Moroccan Islamists to stay peaceful amid crackdown

RABAT, June 3 (Reuters) Morocco's main Islamic opposition, whose showdown with the government prompted fears the group might turn radical and violent, vowed to stay peaceful in the face of a crackdown.

Security forces had arrested at least 457 leaders and members of the unauthorised al Adl wa al Ihsane (Justice and Charity) in Rabat and other cities in the past 10 days, group officials said.

Mass arrests, quickly followed by releases, were made after the group launched an ''open doors'' campaign to recruit outside traditional areas such as mosques and universities.

Police, in an apparent shift from mass arrests al Adl members called ''war on Allah (God)'', beat activists to disperse gatherings of some 100 activists in Rabat and about 100 more in Marrakech yesterday.

''Several of our brothers were hurt and mistreated by police last night, including one of al Adl founders Mohamed al Soulaimani, aged 80, who was due to chair the meeting in Marrakech,'' said a leading figure, who declined to be named.

Interior Minister Chakib Benmussa was quoted by state agency MAP as saying this week al Adl's unauthorised activity had put the group ''outside the logic of the law''. He said: ''It is the duty of the state to enforce scrupulously the law.'' Analysts said al Adl, which is the biggest opposition group in Morocco with about 250,000 members, seeks to expand outside traditional bases ahead of next year's parliamentary elections.

The move put the group on a collision course with the government which had sought for the two last decades to contain its growth inside mosques and universities amid reports al Adl was plotting to stage a Qawma (uprising) this year, they added.

PRESENCE ON THE GROUND Local pro-government French-language Maroc Hebdo predicted the showdown was turning into a ''war of attrition''.

Political analyst Mohamed Darif said the group, which shies from violence, might become radical in the future. ''The group draws its strength from its huge presence on the ground. It is well organised and structured,'' he told Maroc Hebdo.

But al Adl's political leader Abdelwahed Motawakil told Reuters in an interview late yesterday the group is committed to peaceful Ghandi-styled political struggle in its bid for a government change.

''The group was built upon a vision and an approach which both ban and reject violence. We embrace peaceful ways and we are no less enthusiastic about that than Ghandi,'' he said.

Motawakil, who is al Adl's political department secretary general, said the government was wrong in cracking down on the group to stop it expanding.

''We are certain that the government's policy will backfire.

We believe fully in our peaceful policy line. We will not change our policy in the face of the government crackdown,'' he added.

''We will pursue our peaceful path and work calmly to win our rights and satisfy our demands,'' said Motawakil.

He added the group had issued ''an internal political document'' urging al Adl's members to remain calm ''even under the most severe conditions of the government crackdown''.

Al Adl, which is tolerated but not authorised, wants more reforms to trim the royal palace's power and give a greater role to the executive and legislative branches of government.

REUTERS SHB RAI2010