After the extraordinary Qatar summit, Morocco emerges stronger in the face of "anti-normalization" propaganda!

doha summit

Although more than a week has passed since the extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit held in Qatar, some “Islamist,” “nationalist,” and remnants of the old left, united under the “anti-normalization tent,” continue to insinuate themselves against countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the Zionist entity, specifically the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Kingdom of Morocco. Instead of directing their criticism at the official Arab and Islamic system as a whole, for its demonstrated inability and fragmentation, and its inability or unwillingness to agree on anything less than the bare minimum of coordinated action, they focused, during the first two days, on praising the “success of the summit” and the “state” of solidarity demonstrated by the attendees toward Qatar. We are unable to translate this or understand the foundations upon which it was built, except for the fact that these are speeches with varying tones, voices rising here and there, but united in their emptiness of meaning, including the host’s words, “tonight,” in the opinion of our Egyptian brothers, by which we mean the State of Qatar.

However, because all the "battles" of this tribe—and we mean the opponents of "normalization"—do not differ in any way from the battles of the official Arab regimes they criticize, in terms of their reliance on empty rhetoric as a means of action, they quickly revealed their bleak face, and began directing criticism and settling scores with the four aforementioned countries, under the ludicrous pretext that the summit "put these normalizing countries in a morally and politically embarrassing position!!" and that, after the "victorious summit," they must quickly sever their relations with Israel and withdraw their ambassadors from the Zionist entity. Since we are not concerned with responding on behalf of all the "normalizing" countries, as they already have enough pens to confront the coordinated wave attacking them, we will limit ourselves to providing a few observations specific to the honorable Kingdom of Morocco.

First, there's no need to remind those who attacked Morocco that the honorable Kingdom represents a unique case among all countries that have open relations with Israel, or those that do not, in terms of allowing local public opinion to freely express its solidarity with the Palestinian people and the tragedy of Gaza (to be honest, Yemen, specifically in the areas controlled by the Houthis, can be added to this list, not to mention Jordan). Thus, the Kingdom of Morocco witnessed the largest number of solidarity demonstrations and protests, with the largest crowds anywhere in the world, not just among Arabs and Muslims, without security forces attacking a single demonstrator, or any citizen in the street feeling threatened in any way. This was hardly surprising, as this is the norm for Moroccans, who consider the Palestinian cause a sister cause to the national cause (the Moroccan Sahara). This situation did not differ one iota, whether before or after the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020. In other words, official relations are the concern of the government and subject to the logic of state administration, while popular solidarity with Palestine and its tragedy is the concern of the street and subject to the logic of fraternal, humanitarian, and national solidarity at the same time.

It also goes without saying that the most effective aid campaigns to the Gaza Strip, which exceeded six campaigns, were official Moroccan ones, under the personal orders of the country's king, and succeeded in delivering aid through land crossings, without the extremist Israeli government being able to prevent a single aid box from arriving!! And in all fairness, we also mention that Jordan was the second country to successfully deliver aid to the people of the stricken Strip, with some aid airdropped by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. The above does not mean in any way that this aid was sufficient to prevent famine in Gaza, but it clearly indicates that the "normalizing countries" are the ones that translated their solidarity with Gaza in a practical way, far from the "rhetorical bravado" that was all that reached the people of Gaza from the countries and groups opposed to normalization!

Returning to the extraordinary Doha summit, we consider that, contrary to the claims of the "anti-normalization tribe," which naturally includes local Moroccan parties, it contributed to consolidating the Moroccan state's adherence to its current policy and does not, in any way, constitute any kind of political or moral embarrassment. How so?

The Doha Summit, and before it, the regular and extraordinary Arab and Islamic summits held since the outbreak of the "Al-Aqsa Intifada," have demonstrated that the official Arab and Islamic systems are far from agreeing on the minimum level of what could be considered a common supreme interest. They have also demonstrated that each of the 57 Islamic countries (including the 22 Arab states, led by the Palestinian Authority itself) is striving to pursue its own personal interests and is completely unwilling to seek a common interest, whether Arab or Islamic. This applies not only to the political sphere, but also to the economic, humanitarian, cultural, sports, and other spheres. So why is Morocco (and other countries that maintain relations with Israel) being asked, more than any of the other 53 countries, to sacrifice their own interests on the "altar" of a nationalist battle in which the "non-normalizing" states are not even remotely willing to engage?!

Returning to Morocco, there is a perplexing question that we challenge any anti-normalization "geek" to find an answer to: What harm have diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel caused to the Palestinian cause or to the people of Gaza, to the point where it is justified to call for severing these ties to halt this damage?! We hope that the answer will not be a repetition of the lies that some Islamists have excelled at about the port of Tangier, “which contributes to the delivery of weapons used to annihilate Gaza,” or “Morocco’s honoring of the Israeli Air Force commander who ordered the killing of Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar’s family.” Because the extent of the fabrication and deception used in spreading these two propaganda has become an example of the behavior of those who claim to be Muslims, without possessing the slightest of its ethics in dealing with others fairly, according to the Almighty’s saying: “Let not the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.” And His saying: “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves.” These are the meanings that we do not see any trace of in everything issued by the tribe that opposes normalization, specifically its Islamists!!

In conclusion, the harmony between the logic of the Moroccan state and the logic of the Moroccan street, and their unity—despite their different means and areas of action—in attempting to provide whatever assistance possible to the afflicted Palestinian people and their just cause, is something that no Moroccan needs to prove or justify. The media campaigns that attempt to undermine the unity of the people and their regime, and the trust between the country's monarch and his people, are nothing but a desperate expression of the inability to confront this "Moroccan exception." Accordingly, the Moroccan state will continue to pursue its strategy of restoring the historical status of the honorable kingdom and strengthening Morocco to the point of making it impervious to blackmail and threats from the world's great powers. The Moroccan people, with all their diverse sects and components (including their official authorities), will continue to provide all possible assistance to their Palestinian brothers, leading the ranks of solidarity and providing support with the resources they possess, ignoring the coordinated campaigns targeting this cohesion, which has been deeply rooted for centuries.

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