Rabat - A young Moroccan woman suffering from cancer has given birth to four healthy babies on Saturday at the Inezgane Hospital in the Agadir region.

The 33-year-old woman was confronted with her cancer diagnosis when doctors discovered a tumor in her body while performing regular pregnancy tests, according to Le360 news website.

Faced with the bliss of pregnancy and the hardship of such illness, she had to make the challenging decision of undergoing cancer treatment and not allowing a forced childbirth.

Since chemotherapy and other cancer treatments cannot be performed in the first trimester of pregnancy, the woman from Inzegane had to wait for more testing to submit herself to treatment until she was considered medically safe.

According to the same source, the future mother of four, attended the Lalla Salma Cancer Center for chemotherapy and pulled through its strong side effects with courage, until Saturday when she gave birth to her quadruplets.

All four babies were born in good health and the mother is under observation, the hospital staff indicated.

The father of the quadruplets is joyous for the miraculous addition to his family, although his wife is still suffering from cancer and in need of further treatment and medical attention.

He appealed to the help of those who can provide for his wife’s recovery and family, since his income is “very limited”, the report noted.

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New York - Walmart, U.S. largest supermarket chain, stirred controversy this Halloween celebration, for offering a costume of an “Israeli soldier for kids”.

The “Israeli soldier” costume depicting an olive green uniform with red headpiece worn by Israeli Defense forces was being sold at Walmart store’s website for $28.81, according to several media sources.

Social media users around the world lashed out at the U.S. supermarket denouncing the costume as “extremely offensive.”

The costume is “extremely offensive and highly insensitive, not only to the millions of Palestinian-Americans that shop in your stores, but to anyone who has an ounce of humanity in their bodies,” a Facebook user said.

“Way to go teaching kids to dress up like murderers! Disgusting!” a Twitter user posted.

Another user tweeted: “Hey Walmart, do you realize you’re supporting the killing and occupation of innocent children with this costume?”

Following the harsh critics and boycott threats, Walmart removed the “Israeli soldier” outfit from its stores and website on Wednesday, Haaretz reported.

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Rabat - Thousands of Moroccans in the city of Tangier, in northern Morocco, gathered on the streets in a large-scale protest on Saturday evening to denounce the high prices being charged for utilities in the city and neighboring areas.

Tangier residents have been protesting against the hike in water and electricity charges for the last two weeks through several smaller demonstrations that led to Saturday’s manifestation, according to eyewitnesses cited by Reuters.

Amendis, a branch of the French Veolia Environmental Services, is the utility company that has been servicing Tangier and Tetouan since 2002, has come under fire and is being accused of “high prices and administrative mismanagement” by the cities’ residents.

“Amendis go home, Tangier is not yours,” protesters chanted in downtown Tangier Saturday night, while hundreds of security forces were sent to appease the demonstration, the same source noted.

"Enough is enough. We have been protesting for years now against that company," Mohamed Tadlaoui one of the protest’s organizers stressed.

"Now it is time for them to leave, and a public company should take over,” he added condemning Amendis’ alleged inflated water, wastewater and electricity prices.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, Tangier’s city council and Amendis’ officials, there is a new committee that will begin to review some of the bills in question and correct any possible errors, including double billing.

Meanwhile, Amendis has defended itself pointing out that demand for utilities in the summer is higher than any other time of the year.

The company also claimed that “the government is to blame” for increasing the prices of services of the state-run power utility ONEE in 2014, which has forced them to increase theirs as well.

"The new structure started in September 2014, but people in Tangier felt it just during the last summer when consumption soars," Amendis operational manager, Chouhaid Naser said to the same source.

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New York - American supermarket chain, Walmart, has done it again and offered for sale a latex prosthetic nose as a Halloween costume allegedly mocking the facial features of Arabs.

The face mask named “Sheikh Fagin nose” was being offered for $9.52, and described as “perfect for an Arab Sheik” allegedly designed after the villain in Charles Dickens’ novel “Oliver Twist,” according to US Fox News website.

The sale of the Arab nose also caused uproar among social media who quickly condemned it pushed Walmart to pull off the shelves.

Although Walmart removed the controversial item from their inventory, the latex nose can be purchased online through other makeup effects retailers, under the same name.

According to the BBC, the company that manufactures the noses said they would “definitely discontinue it.”

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said Walmart was promoting “racist, anti-Arab” sentiments.

“These images do nothing but perpetuate racist tropes that have long been used to demonize, otherize and alienate Arab communities throughout history,” the committee’s President said.

This is not the first time Walmart sells a Halloween costume that is considered offensive to a community. Last year, the American supermarket offered an outfit similar to late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

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Rabat - Morocco’s King Mohammed VI is set to arrive in Laâyoune this week on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Green March, where he is expected to announce the launch of a MAD 140 billion project in the so-called Western Sahara region, according to Akhbar Al Youm.

The Moroccan King had previously announced his decision to share unpublished news and upcoming plans regarding the Sahara.

The monarch will visit Morocco’s southern provinces under high security measures led by Minister Delegate for the Interior, Draiss Charki, who is already in the Sahara preparing for the King’s arrival.

Former ministers and members of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) confirmed the sovereign’s visit, according to the same source.

“Everything is in place for this royal visit. The city of Laâyoune is ready,” according to the same source.

King Mohammed VI will deliver the speech of the Green March from Laayoune and launch the second installment of the Sahara development plan.

“A budget of MAD 140 billion will be made available to the plan in a special account,” the same source added.

New structural projects for the city of Laâyoune will also be inaugurated during King Mohammed VI’s visit.

The new infrastructures will include: a bus station, a phosphate training college, a theater, sports complex, new headquarters of the southern provinces agency, and the Princess Lalla Salma university health center, the same source added.

Morocco’s 40th Anniversary of the Green March will also be commemorated with a gala football match for charity, in which some of the world’s most renowned football legends will participate.

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Rabat - The Moroccan Federation Of Insurance and Reinsurance Companie (FMSAR) will receive a delegation from l’Association des Sociétés Camerounaises de l’Assurance (ASAC) as part of an effort to promote cooperation with other African insurance industries.  The Cameroon delegation will meet with FMSAR representatives November 12-14 in in Casablanca.

“The objective of this visit is to allow for the operators of the Cameroonian insurance market to examine the more developed Moroccan experience with respect to auto insurance and claims for compensation  for material  losses and  body damage, ” FMSAR explained.

Moroccan insurance companies have achieved significant progress in improving their offerings and services, their compensation periods, and their customer service, according to FMSAR.

The Moroccan Insurance industry is among the most developed in Africa and in the Arab world. It ranks second after South Africa with respect to the insurance sector’s turnover, and it is first in the Arab market with regard to the insurance penetration rate.

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Rabat - The vice squad of the judicial police in Rabat arrested last Tuesday a woman wanted for procuring prostitutes for Emiratis living in a villa on the road to Akrache in Rabat.], according to Assabah newspaper.

The woman "Guerouj,” who had previously been arrested by the police on the same charges, allegedly was being paid one thousand Dirhams for each girl in her stable.

The woman hired drivers who chauffeured the girls between the Emiratis’ villa and the prostitutes’ houses.  The woman also provided the Emiratis with particular details about each prostitute, so that her clients would be satisfied with the “service" she could offer, according to the same source.

This is not the first time that the woman has appeared before court. In 2013, she was accused of the same charges, sentenced to prison, a served her sentence before being released only to return to her prior business of procuring girls.

Now in a Salé prison at the direction of General Attorney, she admitted the charges against her and will appear on November 5 before judges who will decide her fate.

Meanwhile, the woman has provided valuable information about people running “sex shops" in the capital.  Search warrants have already been issued.

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Rabat - Government Chief Abdelillah Benkirane and Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad arrived, Sunday in Tangier, to enquire about the causes behind citizens' protests against high prices of water and electricity and took a set of measures to address the situation.

A special unit will be created to monitor the implementation of these measures, weekly reports will be submitted to the central services of the Interior Ministry and the power utility company Amendis will be required to implement these measures in an efficient and quick manner to improve the services provided to citizens, the Interior ministry said in statement on Sunday.

Commissions will also be set up in each district to receive the complaints of citizens who feel wronged and examine them in order to provide appropriate and fair solutions, the same source noted.

"To guarantee the success of this operation, citizens are called not to lend their ears to irresponsible calls aimed at sowing discord", the ministry added.

Some citizens took to the streets in the northern city of Tangier to protest over high prices for water and electricity.

Water, wastewater and electricity businesses in the city of Tangier have been operated since 2002 by Amendis, an affiliate of France's Veolia Environnement.

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New York - Morocco has ranked high among the list of “safest countries in the world”, alongside European and North American nations, according to the British Foreign Office (FCO) classification of 2015.

The FCO published a map on Monday where the Moroccan territory appears as low-risk and the only safe country in the MENA region.

All regions of the Kingdom are safe, according to the Foreign Office, which advices British citizens to travel to Morocco without worrying for their safety.

Although British authorities said that the Morocco is among the safest countries in the world for Britons, it points that the North African country faces “high threat from terrorism,” and “has a poor road safety record.”

The Foreign Office, which is responsible for protecting and promoting the interests of the British community around the world, recommended its citizens to avoid traveling to nearly 60 countries, mostly those in the Middle East and North Africa.

As far as Morocco’s neighbor Algeria, the Foreign Office said it should be visited with utmost “prudence” and awareness of the constant terrorist threats in the country, and advices Britons to avoid all but essential travel to many regions in the country.

“There is a high threat from terrorism in Algeria, including kidnap. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners. You should take great care at all times,” it said.

Tunisia was considered one of the countries with the highest-risk due to the recent wave of terrorist attacks that have hit its territory and resulted in the murder of several tourists. The FCO advised British tourists to “all but essential travel” to Tunisia.

The British FCO also deterred its citizens from visiting Egypt and classified most of the country as unsafe and high-risk for travelers.

Following the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, the Foreign Office and UK’s The Telegraph news outlet, advised people to refrain from vacationing in Egypt, namely the tourist resort of Sharm Ech-Cheikh, from where the downed plane departed.

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Rabat - The use of the internet in Morocco and the amount of online subscribers has witnessed a rapid growth over the past year.

The number of internet subscribers reached 13.89 million users in one year, accounting for a 63.5 percent growth, with a penetration rate of 41.1 percent, according to quarterly reports by the National Telecommunication Regulatory Agency (ANRT).

Mobile internet usage increased by 69.6 percent with 12.81 million subscribers, the agency revealed in its November 2 report.

Morocco’s mobile subscribers, according to the ANRT, stands at 44.45 million, with a penetration rate around 131 percent, mainly due to the country’s alleged superior mobile performance.

ADSL subscribers rose to 1.08 million in this year’s third quarter, with a 15 percent growth, the regulatory agency informed.

The overall increase in internet users is allegedly related in part to the decline in mobile communication prices. The "average revenue per minute" (ARPM) decreased by 15 percent.

The mobile ARPM dropped from MAD 0.33 at the end of September 2014 to MAD 0.28 at the end of September 2015.

According to the same source, the average internet bill per user decreased by 4 percent, from MAD 25 to 24 per month, in the same period.

The average monthly bill for mobile internet usage decreased by 6 percent standing at MAD 17 per month, in the quarter of 2015.

On the other hand, DSL internet (ADSL) bills registered a 4 percent increase, reaching MAD 95 per month.

The number of mobile minutes used by Moroccans reached an average of 98 monthly minutes per user, registering a 6.5 percent increase during the same period.

The rise in mobile minutes reached 11.2 percent with more than 14 billion outgoing minutes used. As far as text messages, the number of SMS grew 26.5 percent in a year, amounting to 4.29 billion.

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Rabat - Two Polish tourists were killed last Sunday when their yacht capsized off the coast of El Jadida, approximately 91km (57 miles) away from Casablanca. Six other people on board were rescued.

A report by the Daily Ahdath Almaghribia newspaper said the Polish tourists were sailing their yacht from Gibraltar toward Tenerife, the largest island of the Canary Islands.

The yacht broke down miles away from the port of El Jadida because of engine problems, prompting the sailors to alert the ElJadidaCoastguard. However, due to fierce winds, the yacht capsized before rescue teams arrived.

The two Polish tourists who died were a 41-year old man and a 53-year old woman. Six other people were rescued by fishing boats, four of whom were injured and immediately taken to the hospital in El Jadida.

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Rabat - The number of reported incidents of rape across Morocco has dropped 9 percent during the first eight months of 2015, according to Charki Draiss, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior.

Draiss disclosed the Ministry of Interior’s most recent data on crime in Morocco during a media briefing to present the ministry’s budget on Monday.

He noted that over 192,000 cases of rape were reported across Morocco during the first eight months of 2015, compared to 211,000 rape cases during the same period last year, a drop of 9 percent.

The Minister Delegate went on to add that attempted rape incidents have decreased by 16.5 percent in 2015 compared to last year.

On the other hand, Draiss explained that the Ministry has have mobilized 13,000 policemen to fight human trafficking and immigrant smuggling. He pointed out that Morocco also relies on international cooperation for the management of borders.

Edited by Timothy Filla

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Rabat - 10,031 Moroccans and 2,549 foreigner tourists, a total of 12,580, visited the region of Laayoune - Sakia El Hamra Boujdour- from January 1 to July 31, 2015, compared to a total of 12,400 last year, according to the Delegation of the Ministry of Tourism in Laayoune.

Moroccan tourists registered the most overnight stays registered in Laayoune, Boujdour and Tarfaya.

10,031 Moroccan tourists visited the region during this period, compared to 8,627 in 2014, an increase of 16 percent. The number of overnight stays amounted to 17,174 compared to 12,694 last year, according to the Delegation.

As for foreign tourists, the region registered 2,549 arrivals and 5,671 overnight stays, compared to 3,773 and 6,547 overnight stays last year, a decrease of 23 percent in terms of arrivals and 13 percent in terms of overnight stays.

The decline in the number of foreign tourists and overnight stays is due to the impact of the international economic situation on all sectors, including tourism, explained the delegation.

Morocco received more than 10 million tourists in 2013, and has over than 216,000 beds. The sector is expected to finish this year with MAD 3.5 billion in foreign direct investment.

Edited by Timothy Filla

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New York - Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, a Moroccan-Italian public relations specialist, was arrested in Italy over the weekend and accused of “serious treachery” for allegedly leaking confidential Vatican documents to Italian journalists.

Chaouqui, a former member of the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organization of the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See (COSEA) was arrested along with Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, secretary of the same organization, the Vatican press office said on Monday.

Chaouqui, 33, and Vallejo Balda, 54, are being investigated for “the removal and dissemination of news and confidential documents”, which is considered “a serious betrayal of trust granted by the Pope”, the Vatican press office stressed.

According to several media sources, the arrest of the Vatican officials is related to the publication of two books – “Avarice: Documents Revealing Wealth, Scandals and Secrets of Francis’ Church” by Emiliano Fittipaldi and “Merchants in the Temple” by Guianluizi Nuzzi – which will be allegedly released in the next few days.

“Publications of this kind do not contribute in any way to establishing clarity and truth, but rather create confusion and partial and tendentious interpretations,” the Vatican statement said condemning the books.

“We must absolutely avoid the mistake of thinking that this is a way to help the mission of the pope,” the same source added.

The Moroccan-Italian has been in the eye of the storm in previous controversies, mainly for her direct connection with the journalists behind the “VatiLeaks” scandal in which private Vatican documents were published in 2012.

According to the same source, the Moroccan-Italian was released on Monday due to her cooperation with investigators.

In accordance with the Vatican City State laws, Leaking private documents can be punished with up to two years in jail or up to a €5,000 fine.

Francesca has been also criticized for her sexy and modern style, her uncensored use of social media, for lashing out at Vatican officials, as well as the release of implied-nudity photos with a man.

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New York - In an unprecedented move that is causing an uproar in the Arab world, Egypt voted in favor of Israel at the United Nations.

Last Friday, member states of the United Nations voted on Israel’s election as a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).

Since Israel was accepted as a UN member state in 1948, Egypt had consistently voted against the Hebrew state in every UN vote. But last Friday, Egyptian officials decided to break this rule and supported Israel membership at the UNOOSA.

Israel garnered 117 votes, including Egypt, following “intensive diplomatic efforts”.

Morocco abstained from casting a vote, along with 21 other member states, including Mauritania, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait and Iraq.

Following Cairo's controversial support for the Tel Aviv, Egyptian President Abdul-Fatah al-Sisi has come under harsh criticism.

Egypt’s support for Israel is stirring uproar in Egypt, which forced the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid, to justify the vote for the state of Israel as “crucial” to help other Arab nations to be accepted into the UN space committee.

Egyptian political party the Socialist Popular Alliance (SPAP) said in a statement on its official Facebook page that there is no valid justification for Egypt’s “shameful” act in supporting the state of Israel.

“We demand that the Egyptian authorities publicly apologize to the Egyptian citizens and the martyr’s families,” the SPAP said.

“Israel is Egypt’s first enemy, and voting for Israel is considered a breach of the 25 January Revolution’s goals, after it succeeded to close the Israeli embassy in Egypt in 2011,” Yehia El-Gaafary, the SPAP’s media secretary told the Daily News Egypt.

The Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement in support of the Palestine has also condemned Egypt’s vote for Israel.

“We are sending an apology to our brothers in Palestine and all the occupied Arab countries, affirming our support for the Palestinian uprising. We call on all the Egyptian people to reject and condemn this situation to confirm their support for the Palestinian people,” the BDS said.

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London - The autonomy plan presented by Morocco to the Security Council in April 2007 remains "the best solution" to the so-called Western Sahara conflict, stressed Erik Jensen, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara.

The Moroccan Initiative was developed to find a "realistic and feasible political solution" to the Sahara issue, Jensen said according to MAP, following the screening, Monday night in the British Parliament, of the documentary "Identity of a Front," directed by Hassan El Bouharrouti.

He noted that the autonomy plan “is in line” with the advanced regionalization project initiated by the Kingdom, underlining the need to find "a political solution as soon as possible to this problem which has lasted fat too long".

Jensen Sahara also warned against the negative impact of the blockage in the current international situation marked by the terrorist threats in the Maghreb and the Sahel region, in addition to the challenges and upheavals driven by the Arab Spring.

In his book Western Sahara, anatomy for a stalemate, Jensen, who served as Head of MINURSO between 1994-1998, pointed out that the two former UN Secretary Generals Javier Perez de Cuellar and Boutros Ghali, were intimately convinced that the 1991 settlement plan was a wishful thinking. Therefore, they called on the Security Council to explore ways to reach a settlement to the conflict.

“Perez De Cuellar’s memoirs show that he had doubts about certain aspects of the settlement plan, and Boutros Ghali repeatedly hinted to the Security Council that it might consider an alternative way forward,” Jensen said.

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Rabat - Argentine football legend Diego Maradona’s visit to the city of Laâyoune to participate in a “gala match” celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Morocco’s Green March has been confirmed.

Last week, the same source reported that negotiations to secure his participation had been challenging and expensive.

However, on Monday, sources cited by the Arabic Assabah newspaper said Maradona will donate his time and image and participate in the event for free.

The superstar will arrive at the Laâyoune Airport around 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 6, to play in this historically significant game and depart in the evening, sources close to the gala match organizers revealed.

 “El Pibe de Oro,” is set to land in Morocco on November 4 and visit Marrakech along with other international football stars, before going to Laâyoune.

The 40th Anniversary Green March gala match will face off American-European and African-Arab football players in a legendary event for charity, according to the same source.

The African-Arab team will be comprised of: Ghanaian Abedi Pelé, Liberian George Weah, Egyptians Ahmed Aboutrika, Nader Said and Mahmoud Al-Khatib, Cameroonian Patrice M’Boma, Saudis Sami Al-Jaber and Said Laawirane, Tunisian Jamal Limame, as well as Guineans Tita Camara and Pascal Feindouno.

The American-European team will include: Argentine Diego Maradona, Italians Alexandro Altobelli and Francesco Toldo, Brazilians Gilberto Silva and Edmilson, Uruguayan Daniel Fonseca, as well as French stars Silvian Wiltord, Grégory Copé, Basile Boli, Daniel Bravo, and Jocelyn Angloma.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI will visit the Saharan provinces as well, under strict security measures, to commemorate the November 6, 1975, march and announce new developments for the second installment of the Saharan project.

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United Nations  -  Morocco called on the United Nations and its various bodies to integrate the protection and the promotion of Kabyle people's rights in their agendas in accordance with the UN Charter and relevant UN instruments and declarations.

This statement before the third Committee of the UN General Assembly comes following a new statement made by the Algerian delegation on the so-called Western Sahara conflict, while it is not on the agenda of the committee.

Omar Rabi, Adviser to the kingdom's Mission in the United Nations, underlined that the United Nations “should not become accomplice of the silence imposed to this martyred people.”

"The international community should bring out the voices of more than eight million Kabyles too long kept in silence and invisibility, so as to collapse the wall of intolerance and the denial of their legitimate aspirations", he stressed.

The Moroccan diplomat also said that it is deeply regrettable that the Kabyle people remains the “only indigenous people in Africa to be subjected to systematic discrimination, widespread violence and deprivation of their most basic rights.”

With MAP

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Rabat - More than 4,481 refugees have been registered in Morocco as of September 2015, according to the most recent data announced by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

“There are currently an estimated 4,481 refugees in the kingdom of Morocco. 60 percent of them are Syrians,” announced Jean-Paul Cavalieri, UNHCR representative in Morocco, during a media briefing last week in Rabat.

Jean-Paul Cavalieri went on to say that those refugees came to Morocco from 40 countries and are based in 35 cities across Morocco. He added that over 2,983 of them are in need of international protection.

Cavalieri believes that 1,558 asylum applications have been lodged in Morocco as of September 2015, and are now under review by the Moroccan authorities.

A previous report by UNHCR revealed that 1,763 Syrians refugees were registered in Morocco as of August 31, 2015.

The majority of Syrians applying for asylum in Morocco departed Syria legally using their national passports. The two main exit points from Syria are the Aleppo and Damascus airports.

On June 26, 2014, the Moroccan authorities initiated a regularization process for Syrians registered with UNHCR.

The body in charge of the process is an ad hoc, inter-ministerial commission, chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and includes representatives from the ministries of Interior, Justice and Employment, the Inter-Ministerial Delegation for Human Rights and UNHCR. The commission holds its sessions at the Bureau for Refugees and Stateless Persons.

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Taroudant - The visit to Morocco of Ani Zonneveld, founder and president of the faith-based, human rights organization, “Muslims for Progressive Values” (MPV), has created controversy over her advocacy for the establishment of female imams.

The Malaysian-American activist, who openly advocates for gender equality, women's reproductive rights, LGBTQI rights, and freedom of expression, has called for mixed-gender prayers and the right of Moroccan women to lead prayers in mosques and give sermons during Friday prayers.

The visit of Zonnelveld, who claims her principles are based on the Quran and traditions, coincided with the current controversy caused by Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH) urging the government to reform the family code in a way that guarantees equality between men and women concerning inheritance.

The call for change of the Malaysian-American activist has created a debate among those who categorically reject them, and others who have “confirmed the absence of religious evidence that expressly prevents women from carrying out these religious duties.”

According to Hespress, controversial Moroccan Islamist preacher Abdel Bari Zamzami has “denied the existence of any legal text in the Qur'an and Sunnah that prevents women from leading men in prayers or giving Friday sermons or praying together with men in the mosque.” However, “performing those tasks by men is mentioned in the Sharia law and confirmed by the four imams," The cleric added

However, the Moroccan Supreme Scientific Council previously issued an edict on May 26, 2006, stating that Islamic jurisprudence is unanimous that women are not permitted to lead prayers.

The Fatwa council stressed that "it has not been shown either in the history of Morocco, or by Moroccan scholars, that a woman has ever led men or women in prayers in the mosque.”

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