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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Davy Crockett who wrote (18553)9/12/2002 7:44:43 PM
From: kirby49  Respond to of 27666
 
He misinterpreted my writing and thought I said Bush needed more education. Couldn't have been anything else.<GG>

Bob



To: Davy Crockett who wrote (18553)9/12/2002 9:35:40 PM
From: lorne  Respond to of 27666
 
Gees. where's IC when you need him.
Morocco cracks down on Islamic militants
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Monday, September 2, 2002
CAIRO — Morocco has launched a new crackdown on suspected Islamic insurgents that includes closing illegal mosques.

The crackdown is said to be the start of implementation of a new plan meant to reduce Islamic unrest in the kingdom. The plan increases security forces around Rabat and regards Islamic unrest as a threat to national security that requires a comprehensive approach to monitoring and supervising Islamic movements and clerics.

Over the weekend, Moroccan authorities arrested 20 suspected Islamic insurgents. The insurgents were said to have come from the Salafist Jihad group.

Moroccan officials said the plan has been drafted and overseen by Gen. Hamidu Anikri, chief of Moroccan domestic intelligence. Anikri has relayed the plan as well as recommendations to governorates throughout the kingdom on how to deal with Islamic groups and mosques.

The plan includes the establishment of 50 security centers around Rabat. Rabat is Morocco's capital and has a population of 3.5 million.

Islamic sources said that so far more than 1,000 Islamic activists have been arrested over the past few weeks. They include the arrest over the last few days of 27 suspected members of the Salafist Jihad group.

In addition, about 30 mosques have been shut down, the sources said. The crackdown by the kingdom came amid the arrest of at least two Al Qaida cells in May. The insurgents linked to Osama Bin Laden were accused of planning to launch suicide bombings in Morocco as well as attack NATO ships in the western Mediterranean.

Moroccan security sources have acknowledged the arrests but said the number of mosques shut down has been exaggerated. The sources said four mosques were closed after they were found to have been used by Islamic insurgents to preach violence against the kingdom.

The sources said the mosques were also deemed as illegal and located in buildings that were not suitable for a large number of congregants. But they said Moroccan authorities have become stricter in their monitoring of mosques to ensure that they don't recruit for Islamic insurgency groups.

One measure that has been ordered by the new security plan is for the halt of all trade in all of Morocco's 24,000 mosques. Security sources said the measure is meant to stop the sale of books and video tapes that encourage unrest and insurgency. They said the measure has already been implemented in Casablanca.
worldtribune.com