Abdelilah Benkirane

Articles

• PJD Leaders Hold Closed-Door Meeting Following Royal Cabinet Warning
  15 March 2023, by Sylvanus

  So far, the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), led by Abdelilah Benkirane, has refrained from any comment after the warning from the royal cabinet, but it could react in the very near future.
  Radio silence at the PJD since the reprimand from the Royal Cabinet. Only a restricted meeting, more than 24 hours later, with the "office" of the national secretariat was organized by Abdelilah Benkirane, reports the Arabic daily Assabah. Present at this meeting were the bigwigs of the Islamist (…)

• Moroccan Islamist Party Apologizes After Royal Rebuke on Israel Policy
  16 March 2023, by Prince

  The Justice and Development Party (PJD) broke its silence after being reprimanded by the Royal Cabinet regarding Morocco’s relations with Israel. In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Abdelilah Benkirane, the party expressed its "sincere repentance".
  The PJD categorically denies "any interference in the constitutional powers of the King as well as his strategic roles and royal prerogatives", we can read in the party’s statement, published on Wednesday. The party takes note of (…)

• PJD Leader Slams Justice Minister Over Proposed Consensual Relationship Laws in Morocco
  2 April 2023, by Prince

  The Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, publicly attacked the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, regarding the ongoing debate on "consensual relationships" in the context of the reform of the Penal Code and the Family Code.
  "We are in these circumstances (social crisis), and you are talking about consensual relationships [...] What are you looking for by talking about consensual relationships?", Benkirane thus addressed Minister (…)

• Moroccan Opposition Leader Warns of Potential Protests Amid Government Criticism
  17 April 2023, by Sylvanus

  Abdelilah Benkirane, secretary general of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), lashed out at the government of Aziz Akhannouch. He also warned him against the possibility of a popular protest similar to the "February 20 Movement" breaking out.
  "They (the three coalition parties) couldn’t even go out to tell the Moroccans to be patient... They don’t know how to communicate and say that the onion is scarce," he said at a meeting of the PJD parliamentary group on Friday evening in (…)

• Moroccan Islamist Party Pushes Bill to Ban Dual Nationals from Cabinet Positions
  29 April 2023, by Sylvanus

  The Party of Justice and Development (PJD) led by Abdelilah Benkirane no longer wants Moroccans with other nationalities to enter the government. It has initiated a bill to this effect and tabled it in the House of Representatives.
  A bill to, among other things, prevent Moroccans with other nationalities and persons not enjoying their civil and political rights from being part of the government. This is the new battle of the PJD parliamentarians. They made three proposals to amend the (…)

• Moroccan Opposition Leader Slams Western Capitalism, Calls for Defending Traditional Values
  7 May 2023, by Prince

  The Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, denounced Western capitalism which, in the long run, will harm the Moroccan people and economy.
  Western capitalism not only does not serve Morocco economically, but also in terms of values and morals, Benkirane said, criticizing the struggle of certain Western organizations in favor of homosexuality, consensual sexual relations and abortion. The Secretary General of the PJD, who spoke on Saturday in (…)

• Moroccan Justice Minister: Homosexuality Cannot Be Legalized in Muslim Nation
  22 June 2023, by Prince

  The Minister of Justice and Secretary General of the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM), Abdellatif Ouahbi, assured that homosexuality cannot be "legalized" in a "Muslim country" like Morocco, despite the manipulations of Islamist currents on this issue.
  "No one can legalize homosexuality in Morocco. We remain a Muslim country, but the Islamist currents want to make this issue a cause around which they intend to unite and form a political force. But I will never allow the political (…)

• Former Salafist Turned Advisor Pushes for Legal Reforms in Morocco
  15 July 2023, by Prince

  Mohamed Abdelouahab Rafiqui has been an advisor to the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, since July 7. The former Salafist, now a defender of "values of tolerance and the just mean," explains the reasons why he is advocating for a reform of the Penal Code and the Family Code (Moudawana).
  Better known as "Abou Hafs" in Salafist circles, Mohamed Abdelouahab Rafiqui is in favor of the ongoing reform of texts that grants more individual freedoms to Moroccans. He accepted "without the (…)

• PJD Leader Calls for Silence on Israel’s Recognition of Moroccan Sahara
  22 July 2023, by Prince

  The Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, has asked the members and officials of the party to impose a blackout on Israel’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.
  Abdelilah Benkirane has asked the members and officials of the party to refrain from any declaration or comment on the letter from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he recognizes the Moroccanness of the Sahara, according to the official website (…)

• Morocco’s Islamic Party Links Earthquake to ’Collective Sins’, Sparks Controversy
  25 September 2023, by Sylvanus

  The Party of Justice and Development (PJD) spoke out about the powerful and devastating earthquake of September 8 that mourned Morocco and issued a call to Moroccans. And the least that can be said is that it should not please everyone.
  "We must be aware that the fact of ’returning to God’ means that we have moved away from Him in certain aspects of our life. We must therefore return to God, so that He may heal our wounds and compensate us for our ordeal. But we must also reflect as a (…)