From the late 1970's through the 1990's, opposition to Western political and cultural influences and the disintegration of communism as a set of ideals gave rise to radical Islamic movements in Muslim countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia. Although Morocco was less seriously affected by the rise in Islamic radicalism than many other Muslim countries, radical Islam was a source of conflict in the country. Moroccan Islamic radicalism appeared to be growing rapidly, with extensive connections throughout North Africa and in the North African population of Europe.
The Islamic Salvation Front (ISF), a political party based on a network of radical Islamic groups in Algeria, grew increasingly influential in eastern Morocco during the 1990's. In March, 1997, a court in France passed long prison sentences on members of a network of North African Islamic radicals operating out of France who had been responsible for attacking a hotel in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. In April, 1998, The New York Times reported that militant Islamic groups were mobilizing and expanding in many Moroccan cities. The appeal of these groups was especially strong among the young.
The efforts of the new King Mohammed VI at modernization provoked opposition from Islamic activists. When he proposed a new family law giving women greater equality with men, in 2000, this resulted in an Islamist-led demonstration of 500,000 protesters in Casablanca on March 12. Late in 2000, a demonstration demanding the legalization of an outlawed Islamic party ended with the arrest of dozens of demonstrators.
World History
