As I sat with my family watching the first half of France vs Morocco, a chant from Moroccan fans rumbled through the stadium.
“Are they saying ‘La ilaha il Allah’?” I asked my husband. “No way – but it sure sounds like it.” They were, in fact, repeating the first half of the Muslim declaration of faith, “There is no God but God,” and a few claps later, the second half: “Muhammad is the messenger of God.” A sort of collective rallying cry to both uplift spirits and express pride in Islam’s central creed among fellow believers. Our scepticism clearly had not caught up with the mesmerising spectacle that was the Atlas Lions. It was the winning streak that at least in this region, we could not look away from – the deeply satisfying underdog narrative of this World Cup, most deliciously for Arabs, Africans, the diaspora in the West, and Muslims collectively, rejoicing at an authentic representation of their lived faith and values on display in the most celebratory way. When some of the players showed the world just how much they love their mothers, many Muslims joked that it was only due to the “mother’s ‘dua’ [prayer]” that they were still hanging on. Others commented that their against-all-odds victories – against Belgium, Spain, Portugal – were a case of feeling more at home at the first World Cup in the Middle East, being in their neck of the woods (or the closest thing to it), and the energy of the fans, that propelled them to keep on keeping on. No one could deny the electrifying Moroccan fandom that to an outsider seemed to pop up in Qatar overnight. And that is the thing about this story in particular – it was as much about the fans as it was about the players. When Morocco beat Portugal last week, a colleague turned to me and asked an important editorial question: “So, the first African team to make it to the semis, or the first Arab team?” My answer did not skip a beat. “Both. All of it. And then some. Their win means whatever you want it to mean, for you.” We decided right there and then that our coverage would not delve into the very real identity ping-pong taking place over who gets to claim Morocco. It is not that these debates are not valid; it is that we simply chose to lean into a moment swirling in optimism and unity. We also chose a different conversation to spotlight: the power of football as a force for social change. I spoke to a few people who were merely supporting Morocco in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, as players and fans regularly waved the Palestinian flag. For them, the following message about Palestinians was enough: “They exist. Their struggle is real and felt beyond their homes. They will not be erased.” It is so much bigger than football. And the ability of the Atlas Lions to connect so many people from different backgrounds around a common desire to believe in miracles, shift the game when no one saw it coming, in a region ignored by football’s big guns (until now) – was a story worth telling, and one the world needed, however fleeting.
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Violent scenes unfolded in the streets of multiple European cities, including Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam on Sunday, as riot police officers clashed with hordes of unruly football fans after the Morocco team bested Belgium 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Authorities in Brussels used tear gas and water cannons in their effort to rein in the wanton property damage as Morocco fans smashed store windows and set fire to cars, according to AFP. Video posted to social media showed a mob attacking a car and scooters, while another clip featured fans setting off fireworks and cheering.
Riot police reportedly had to seal off parts of the city center, including a popular Christmas market, and some public transit was ordered shut down. In the neighboring Netherlands, authorities were forced to deploy riot police to contain a restless crowd in central Amsterdam, urging people to leave the area of the Mercatorplein square. Two police officials were reportedly injured amid unrest in Rotterdam. Local politicians denounced the hooligans for bringing “shame to real fans” and urged residents to stay away from the city center, even while stressing that the majority of the revelers were behaving peacefully. Brussels Mayor Philippe Close lamented that police had been forced to act “harshly” and belatedly ordered them to arrest the troublemakers. Celebrations in Morocco’s capital of Rabat were comparatively subdued as fans sang and danced to mark their team’s first win in a World Cup match since 1998. Morocco’s next match is against Canada on December 1. MADRID, July 10 -- On behalf of the EU, Morocco is making it more difficult to flee across the Mediterranean to Spain. In fact, the number of refugees is decreasing. But the deal has fatal consequences for migrants, human rights activists say. "If only we could be left, we could save much more," says Manuel Capa. The trade unionist works for the sea rescue in the Spanish city of Valencia. If Morocco or Spain embark on a new course when it comes to migration, they will feel it immediately. And he does not like the new course of the Spanish government at all. According to the law of the sea every captain must take shipwrecked persons, if he is able to do so, Capa explains. Regardless of whose sea area he is in. "So, if a shipwrecked man was in the Moroccan Maritime Rescue Zone and Morocco did not take care of him because of the lack of resources or perhaps the will, then the Moroccans allowed us to go into their waters and save the humans." That has changed. A new protocol stipulates that Morocco is solely responsible for its zone. The Spanish saviors must often be left out. Trade unionist Capa says what happens to the people who are shipwrecked in Moroccan waters is incomprehensible. It remains unclear whether they were saved and if so, where they would be taken. Does the government accept dead? Helena Maleno from the non-governmental organization "Caminando Froteras" goes further. She accuses the Spanish government of a cynical game: "We're basically doing the same thing as Salvini: We're retreating, but not so obvious, of course, we can not pull out the sea rescue, but we're taking some risk with the new measures." Spain's motto is to close this route, whatever the cost. Maleno assumes that the government will not protest because of the dead. 140 million euros in aid The Spanish maritime rescue rejects the allegations. In the first half of the year, the number of registered deaths had dropped significantly. Currently there are 81 people who did not make it to Spain alive. Last year, at 151, it was almost twice as many. The fact is that Spain and Morocco are working together again on migration. Spain's head of state, Sánchez, has worked hard to ensure that the European Union gives Morocco more support in terms of border management. With success: the EU promised Morocco a total of 140 million euros in aid in January. The refugees are being transported inland And Morocco has delivered. Anyway, this is the conclusion reached by an internal paper of the EU Commission, which is available in the Spanish newspaper El País. Support for Morocco, both from Spain and from the European Commission, is the basis for the declining trend in arrivals, it says. The Moroccan government is also not overshadowing their successes: The authorities have this year so far prevented 25,000 people from reaching by sea illegally Spain, according to an official Moroccan side. Often, however, this is done with dubious methods, says Said Tbel, migration officer of the human rights organization Association marocaine des droits humains (AMDH) in Rabat: "Since last summer, Morocco has again resorted to methods that violate the rights of migrants." So many migrants were picked up on the coast in northern Morocco and spent in the south. It has become increasingly difficult for people to leave Morocco for Spain. Many boats were capsized, there are now many missing and dead. The human rights activist believes that the situation will worsen in the medium term. The Moroccan Ministry of the Interior was not available for an interview at short notice. Author: Lora Smith STOCKHOLM, December 28 -- The state broadcaster SVT’s coverage of the double murder of 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and 28-year-old Maren Ueland by Islamists in Morocco has sparked a fury of criticism. Besides running an article that the savage murder of the two Scandinavian girls “had nothing to do with Islam”, they also pushed the narrative that sharing of the graphic video of the murder is illegal, warning Swedes not to share the video as that is punishable with up to four years imprisonment. Scores of viewers complained that SVT was more concerned by people sharing the video of the killing, than they were with the horrific murders, themselves. As well, they failed to mention the ISIS style execution by beheading, instead reported the murder from “neck wounds”.
Some who made the decision to watch the video admitted it was a poor choice, regretting having seen it. Svenska Dagbladet columnist Ivar Arpi stated on his Facebook page: ”Happened to watch the movie clip that is being circulated. The one where one of them gets her head cut off. I wish I could unsee it. I’ve seen many horrible things. For a while I felt a responsibility as a journalist to see the movie clips that Daesh released. Still, this was much worse. It is the worst I have ever seen. It will haunt me”, he also referred to the murderers as “beasts”. |
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