's hand. People on the political left see this act as humiliating for
free citizens, while conservative Islamists see it as inappropriate as it places
an illegitimate authority figure between the individual believer and God.
In May, Ahmed Raïssouni, a key figure in the
Mouvement pour l'unicité et la réforme (MUR), called for an end to the
baise-main, the kissing of the royal hand. In an interview with the Al
Massae newspaper in late August, Raïssouni criticised the Moroccan State's
instrumentalisation of religion to secure its position.
On Tuesday 21 August, the date of this year's ceremony, a small
group of Mouvement du 20-Février activists demonstrated in Rabat against the
oath of allegiance. Neither the Palace nor the government commented which is an
indication that the movement is running out of political steam.
For more news and expert analysis about Morocco, please see Morocco Politics & Security.
© 2012 Menas Associates
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