Morocco earmarks USD 38.5Mn to development projects over 2008-2012.
Rabat, July 1st - Some USD 38.5Mn have been allocated to development projects over the period 2008-2012 in Morocco compared to USD 11.6Mn over 2002-2007, Prime minister Abbas El Fassi said on Monday. In a meeting with local press, Abbas El Fassi said these projects will continue at a steady pace particularly in the vital sectors such as roads and motorways, railways, dams, energy and tourism, underlining that the government is determined to honor its commitments despite the fluctuation of oil and foodstuff prices.

The inter-ministerial committee on investment has approved 62 projects, worth USD 3.7Mn, which will create 15,800 jobs, said the Prime Minister during the meeting, attended by the minister of Economic and General Affairs, Nizar Baraka, and the minister in charge of relations with parliament, Saad Alami. These investments, he went on, cover various sectors of activities, notably the automobile industry, electricity, agriculture, food-processing, tourism, chemical and petrochemical industries, aeronautics...etc. He stressed the positive impact of these projects on local economy in general and job creation in particular.

In this respect, he recalled the downward trend in the unemployment rate, which fell to 9.8% in 2007. This rate has continued its decline, standing at 9.6% in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 10.1% a year earlier. During this year, more than 200,000 new jobs have been created by non-agricultural sectors. Underlining that significant efforts have been made in all sectors of activity, the Prime Minister said the average growth rate of GDP is expected to reach 6.5% over 2008-2012. "It is an honorable rate that exceeds the average of 5.2% recorded in the past," he said.

For the current year, the government expects a growth rate of 6.8% despite an unfavorable international situation. The Prime Minister recalled the measures the government has taken to improve the purchasing power of citizens, notably higher wages and reduction of income tax, which will come into force as from July 1st. All these measures will cost the state a USD 2.2Mn budget. In this respect, he also stressed the significant financial effort in terms of subsidies to basic necessities by the Compensation Fund, whose budget is expected to reach USD 5.5Mn by the end of the year, double the amount allocated under the 2008 Finance bill.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_earmarks_usd_1/view
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Improving community access to ICT in Morocco.
02-07-2008 (Rabat) Moroccan Multimedia Centre © HETIC

One-day training of trainers on community access to ICT, jointly organized by UNESCO and the Department of Post, Telecommunication and New Technologies (Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Trade and New Technologies), took place today in Rabat. This training aimed to improve the capacities of coaches from Multimedia Centres to guide users of the centres to access Moroccan e-services.

The training consisted of presentations on governmental portals and of practical exercises. A round table also took place in order to reflect on how Moroccan Multimedia Centres can offer dedicated services to citizens in accessing governmental information and services. This training session brought together trainers from the Department of Post, Telecommunication and New Technologies, the Ministry for the Modernisation of the Public Sector, UNESCO, Tanmia.ma (Moroccan Development Portal) and l’Atelier de Solidarité Numérique (local association working in the field of ICT).

This initiative takes place within the framework of the Moroccan e-strategy recommending the development of Multimedia Centres as important venues to sensitise citizens on the use of ICT and the access to e-government services. Morocco established a quality charter, Al Morchid, proposing ethical and technical criteria for Multimedia Centres. This charter promotes an economic model which ensures the sustainability of these centres. This Moroccan initiative corresponds to the recommendation made in the UNESCO World Report "Towards Knowledge Societies" concerning the increase of places of community access to information.

In the framework of the Innovative Teachers Forum (February 2008, Rabat), UNESCO and Microsoft organized a round table to evaluate community access initiatives in Morocco. Participants highlighted the existing initiatives carried out by public and private sectors, as well as by local associations in sensitising users on the potentials of ICT. One of the conclusions of this round table was to improve the synergy between the various initiatives in order to instigate the process of certification of multimedia centres on a national level.
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27301&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
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Morocco hosts international youth environmental conference.
2008-06-23

Young people from across the Mediterranean gathered in Ahfir, Morocco on Saturday (June 21st) to begin a nine-day conference on the environment, Daily News Egypt reported. Young environmental activists from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, France, Portugal, Jordan, Spain, Italy and Egypt will meet with academics, officials and businesspeople during their visit. "The environment is of interest to the youth who want to be involved and make a difference in the Mediterranean… through research, action, and campaigns," Ahfir official Marzouki Hassan was quoted as saying at the conference's opening session. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/06/23/newsbrief-08
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Telecoms account for 7% of Morocco's GDP.
2008-06-24

The telecommunications sector provided 7% of Morocco's GDP in 2007 and is expected to rise to 10% by 2012, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi said on Monday (June 23rd). Speaking on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the telecoms regulation agency, El Fassi noted that the sector has created some 37,000 direct and approximately 120,000 indirect jobs. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/06/24/newsbrief-05
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Unemployment rates fall in Morocco.
2008-06-24

Morocco's urban unemployment has decreased 6.6% over the last nine years, while unemployment in rural areas fell from 5.4% to 3.8% over the same period, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training Jamal Rhmani said during a press briefing on Monday (June 23rd). In 2006, he added, some 300,000 jobs were created, double the annual average.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/06/24/newsbrief-03
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World Bank loan supports administrative reform in Morocco.
2008-06-24

The World Bank granted Morocco two loans totalling $250m to support the government's public administration reform and help the state electricity company improve its performance, MAP reported on Monday (June 23rd). The first loan of $100m will help provide better quality services at lower costs and set up proximity management operations, while a second $150m loan will reinforce infrastructure for the distribution of electricity.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/06/24/newsbrief-02
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Morocco's telecommunications sector booming.
By Sarah Touahri  2008-07-02

The telecommunications sector in Morocco is growing strongly, benefitting from liberalisation in the industry and the increased use of mobile telephones and the internet. Ten years after the beginning of liberalisation in Morocco's telecommunications sector, indicators for the industry are all green. Business has increased rapidly over these ten years, although telephony and internet are not developing at the same pace. Turnover has surged from 8.5 billion dirhams in 1999 to 30 billion in 2007, equivalent to more than 7% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Liberalisation – a process undertaken ten years ago in the telecommunications sector – has made it possible to transition from a monopoly to a competitive market, and has helped Morocco become a regional leader in the industry. According to Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, the sector is booming. "It has allowed the creation of 37,000 direct jobs and around 120,000 indirect jobs and represents half of the direct foreign investment made over the past five years," he said.

The number of landline subscribers reached 2,393,767 in 2007, compared with 1,266,119 subscribers in 2006 – an increase of 89%. Competition between the three private operators has had a beneficial effect on prices. The number of fixed residential lines has increased 136% during the same period. For mobile telephone subscribers, the number has increased from 16,004,731 in 2006 to some 20,029,030 by the end of 2007, an annual increase of 25%.

Despite the developments, telephony remains in its earliest stages, according to Azdine El Mountassir Billah, Director-General of the National Agency for Telecommunications Regulation (ANRT). "All sectors in the economy are turning to the new technologies," he said. "Potential for development in the sector is still considerable."

Internet use has also increased, but not enough, the ANRT says. The number of ADSL subscribers is increasing constantly, with an annual growth rate of 57.6% in 2006 and 21.9% in 2007, but there are just 600,000 internet subscribers and 6 million internet users in total. Despite a population of more than 33 million, only 7,000 internet cafés are found in Morocco.

The problems encountered in the development of the internet come in a number of forms, El Mountassir Billah has said."I think the most important obstacle relates to a problem with content. This still falls short of what it is needed," El Mountassir Billah told reporters. "When an internet user is offered a number of online services, internet access will grow at practically the same rate as mobile telephone use. The sector requires some massive investment."

Although a good many Moroccans have fears over the security of their personal data on the net, El Mountassir Billah is keen to reassure them. "The ANRT will work to narrow the digital gap," he said, "to encourage the development of support content, to protect people's private lives and to instil digital confidence to support electronic certification, business and the Administration." http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/07/02/feature-02
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Light industries provide 16% of Morocco's GDP, employ a million.
Tangier, June 30

Light industries provide 16% of Morocco's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and offer jobs to about one million people, Minister of Industry, Trade and New Technologies, Mohamed Reda Chami revealed here on Monday. With such figures, light industries are poised to slash unemployment in cities, reduce trade deficit and attract a lot of foreign investments, Chami said at the signing ceremony of a convention to build integrated industrial poles of excellence across the country.

However, industry remains the most to suffer from globalization, the minister regretted, stressing that "any lack in competitiveness results immediately in the growth of the commercial balance deficit." "Today with globalization, the battle for direct foreign investments has started and Morocco is up in the race," he said. Foreign investments are one of the most efficient levers for development, as they offer the quickest, most important and most long-lasting results.

If the north African country has important potential to boost its economy, other challenges are still to be faced, he said. Morocco’s offers, the economic fabric, the business climate and training are some of the hindrances that break industrial growth. The way out of the situation, in Chami’s opinion, lies in the integrated industrial poles of excellence (known as PEII). These are platforms hosting a set of activities (industrial and commercial activities, training and research centers institutions, basic services and possibly a housing area for the platform employees).

The project, which was signed at a ceremony chaired by king Mohammed VI, will address several axes that can be summed up in speeding up the development of Morocco’s World Professions (French acronym MMM), remedying the present handicaps, and creating the Agency for the Development of Investments. The program associates the State and the business operators with the aim of concluding a contract-program that would lay out measures and propose projects to accelerate the development of the country’s industry. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/light_industries_pro/view
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Morocco's GDP up 7% in 2008 Q1, HCP.
Rabat, Jul.1

Morocco's economy achieved a growth rate of 7% during the first three months of 2008 compared to 3% during the same period of last year, says a press release by the High Commissioner for Planning (HCP). This performance is due to a 9.5% increase of the added value of agriculture in the first quarter of 2008, after a decline of 18.8 % in the same period of 2007, and thanks to the rise by 6.5% in non-agricultural sectors (against 5.7% between January and March 2007).

The Mining sector decreased from 11.7% during the first quarter of 2007 to 2.6% this year, while oil refining expanded 23.4% till March 2008 against 25.3% last year, according to HCP figures. Manufacturing posted a 5.3% increase while building and public works dropped from 11.2% in 2007 to 10.3% during the first quarter of 2008, and trade posted a 5.1% increase (2% the previous year). The sector of information and communications technologies also posted a growth of 11%, whereas financial activities, which accounted for 5.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007, jumped from 16.2% in 2007 to 20.2% this year.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_s_gdp_up_7/view
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Oxford Business Group hails Morocco's efforts in renewable energy.
London, June 26

Morocco's policy aimed to develop renewable energy, and face the surge of global oil prices was praised Thursday by the London-based Oxford Business Group (OBG). The group underlined that Morocco’s drive to increase its renewable energy capacity has started to yield fruits, as the north African kingdom attracted investments from the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), which has just bought into the country's main wind power firm Compagnie Eolienne du Détroit (CED).

An analysis document released by the OBG recalled that Taqa has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with French renewable energy firm Theolia – owner of CED – for the development of wind power stations in Morocco. The two firms will jointly bid for the tender to construct and operate a 300 MW wind power farm near the Atlantic town of Tarfaya, the document said, noting that the project, subject of an international call for tenders, is due to be operational by 2010.

The Emirati and French firms are also planning to expand CED’s 200 MW Abdelkhalek Torres wind farm station near Tetouan in Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. The two firms are planning to overhaul the farm and expand its capacity by several hundred additional megawatts, OBG said, quoting a Taqa-Theolia joint statement.

Rising concerns over climate change have compelled the Moroccan authorities to look for cleaner ways of producing electricity, the document notes, underlining that the country will be focusing on building up renewable capability, in tandem with the potential development of nuclear energy. The Moroccan government is hoping to boost the proportion of the country's electricity from renewable sources to 10% in 2012 from the current level of just 1%. Two wind farms are planned to this end, one near Tangier with a capacity of 130 MW, and a second of 100 MW in Taza, about 300km east of Rabat.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/oxford_business_grou/view
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Morocco seeks to raise renewable energies' contribution to energy production to 10% by 2020,minister.
Rabat, June 25

Morocco has devised a national plan aimed at raising the contribution of renewable energies to the production of energy from 4% to 10% by 2020, Energy, Mining, Water and Environment Minister said on Tuesday. Speaking at the House of Advisors' (upper house) question time, Amina Benkhadra noted that this plan provides for using solar and wind energy, along with developing a legal and institutional framework for renewable energies.

She added that the ministry encourages investors in this sector and ensures the implementation of the national program for the rationalization of energy consumption that aims to save energy by 15% by 2020. Mrs. Benkhadra stressed the importance of developing local energy resources through promoting renewable energies, reinforcing oil exploration, increasing production and ensuring more efficient management of the sector. She recalled that Morocco imports 96% of its energy needs, which makes its energy bill, estimated at MAD 50Bn (some USD 7Bn) in 2007, a burden for economic and financial balance.

According to figures released recently by Morocco's Office des Changes (exchange office), the north African country’s imports of crude oil in the first quarter of 2008 reached USD 1.1Bn, i.e. a 68.9% increase compared to the same period in 2007.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_seeks_to_rai/view
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Poverty rate in Morocco down 6.1% between 2001 and 2007, HCP.
Rabat, June 26

Poverty rate in Morocco dropped, in the period between 2001 and 2007, by 6.3%, standing at 9% as against 15.3%, revealed, on Wednesday, High Commissioner for Planning, Ahmed Lahlimi Alami. In the urban areas, the rate moved from 7.6% to 4.8%, while in the rural areas it dropped from 25.1% to 14.5%, said Mr. Lahlimi, who presented the preliminary results of the national survey on household living standards 2007, conducted in the period between December 1, 2006 and November 30, 2007.

The survey suggests that vulnerability rate decreased from 22.8% to 17.5% over the period under review. It moved from 16.6% to 12.7% in urban areas and from 30.5% to 23.6% in rural areas. 36% of households said they believed that their living standards had improved and 30.5% considered them to remain unchanged, which means that 66.5% of households deem that their living standard has not decreased.

As to average annual expenditures, they rose from MAD 8,280 (some USD 1,000 in 2001 to MAD 11,222 (some USD 1,500) in 2007. In urban areas, the average annual expenditures per capita jumped from MAD 10,642 (around USD 1,400) to MAD 13,894 (USD 1,900), i.e. 4.5% per year, while in rural areas, they rose from MAD 5,288 (USD 723) to 7,752 (USD 1060), i.e. 6.5%.

The survey, which covered 7,200 households (more than 36,000 people) throughout the country, noted the significant impact of the large-scale anti-poverty National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) in target local communes between 2004 and 2007, with poverty rates decreasing in these communes from 36% to 21%.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/poverty_rate_in_moro1508/view
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Japan grants Morocco USD 4.5Mn to support INDH.
Rabat, June 25

Japan has granted Morocco USD 4.5Mn to support the North African country's anti-poverty program, the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH). The donation provides for financing socioeconomic development projects in several regions, which suffer from a lack of basic equipment and infrastructure, a press release of the Japanese embassy said on Wednesday. The projects, which will benefit from these funds, will be decided in conjunction between Moroccan authorities and the Japanese embassy in Rabat.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/japan_grants_morocco8996/view
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Unemployment rate drops to 9.8% in 2007, Minister.
Casablanca, June 23

The unemployment rate in Morocco posted a decrease from 13,9 in 1999 to 9,8% in 2007, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Jamal Rhmani, revealed, here Monday. Urban unemployment dropped from 22% to 15.4% (i.e. a 6.6% decrease) over the same period, while unemployment in rural areas fell to 3.8% down from 5.4%, Rhmani said during a press briefing on the prospects and the evolution of the labor market. As for unemployment rate during the first quarter of 2008, it stood at 9.6% and is expected to drop to 9.2% during the 2nd quarter of this year, according to forecasts of the High Commissioner for Planning, he said. In 2006, he added, some 300,000 jobs were created against average of 151,000 jobs per annum for the 1999-2007 period.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/unemployment_rate_dr9408/view
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Morocco records employment success but youth remain skeptic: The Moroccan government this week announced a decline in unemployment rates from 13.9% in 1999 to 9.8% in 2007 and 9.6% during the first quarter of 2008. A provisional rate for the second quarter of the current year is set at 9.2%.

Wednesday 25 June 2008, by Kaci Racelma

The figures were presented at a press conference held Monday, June 23, by the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training. Breaking down the numbers, he said that unemployment in urban areas decreased by 6.6% in the same period, from 22% to 15.4% and 5.4% to 3.8% in rural areas. More than 150 000 families have benefited so far from the creation of new jobs, between 1999 and 2007, as the reduction of unemployment becomes a key priority among government policies determined to lower the numbers even further.

Throwing more light on the success of the employment sector, the Minister explained that the set up of an efficient strategy affecting all sectors of activities backed by an appropriate system of professional training has led to thousands of jobs. The government also aims to promote vocational training with the strengthening of the sector’s capacity to 168 000 trainees by 2012 as well the development of targeted trade training for a number of 110 000 young people. The involvement of the private sector will also help train 220 000 people.

Meanwhile, this triumphalist speech has failed to find an echo among the country’s youth who complain of lack of employment opportunities despite their qualifications. Young people from rural areas are skeptic about the qualitative momentum registered by the government’s policy on employment and its reported economic success.
http://en.afrik.com/article13941.html
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Over 3,300 children removed from job market in 2007, minister.
Rabat, June 18

Some 3,367 children were removed from the job market, while some 13,126 others were taken care of in 2007, thanks to governmental programs, said, here Tuesday, Employment and Vocational training minister, Jamal Rhmani. Speaking at the House of Advisors' question time, Mr. Rhmani said these programs, carried out in conjunction with the international program for the Elimination of Child Labor, have also supported income-generating activities for the families of these children, whose number reached 600 in 2007.

Legislative and awareness-raising measures, in addition to field programs have helped Morocco achieve progress in fighting the phenomenon of child labor, he said. According to official figures, the number of working children under 15 in Morocco is estimated at around 177,000.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/over_3300_children/view
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2.5 million tourists visited Morocco up to late May.
Rabat, July 4

Some 2.5 million tourists visited Morocco during the first five months of 2008, which represents an 11% increase compared to the same period in 2007, according to the latest figures of the National Tourism Observatory. French tourists topped the list with 927,000, followed by Spaniards (587,000), Britons (141,000), Italians (116,000), Belgians (113,000), Germans (97,000) and the Dutch (75,000).

Despite a rise in tourist arrivals, overnight stays in rated hotels fell by 4%, standing at 6.7 million. The drop is ascribed to the uneven performance of the different tourist destinations of the kingdom. Morocco seeks to attract 10 million tourists by 2010. To this end, it has elaborated an ambitious strategy dubbed "Vision 2010". According to official figures, a total of 7.4 million tourists visited the country in 2007, with overnight stays exceeding 17 million.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box4/2.5_million_tourists/view
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Origins supports ecotourism in Morocco.
Jun 26, 2008

Traditional Berber Kasbah and Nomad camps, recently transformed into comfortable eco-lodgings.. ..create new revenue sources for the rural population in one of Morocco's most impressive landscapes.

Dar Itrane Ecolodge assists in the development of responsible tourism and discovery of the unique Berber culture in the heart of the Central High Atlas Mountains. This charming mountain retreat, located in the magnificent valley of the Ait Bougmez, not far from Marrakech, is an example for slow tourism in Morocco. More than a simple guesthouse, the Dar Itrane ecolodge is concerned about the protection and promotion of the Berber culture and is an ideal base for nature-based tourism: walking in the villages and hiking and trekking in the surrounding mountains. The mountain hideaway proposes 17 double rooms with private bathrooms, roof terraces, patio, hammam, common space as well as traditional but sophisticated cooking.

The ecofriendly Roses camp, set in the lush Roses Valley in the Moroccan South Atlas, is both traditional in its architecture and progressive in its concept. Surrounded by fields of roses, peaches and barley, the ecocamp provides our guests with a traditional Berber-style accommodation in large comfortable Caidal tents. This magnificent riverside setting close to the Dades valley is the ideal base to trek through the valley along the riverbanks, through fields of roses, rammed earth Kasbahs and houses or into the mountains. Also perfect as place of retreat.

The Atta Camp, a luxury desert camp is a real escape from the hustling city life into the Sahara desert. Set in the impressive tassilis landscape, close to the Nomads village Remlia, the Saharan camp provides intimacy for private group travels or honeymooners. Our guests will stay in traditional Nomad tents, renovated and transformed into comfortable double tent-rooms. After a walking tour or an excursion, the desert camp provides you with hot shower and a traditional Moroccan tajine under starry nights – some rare luxuries in the middle of the Moroccan desert.

OUR COMMITMENT TO RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
Environment and heritage protection – ORIGINS is involved in local waste management: waste separation, sensitisation awareness campaign about waste management in school, waste collection and separation with local children. Plastic and iron waste is brought back to Marrakech or Ouarzazate to be disposed onshore. Furthermore, ORIGINS contributes to the Marabout’s renovation, a beautiful old grenier in the village with an important signification for the Berbers.
Ecotourism and water management – Implantation of dry toilets in the Atta Camp. Sensitisation education of our clients via regulation of water use of 2 litres per day upon arrival in the camp. Also guests are informed that linen and towels are changed only once during their stay. Employees are very environment minded.

Media Syndicate
http://www.morocconewsline.com/news+article.storyid+498.htm
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Economy stable despite world crisis
BAM 04/07/2008

Morocco's economy has so far been relatively spared from the current international financial crisis, but the El Fassi government has to remain in a state of alert, concludes the Kingdom's central bank, Bank Al Maghrib (BAM), in its 2007 report. This relatively positive situation is due to four non-agricultural sectors in particular: industry, construction and civil engineering (CCE), tourism and telecoms. This latter, for example, participates, at present, to the GDP by 7% and directly employs some 37,000 people, according to the national telecoms regulating body, ANRT.

The metallic and metallurgical industries and chemical and para-chemical industries also rose by 9.6 and 4.3 respectively, while the electrical and electronic sector dropped from 14.5 to 3.9%. The CCE sector, for its part, posed a rise of 11.7%.

As for tourism, the number of arrivals in 2007 registered an increase 13%, compared to the previous year, although it was not reflected on overnight stays (+3% only).

Commercial activities, which represent 11.2% of the GDP, grew by 2.5%. Likewise, the added value of financial activities and services registered a rice of 8.5%.

Yet, the most striking element of the BAM's report is the effect that agricultural performance still has on the country's economic growth, although officials keep on stressing that the economy is increasingly freed from dependence on agriculture. As a result, the Moroccan economic growth plunged from 7.8% in 2006 to 2.7% in 2007. Concerning employment, the report showed that the job market regressed in 2007, as employment rate stood at 9.8%, against 6.9 the year before.

The report also concluded that the programmes launched (Moukawalati, Idmaj and Taehil) and government measures taken to to boost employment and facilitate access to jobs fell short of expectations in 2007. Construction and civil engineering, services and the industry are the biggest employers, with an overall 91,000 new jobs created.

Concerning, the year 2008, both The High Planning Commission (HCP) the Ministry of Finance agree that growth will be better than that of 2007.
The Moroccan HCP had underlined in a press release that Morocco's economy achieved a growth rate of 7% during the first quarter of the year 2008, compared to 3% during the same period of 2007. Earlier, the Ministry of finance stressed that this year's agricultural campaign is better than that of 2007 and non-agricultural sectors continue their rising trend.
By CMC
http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=18&id=242
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Morocco praised for developing tourism sector.

The Moroccan government has been praised for its efforts in boosting the country's tourism industry. ClickAfrique said the development of travel and tourism in Morocco has been at the top of the government's agenda throughout the last few years. This, it said, has led to it introducing rules and regulations which support and encourage growth in the industry. ClickAfrique commented: "The Moroccan government prioritizes the development of the tourism industry in the country."

However, it has suggested that more could be done to improve the country's transport and tourism infrastructure. The media outlet was speaking after the World Economic Forum rated it as one of the top performers in Africa in terms of developing its holiday sector. Morocco attracted a record number of people last year, as about 7.4 million tourists chose to visit places such as Marrakesh and Tangier. The government is currently aiming to boost annual visitor numbers to 10 million by 2010.
http://www.ready2invest.co.uk/news-and-publications/news-articles/morocco-praised-for-developing-tourism-sector-270608.aspx
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Moroccans denounce delays of Amazigh TV launch.
By Naoufel Cherkaoui 2008-06-26

Morocco's Amazigh movement has raised its voice, demanding media fairness and emphasising the need to accelerate the twice-postponed launch of an Amazigh TV channel. A number of Amazigh organisations demonstrated on Monday (June 22nd) in front of the National Radio and Television Company building to protest continued delays in the launching of an Amazigh-language TV channel. The government has twice failed to meet its own deadlines for the channel's entry into operation.

Security forces dispersed the protesters and representatives of the Amazigh movement responded by issued a statement. The Amazigh movement expressed its condemnation of "the injustice, alienation and procrastination which the National Radio and Television Company and authorities in charge of media in Moroccan apply in dealing with Amazigh demands for true justice for Amazighs in national public media." "They have continued to hinder and delay the launching of Amazigh TV," the statement said, concluding with a call for its "immediate launch."

Moroccan Minister of Communications and government spokesman Khalid Naciri responded by denying any bad intentions on the part of the authorities. "We are taking the issue seriously," he said. "The Amazigh TV channel will go on the air. We are in the process of preparing for it, and are in constant contact with the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture and Amazigh movement leaders." "We want it to be a quality channel, because we appreciate the Amazighs and believe it is inappropriate to mess with that culture," Naciri added.

Naciri did not provide a new date for the channel's launch, but said "it will take time for the channel to broadcast with the same quality as channels 1 and 2, because it requires training reporters and directors." Naciri also said there was a need to "correct the Amazigh dialect".
"I see no reason why the channel cannot go on the air," said Rachida Binchiekh, a member of the Amazigh TV channel's technical committee and a member of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture. "There are no obstacles, either in terms of the language, human resources or logistics, as we have studied those aspects extensively with the Ministry of Communications."

"Morocco is rich in Amazigh talent," she added, "but we sense opposition to the idea of launching the channel." Amazigh League for Human Rights member and journalist Najib Sifao agrees. Speaking to Magharebia, he said the cause of the procrastination was political. According to him, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi does not wish to preside over the launching of an Amazigh TV channel because he belongs to a party that is "antagonistic to the Amazigh".

"Claims that the channel's launch will happen 'soon' are wearing thin," Sifao said, "because it has been said twice before, when the former Minister of Communications announced it would go on the air in October 2007, and the present minister previously announced the same thing earlier this year in January." "It was agreed that the channel would be called 'The Seventh', but this name was given to a recently-launched movie channel," Safao told Magharebia. "We are thus doubtful of how serious the authorities are about the channel project."
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/06/26/feature-02
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Berbers claim their rights in 'Arab' Morocco.
Sun, 22 Jun 2008 Author : DPA Rabat, Morocco

Some years ago, a visitor to the Moroccan capital Rabat was unlikely to be reminded of the nation's Amazigh (Berber) component by other than touristic details such as water sellers in colourful costumes, with their brass cups and jangling bells. Today, however, researchers interested in the Amazigh people can visit the imposing building housing the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) in a sign that the authorities' traditional lack of interest is giving way to a more inclusive attitude.

"Amazigh culture is part of the Moroccan national heritage," IRCAM director Ahmed Boukouss says in his large office decorated with pictures of Amazigh representatives meeting with King Mohammed VI. Many Moroccans still reject the suggestion that they could be of Amazigh as well as Arab origin, but Boukouss believes Moroccans are increasingly becoming "proud of the country's Amazigh dimension."

While Westerners usually speak of Berbers, a word derived from the pejorative term of Barbarians, the people thus referred to call themselves Amazigh, the plural of which is Imazighen, meaning "free men." Imazighen were the original inhabitants of North Africa who were conquered and converted to Islam by Arab conquerors from the 7th century onwards. The Imazighen are known for their resistance to foreign invaders, ranging from the Romans and Arabs to Spanish and French colonialists, who defeated an attempt to establish an independent republic in the largely Amazigh northern Rif region of Morocco in the 1920s.

Peoples related to the Moroccan Imazighen now live in more than half a dozen African countries, ranging from the Algerian Kabyles to Tuaregs in the Sahel. About 30 per cent of Moroccans speak one of the country's three Amazigh dialects as their mother tongue, and the vast majority of Moroccans have at least some Amazigh blood.

Nevertheless, Moroccans base their identity on Arab and French influences, denying their African Amazigh roots, Amazigh activists say. "Arabs are seen as having brought civilization" despite the fact that the Imazighen had their own kingdoms before Arab arrival, explained Rachid Raha, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le Monde Amazigh.

When 1961-99 King Hassan II was still crown prince, Amazigh analysts say, repression against the Imazighen went as far as ruthlessly quashing a revolt in the Rif. King Hassan subsequently neglected the mountainous region, leaving it mired in poverty and dependent on cannabis cultivation.

Hassan's regime later took some timid steps towards the recognition of Amazigh culture. But it is only his son and successor Mohammed VI, whose mother is an Amazigh, that "clearly announced a new policy," as Boukouss puts it.

The Amazigh language is already being taught in some 3,500 schools, though a lack of adequately trained teachers is slowing down its dissemination, Boukouss explained. The teaching programme has required choosing an alphabet - the Tuareg one, known as Tifinagh - and creating a standard written language out of the Amazigh dialects, a process that is still going on.

There are, however, people opposed to the promotion of Amazigh language and culture at government ministries, Raha said. Activists say school textbooks neglect and distort Amazigh history. Some officials and judges still refuse to allow parents to give their children Amazigh names, and academic interest in Amazigh history is only picking up.

Some activists see the royal reforms as a way of trying to "tame" the Amazigh movement and to pre-empt the kind of political Amazigh agitation that has occurred in Algeria. "The Moroccan establishment only supports the cultural part in an attempt to place the Imazighen outside the political sphere," Amazigh politician Ahmed Dgharni said at a meeting in the Spanish capital Madrid.

Dgharni's attempt to launch an Amazigh political party was thwarted on the grounds that ethnically based parties are illegal in Morocco. Activists like Raha and Dgharni are seeking the recognition of Amazigh as an official language alongside Arabic and its widespread use in the media.

Equality for the Imazighen would also include self-government for regions with large Amazigh populations, and even turning Muslim Morocco into a secular state, because Arabic is the language of the Koran, Raha and other activists said. The idea of secularism, however, is unthinkable for most Moroccans. It has contributed to accusations that the Amazigh movement was anti-Islamic and manipulated by the West, something that activists firmly deny.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/214055,berbers-claim-their-rights-in-arab-morocco--feature.html
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Moroccan Furniture And Tiles: Star of Morocco Introduces The Summer 2008 collection.
AUSTIN, TEXAS June 23, 2008 Home & Garden News (PRLEAP.COM) Austin, TX June 23, 2008

Star of Morocco announces the arrival of its newest container of exquisitely handmade Moroccan furniture. This latest shipment includes a vast array of Moroccan buffets and cabinets, small hand-painted Moroccan tables, hand-decorated tea glasses, as well as intricately decorated Moroccan doors. The newest collection offers interior designers and home-decorators a multitude of options when it comes to particular color and design requirements. The variety of colors is expansive, the selection of Moroccan-style designs is immense, and the stock is large in order to accommodate those wishing to buy several pieces of the same product.

Star of Morocco’s latest collection will not disappoint those looking for a Moroccan buffet, cabinet, table, door or even Moroccan tea glasses. Included with this shipment are buffets and cabinets of both the hand-painted and hand-carved variety. The intricately detailed hand-painted buffets and cabinets include both floral and geometric designs, which dominate the artisanship of Moroccan furniture, as well as reflect the history of Moroccan craftsmanship. The selection accommodates a variety of themes and design styles. Sizes vary from 4.5 x 3.5 feet to larger ones that measure 7.25 x 3.5 feet. The variety of buffets, cabinets and Moroccan doors that Star of Morocco offers is difficult to find on the Internet or in retail stores. For those looking for selection, Star of Morocco is unmatched.

For those needing an accent piece or small table to accommodate a specific area, Star of Morocco’s latest shipment of small hand-painted tables offers an amazing selection from which to choose. Crafted with traditional Moucharabe design (Moorish lattice work), this recent collection of hexagonal Moroccan tables comes in a multitude of colors and designs. This particular size of Moroccan table is prevalent in Moroccans homes and is appropriate for serving traditional Moroccan mint tea in the newest collection of hand-painted tea glasses that Star of Morocco offers.

Star of Morocco provides great variety and style with its latest shipment of Moroccan buffets, cabinets, tea glasses and doors, and continues to supply shoppers with a vast array of Moroccan furniture. The buffets and cabinets satisfy any taste, the small hand-painted tables accommodate any space, and the Moroccan tea glasses and doors expand options for those looking to complete a Moroccan design plan. Star of Morocco continues to update and expand its stock to keep up with the ever-increasing interest in Moroccan furniture.

About Star of Morocco
Founded in 2006, Star of Morocco imports Moroccan furniture and décor directly from artisans in Morocco who create each piece from scratch. Traveling several times a year to Morocco, Star of Morocco selects authentic designs to be created with the highest quality. Their online store offers an exceptional variety of artisanal items ranging from Moroccan tiles, lanterns and lamps, Moroccan and Berber rugs to henna tables and lamps, hand-painted and hand-carved Moroccan mirrors, tables, and Moroccan armoires. Star of Morocco accepts special and custom orders and can create any piece to any specification. They are experienced in working with individual customers, as well as interior designers who are working on large or small projects. Products can be shipped anywhere within the 50 states.
http://www.prleap.com/pr/121619/
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Marrakech palm grove shrinks as tourism booms: Though it is protected, drought and development have taken a toll
By ALFRED DE MONTESQUIOU June 21, 2008 Associated Press MARRAKECH, MOROCCO

Abdellilah Meddich's childhood memories of the famous palm grove of Marrakech are of a "magical" place, a lush desert oasis of flowers, animals and farmers who tended tree-shaded plots.

No longer. Today, the unique and vast World Heritage site is "nothing like it used to be when I was a child," says the 37-year-old Meddich, a forestry engineer overseeing a plan to plant more palms.

An ancient city on the rim of the Sahara desert, Marrakech has been a magnet for tourism since the 1960s, when hippies dubbed it "the city of four colors" — for its blue skies, its backdrop of white snowcapped peaks, the red walls of its medieval fortifications, and the sprawling green palm grove on its outskirts. But one of these colors is fading fast. Legions of tall, swaying palms are yellowing and sickly, parched by drought that climate change experts predict may worsen as the planet warms.

Government-encouraged mass tourism, land developers, golf courses and rich Europeans' closed-off luxury villas are squeezing out farmers from the grove. For generations, farming families here lived almost in symbiosis with the palms, harvesting their fruit and shelter while tending to the trees. Most now have gone or been evicted, pushed out by lack of work or tourism driving land prices up.

Going down fast
The pace of destruction is staggering. In 1929, Morocco's then-French rulers measured the palm grove at about 40,000 acres — an area nearly 50 times that of New York's Central Park. By 1998, it had declined to nearly 30,000 acres. Since then, the grove has shrunk by nearly half, to an estimated 16,000 to 19,000 acres.

Water is a major problem, for both the trees and the people who have long lived under them. Fatima Lemkhaouen and her family of two dozen brothers, in-laws and children live in one of the few Douar, or traditional hamlets, still standing in the palm grove. They have no electricity, or sanitation. The guard of one of the luxury villas next to their mud home passes over a hose to fill their plastic jugs and metal basins.

"We love the palm grove, but I don't think it's for us anymore," says Lemkhaouen, 29. Local officials have rebuffed their appeals for a public well, she adds. "They just want us out," she surmises.

Staggering prices
Marrakech has become a top tourism destination. Even small plots in the palm grove now fetch as much as $1.5 million, creating pressure to sell to promoters. The Lemkhaouens' landlord has refused to renew their lease. "Even one century of cultivation couldn't match the price owners can get for their land," says Youssef Sfairi, head of a nongovernment group trying to preserve the grove. His association, Amal Palmeraie, would translate from French and Arabic as "Hope for the Palm Grove."

As a UNESCO heritage site, the grove is supposed to be protected by Morocco. Marrakech City Hall, Morocco's government and private partners have committed the equivalent of $13 million to replant 400,000 palm trees by 2012. The plan, launched by Morocco's King Mohammed VI and headed by one of his sisters, has already brought the number of palm trees from 100,000 in 2006 to over 260,000, said engineer Meddich. But most of the new trees are being planted in touristic zones near Marrakech instead of throughout the palm grove, he says.

Omar Jazouli, the mayor of Marrakech, acknowledges that most of the palm trees are "in an appalling state." But he views tourism as the savior, not the bane, of the grove. "From the air you can see that all the trees in private ownership — golfs, hotels and villas — are being superbly looked after," he says. Every construction site for a new villa is required to survey its palm trees and can only move them — not cut them down.

Jazouli concedes that the building boom is driving out farmers, but says the benefits outweigh the impact for Marrakech's 850,000 people. Tourism and construction have driven salaries way above the national average, he said, and with just 7 percent unemployment Marrakech is nearly three times below the rest of the country.

Others see a less rosy future. "Parts of this beautiful palm grove are becoming a construction dump," said Sylvie de Gouy, the owner of the villa who shares her water with the Lemkhaouen family. Gouy, a dentist in the northern French town of Lille, comes to her Marrakech villa at least once a month. "You can't buy a house down here if you don't appreciate the Moroccans and living alongside them," she said, sipping a glass of mint tea at Lemkhaouen's modest breeze-block house across the wall from her mansion. But even for her, water is now an issue. The private well to keep her garden green ran out last summer.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5849249.html
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The ring of the Gnawa. A RANGARAJAN

As Morocco gets ready to host the annual Gnawa festival between June 26 and 29, a look at this remarkable genre that combines African animism and Sufi Islamic elements. Gnawa is music; a rite, a ritual, a dance, a trance, a spiritual invocation and much more.

When in most parts of the world today as men and women increasingly join the swelling ranks of the pinstripe brigade and try to pursue excellence through Excel and attempt perfection at the PowerPoint, there are still parts of the globe where living is not seen as proclivity to productivity but as a propensity to feel passionate about existence in itself. Where, often this passionate response is rooted in the reality of one’s surroundings and conditions.

Sometimes such intense living and longing can find expression in music that is powerful and ethereal and is even capable of dissolving the dichotomy of the performer and listener. There comes into existence a musical completeness resulting in one intensely shared experience.

Poignant origins

The Gnawa of Morocco, whose origins are bound up with the poignant story of black African slavery of the distant past, is one such musical experience. The story of this slavery goes back, way back — perhaps to the 10th century or even before — it antedates the better known slave trade to the Americas. The saga of this slavery involved the capture and forced transportation of black African peoples from sub-Saharan and West African Regions to serve at the will and pleasure of the Sultans and Pashas of Maghreb or present day North Africa. To either become servants or to become Guards or at times just to labour in the villas and palaces of their captors. During the time of the Berber rulers of the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties in Moorish Spain, Black African Regiments took part in victorious battles displaying great bravery and valour. They played a pivotal role in the rout of Alfonso VI of Castile in 1086.

And just as the destinies of the captors and captives coalesced to charter a new course into history, the uprooted people caught between the tensions of trying to preserve their ancestral memory and coming to terms with their imposed surroundings while reinventing a new identity, created this unique music. Thus it combines African animism and Sufi Islamic elements to produce this singular blend of rhythm and swing. The Gnawa music is considered to be spiritual. Its practitioners believe that it can heal, soothe and keep the evils spirits away. The displaced Black Africans were from regions that are modern day Senegal, Niger, Chad and Mali — although they integrated into the Islamic cultural and religious mosaic of North Africa and Andalusian Spain; they retained their spiritual distinctiveness by keeping alive their own mystical traditions enshrined in the Gnawa.

Special feature

The trance is a special feature of the Gnawa when contact is established with ancestral spirits seeking their intervention either to bring about a good or to ward off an evil. Thus Gnawa is music; it is a rite, a ritual, a dance and a trance. It is a spiritual invocation and much more. Much closer to the contemporary times, into the 20th century, brotherhood groups like Nass el Ghiwane adapted the Gnawa for writing songs to promote social justice and further the cause of equity. Thus from a marginalised genre it became more mainstream.

You need not know any of this to be swept away and to be caught in its raptures. Or to see yourself swinging only to realise that the music is already inside you. Small wonder then that, over the years, the Gnawa has attracted a steady following from the rest of the world. Cities of Marrakech and Essaouira located in present day Morocco has a concentration of Gnawa artists and the music is extremely popular in these parts. Songs and chants are accompanied to the skilful rendition of the stringed percussive lute known as the ‘guemberi’. The guemberi is central to the Gnawa performance and it is accompanied by the ‘qraqeb’ or metal castanets and drums known as the ‘ganga’.

Parallels are often drawn between the Gnawa and the Jazz/Blues tradition of Afro-Americans. The pain and alienation caused by slavery is seen as primordial to both these musical traditions.

Culturally moored

Quite interestingly, alongside Gnawa, Morocco has been home to other forms of distinct and culturally moored music, such as the Sephardic folksong of the Jews. With the fall of the last Moorish kingdom of Granada in 1492 at the hands of Isabella and Ferdinand, the victorious Catholic Monarchs issued edicts exiling Jews from the Spanish kingdoms of Aragon and Castile. Like many Muslim subjects, a large Jewish population took flight and found refuge in North Africa. The Judeo-Spanish ballads and folk music traditions survived and flourished in Morocco and adjoining parts. It was the case until the state of Israel was created. As more and more Jews migrated out in response to the demands from Israel, these rich folk musical traditions waned. Gnawa, on the other hand, thrived into modern times and has even caught the popular fancy of the world.

Acknowledging its universal appeal and growing following, the annual Gnawa Festival is conducted every year in June in Morocco as a regular feature. Essaouira plays host to scores of musicians and to hundreds and thousands of Gnawa faithful and fans each year. The wind bathed charming coastal town of Essaouira perched on the Atlantic coast has a chequered history of its own. Having attracted the seafaring Phoenicians in distant antiquity and much European presence later, it became a garrison town, a trading enclave and finally a key staging post during the dark days of trans-Saharan slavery. It is only befitting that the festival should find its home here. This year, being the 11th edition of the festival, special events are planned to mark the 10th anniversary of the Gnawa festival. It is expected that about 5,00,000 people would descend on Essaouira between June 26 and June 29 this year. The feature this year will host other musical performances as well as part of a World Musical event besides plenty of Gnawa. Thanks to the “Festival Gnaoua” as it is called French, the Gnawa has now catapulted to International Fame.  © Copyright 2000 - 2008 The Hindu
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2008062250330500.htm&date=2008/06/22/&prd=mag&
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Fez music festival builds bridges.
By Magdi Abdelhadi  BBC News, Fez, Morocco

The week that Saudi Arabia held its first ever conference on interfaith dialogue, Morocco was hosting its 14th festival of World Sacred Music. Artists from all over the world converged on its ancient city of Fez, to the east of the capital Rabat. While the Saudi gathering was made up of only Muslim clerics discussing a framework for future dialogue with Christianity and Judaism, Morocco has for years been opening its arms to musicians from all over the world.

The aim of the Fez festival is to promote better understanding between cultures and faiths through exposure to some of the most sublime expressions of faith - sacred music. The difference between the Saudi and Moroccan approaches to dialogue between faiths could not have been more stark, a reminder that notions of the Muslim or the Arab world are in fact an oversimplification of what is fundamentally a complex and heterogeneous reality.

Religion and society
"Religion is too important to leave to clerics alone," says the president of the festival, Mohamed Kabbaj, echoing a famous phrase by Napoleon Bonaparte about war not being left to the generals. "Writers and philosophers should also have their say on the role of religion in society." Throughout the 10-day long festival and alongside the daily concerts, Western and North African writers, artists and academics met every morning to debate various aspects related to the role of the sacred in society and the arts.

When I ask Mr Kabbaj whether Morocco is in a better position than other Arab or Muslim countries to host such event, he answers with an unqualified yes. He argues that not even Turkey - a part of which is in Europe - has had Morocco's long history of close ties with Western Europe. The Moroccan coast on the Mediterranean is only a short distance away from Europe's southern borders. Both geography and history qualify Morocco to play the role of a bridge between the East and West.

Spiritual capital
The city of Fez in particular speaks with the weight of history behind it. This year's festival coincided with Fez marking its 1,200th anniversary.
The old town - were the main shows of the festival took place - is designated a world heritage site by Unesco. Fez was for centuries the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco and the Islamic empire that flourished in Andalusia, today's Spain, for centuries.

The city has the oldest university in the Arab and Muslim world, al-Qarawyeen. Luminaries of the golden age of Islamic civilisation, such as the Jewish philosopher Maimoindes and Ibn Khaldoun, once lived and studied here. Against the magnificent backdrop of one of its ancient gates, Bab al-Makina, artists from Africa, Asia and America performed.

The programme included for the first time joint performances of Muslim and Christian devotional music, thus underlying the fundamental message of the festival.

Sufi chants from Pakistan by Faiz Ali Faiz and his ensemble - known as the Qawwali - shared the stage with one of America's best known Gospel music artists, Craig Adams of New Orleans. It was a thrilling performance that brought together some of the most vibrant devotional music from both faiths.

Elites talking?
On a similar but less sparkling note was another joint performance the following night by Greek Orthodox choir, the Athens Tropos Byzantine Choir, with a Syrian Sufi ensemble, al-Kindi, led by Swiss convert to Islam Julien Jallaledine Weiss. The sonorous tones of the Greek choir offered a sombre contrast to the powerful and lush Syrian orchestra in a show dubbed as Muslim and Christian homage to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

But despite the lofty goals of the festival and the impressive shows put on by foreign and local groups, the event has its critics. Some say that far from being a wide open dialogue between faiths, it is in fact a narrow exchange between the liberal Moroccan elite and its Western counterpart. But organisers say that extremists are not interested in dialogue. They also point out that efforts have been made to make the festival more inclusive by organising free concerts for Moroccans who can not afford the evening performances at Bab al-Makina, where tickets cost around $80.

Moroccan singer, Abdelwahhab al-Doukali, voiced a similar kind of criticism. Speaking to journalists ahead of his concert, Mr Doukali said local and visiting artists never get the time to really know one another and exchange views simply because of lack of resources. Visiting artists usually arrive for their performance then head home.

Cultural tourism
But a more serious criticism comes from the former president of the festival and its chief architect, Professor Fawzi Sakkali of Fez University. He fears that commercial interests are driving the agenda, turning the festival into yet another tourist attraction. Throughout the festival, a free Sufi concert is held every night - a very popular event for both Moroccans and foreign tourists.

Dr Sakkali acknowledges that cultural tourism can play a role in promoting world peace, but fears that commercial interests can reduce Sufism - which he believes is a more tolerant and open interpretation of Islam - to folklore, a touristic curiosity. This would divest the festival of its original objective of promoting better understanding between faiths, according to Dr Sakkali.

To counter this tendency Dr Sakkali has launched a new initiative, the Fez Festival for Sufi Culture."I want the event to shed light on Islam as a civilisation, not only an ideology, but as a civilisation that has philosophical, artistic, urban, architectural and humanistic sides," Dr Sakkali says. "All of this comes from what is in fact an enormous legacy of Sufi Islam in Asia, black Africa and the Arab world. The aim is to offer a better understanding of Islam as a civilisation with its own profound ideas, its own literature and music." The city of Fez, he says, is a microcosm of that form of civilisation, where Christians, Jews and Muslims once lived and worked together during the golden age of Islamic civilisation in the Andalus.

Language of Christ
Noting that there were hardly any Arab journalists from the Middle East to cover the event, I ask him whether the voice of Fez is loud enough to reach the eastern part of the Arab world. He answered that it was not, because Wahhabi Islam is still dominant there. In fact, the monolithic and literalist interpretation of Islamic tradition practised in Saudi Arabia continues to gain ground among Muslims around the world because of Saudi financial muscle.

But despite the criticism it is hard to underestimate the festival's enormous potential for being a venue where creativity and faith can meet and exposure to new ideas can take place. A performance by Lebanese singer Ghada Shubeir, was one to remember. Accompanied by the Qanoon, an Arabic string instrument, she chanted Christian hymns in Syriac (a liturgical language used in some Middle Eastern churches which is related to Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ).

The performance was incredibly crisp, and its spiritual roots stretched back hundreds of years. Ms Shubeir said after the concert it was the first time she had been invited to perform in a Muslim country.

On the sixth night of the festival, a Tunisian group put up a stunning performance in the form of a Sufi Hadra (a recital with powerful drum beats that can leave participants in a trance) mixing oriental and Western instruments such as the piano and the saxophone. Led by Tunisian Lutfi Bushnaq the group included female performers, thus breaking with the traditional male-only ensemble for devotional music in Muslim societies. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7477108.stm
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A first timer's guide to... Morocco.
Julie Daniels takes a three-day break to Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains - and left wanting far more
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/destinations/morocco/article4218085.ece
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