Moroccan Kiss Controversy: Film Scene Sparks Nationwide Debate on Public Decency

A video showing a kiss between the two protagonists of the film in a public space has shocked many Internet users. In their eyes, this scene is contrary to the cultural and religious specificities of the city. The publication by the actor Stefano Accorsi of the night videos of Tangier in his Instagram story, filmed from above and where we can hear the call to prayer, also does not please many Internet users.

On June 26, the Center for the Protection of Social Rights and Development Strategies filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office in Rabat. It qualifies the played scene as an attack on public decency. The controversial scene constitutes a violation of the law and an attack on the moral values of Moroccan society, the center believes. But this complaint is viewed in a bad light by the writer and film critic Abdellkarim Ouakrim. He has a hard time understanding the indignation of the Center for the Protection of Social Rights and Development Strategies.

"These people who file a complaint with the Attorney General, are they in their right mind or not... It’s a foreign film and it’s a played scene... In general, this kind of people are bothered by the sight of a kiss, but they don’t mind seeing a homeless person, with nothing to eat... The manifestations of social and economic exclusion do not outrage them, because they are hypocrites who bargain with morality and a lying religiosity," he commented.