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UN
To
Spread
Moroccan Law
Banning
Preachers Not
Gov-Trained,
US
Cheers
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 1 --
Morocco was
celebrated in
the September
30
session of UN
Security
Council's
Counter-Terrorism
Committee, at
which the
United States
spoke, and
positively.
Inner City
Press asked a
question,
which has now
been answered.
But
is the UN
promoting laws
that violate
the US
Constitution?
Here's
what
the UN itself
published on
September 30:
“Morocco
has
developed a
strategy to
prevent the
abuse of
religion to
justify
and incite
terrorist
violence and
is now sharing
it with the
world.
An institute
has been
established in
the Kingdom
where
religious
teachers
undergo
mandatory
training
before they
start
preaching in
public.
Jean-Paul
Laborde,
Executive
Director of
the
Counter-Terrorism
Executive
Directorate
(CTED) and
Assistant
Secretary-General
hailed the
dissemination
of these
teachings also
called the
'Moroccan
Experience.'”
Inner
City Press
went to the UN
Security
Council
stakeout and
asked
Morocco's
speaker, and a
person beside
him who seemed
to be an
interpreter,
if this
doesn't
violate the US
Constitution's
freedom of
religion
clause -- how
can exercise
of religion be
so controlled
by a
government?
How could the
UN be
propagating
this model,
with the US
cheering it
on?
The
Moroccan
minister gave
a long answer
in Arabic,
which was then
not
translated.
Inner City
Press has
submitted to
the Moroccan
Mission to
the UN this
question, in
English: is it
“true
that in
Morocco a
person cannot
preach before
mandatory
training
before they
start
preaching in
public, and if
so, how this
relates to
provisions
like those in
the US
Constitution
saying that
the free
exercise of
religion
cannot be
controlled or
impacted by
government?
Also,
whether new
laws against
foreign
fighters,
traveling for
terrorism,
can be abused
given the
terrorism is
not defined
and some
countries
may use their
laws against
dissidents and
political
opponents?”
And the
answer, as
subsequently
provided by
the Moroccan
Mission,
translated
from what
Morocco's
minister said:
“Fundamentally,
Islam
does not
believe in
compulsion in
religion, nor
in forcing any
one to believe
in the
religion, and
guarantees to
all people
their
freedom of
religion.
“The
historical
circumstances
criss-crossed
by these
countries in
dealing
with a lot of
developments,
in dealing
with
contemporary
life and
with the human
rights system
in general,
make them
progress
towards
further
harmonization
of laws with
their
requisites,
and with life
conditions and
culture.
“Morocco
cannot
discuss
freedom of
religion
because this
question is
deeply
rooted in the
Islamic
religion.
However, and
as it is also
stipulated
in the United
Nations
laws,there are
some elements
that should
adapt
to the culture
of each
country.”
As to
how the US
could support
the UN's
propagation
and promotion
of a law that
is entirely
counter to the
US
Constitution,
that remains
to be
answered.
Watch
this site.
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