Moroccan Salafi Leader Condemns Rif Activists for Renouncing Nationality

The daily newspaper Assabah reports the remarks contained in Cheikh Mohamed Fizazi’s post on Facebook. For him indeed, "renouncing one’s nationality is an act that resembles the fact of disowning one’s parents".

The Cheikh is one of the symbols of Salafism in Morocco and a former detainee following the terrorist attacks that hit Casablanca at the beginning of this millennium. He explained the notion of nationality, indicating that it is "a determining link that defines an individual’s belonging to a nation and the people of that nation".

He was outraged that "a person can choose to be a bastard after having had his lineage". Ultimately, the Cheikh affirmed that "any person who dares to renounce his nationality, an act comparable to disowning his parents, is a matter of ignorance and stupidity".

As for the second decision to break the allegiance, raised by the Rif activists including Nasser Zefzafi, Nabil Ahamjik, Ouassim El Boustati, Zakaria Adahchour, Samir Ighid and Mohamed Haki, who are still in prison because of the events in Al-Hoceima, Cheikh Fizazi described this attitude as a "cowardly betrayal", which shows their ignorance of this link, its foundations and its legitimacy, details the same source.