I am absolutely fine and very safe in my little corner of Morocco, but I thought it worth my time to write a quick update on the state of things from this end (especially considering I’ve been abandoning my blogging duties as of late… where or where did April GO?!).

Anyway, I’ll let someone who is a professional sum up the current reading of the situation from last Friday in Marrakech, by pasting the update we were forwarded by PC headquarters in Morocco below:

Morocco attack ‘by remote-control’ . From:AFP April 30, 2011

A POWERFUL blast in a Marrakesh cafe that killed foreign tourists was set off by a remote-control device.

At least 15 people died, including French, Dutch and British tourists, and 20 more were injured in the attack, which Morocco’s interior minister said was detonated by remote-control.

Previous reports suggested the attack may have been from a suicide bomber.

The cafe bombing is most likely a bid by hardline Islamists to retake the initiative in Arab politics after being sidelined by pro-democratic revolts across the Middle East, experts said.

A Muslim extremist group such as al-Qaida’s North African arm was probably to blame, experts said.

Jean-Yves Moisseron, editor-in-chief of specialist journal Maghreb-Machrek, said al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had been trying to set up a cell in Morocco for several months, despite a string of arrests.

“The mode of operation suggests a professional organisation, because Djemaa el-Fna square is under tight surveillance,” he said. 

The choice of a target in a city with a reputation for ‘fast living’ was also a sign, he said. 

Marrakesh has a reputation among conservative Islamists as a haven for the parties and prostitution denounced by al-Qaida.

“The Argana cafe is a place that attracts foreigners,” he explained.

Islamic radicals have been drowned out by the ‘Arab Spring’ series of popular revolts in the Middle East, where crowds have demanded democratic freedoms, not Islamic theocracy.

By bombing a popular cafe, Muslim radicals are trying to restore their voice in the political debate, said Mr Moisseron.

“Since the start of the Arab Spring, al-Qaida networks have fallen silent because they did not know how to position themselves,” said Anne Guidicelli, a consultant specialising in terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa.

Authoritarian regimes in the region – now under threat from the popular uprisings – had brandished the threat of al-Qaida to justify their repressive response to the revolts, and so actually shared a common cause with the terrorists by trying to emphasise their importance, said Ms Guidicelli.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/morocco-attack-by-remote-control/story-fn6s850w-1226047340266

All of that said, my real impetus for blogging about this stems from a conversation I had with my friend Avery over coffee this morning in my souk town. We were noticing that all over Al Jazeera they were showing images of Moroccans holding vigils and memorial services for the people killed in Marrakech, many complete with Muslim Imams praying and people with lit candles and flowers. As most of the victims of the bombing were foreigners, it is important to point out that these people were not likely related to any of the victims. Moroccans are outraged at the violence, especially as it seemed to target tourists. The king has spoken out about how angry he is that this happened, and I have personally heard all about how Moroccans condemn this type of violence from my neighbors.

I see this as an unfortunate, yet important opportunity to highlight the difference between extremist, violent groups like Al-Qaida and the MASSIVE (let me repeat: MASSIVE) majority in the Muslim world who are incredibly warm, peaceful and hospitable by nature. Never mind the obvious other reality that they are people, just like anyone else in the world, and a tragedy is just as upsetting to them, or perhaps moreso when on their home soil.

As Avery and I discussed this over breakfast, we remembered that the odds that Fox News and the like were showing images of these memorials and protests against violent extreme-ism alongside images of a burnt building and accusations directed at Al-Qaida were slim to none. I just wanted to write something to set the record straight and let everyone at home know EXACTLY what’s going on here, and that people are reacting just as we might at home, with prayers and concern.

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