This centre currently welcomes 105 Malian imams, as part of a programme designed for a total of 500 imams. This is the result of King Mohamed VI’s visit to Mali, at the request of the Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. The King launched officially the programme in the second half of 2014.
In the centre’s garden, hiding in the Ryad area – one of the most chic in the capital city Rabat – a young man is squatting under the lemon and pine trees : he holds papers over which swings his head from time to time, while ceaselessly repeating the same Arabic sentence with his strong foreign accent. From the building’s inside door, a dark skinned man comes out: his hair is covered by a red head scarf similar to those used by Muslims from North Africa to Near East, an inheritance from Ottoman times. He walks very slowly, holding a prayer bead necklace in his hands, chanting in low voice prayers. He salutes his colleague who is preparing himself for the great Friday prayer at the mosque. «Before I came to Morocco, I thought of myself as an ‘alem’ (a scholar) but today I discovered in my religion many things which I ignored » said Idriss Traoré, imam from one of the mosques of the Malian capital Bamako.
Traoré reflects on the important role of the imam institution in Muslim society. He finds that «this role results from the fact that imam inspires large segments of the society. Should his knowledge of Islam be unsufficient or should he propagates extremist ideas which have nothing to do with religion, this would result with more fundamentalists and terrorists. ».
Idris, the young squatting Malian, said he received his religious training in an archaic way «which was disconnected from technological evolution and from internet». He welcomes the initiative to train Malian imams as his president suggested to the King of Morocco. «This shows their absolute understanding on the important role that an imam or a preacher endorses while transmitting a certified Islam to the citizens », Traoré added. He admires the Moroccan religiosity which is based on «moderation and where use of force is fully banned».
Mohamed Issa Coulibaly is a delegate at the Malian ministry of Islamic Affairs. He remembers how his country suffered from the evil of terrorism in recent years. He does not forget his country was stuck between the hammer of extremists groups and the anvil of foreign military intervention. «Many doctors in religion have willingly or unwillingly contributed to the rise of religious extremism in Sahel and Sahara region, specifically in Mali. Some foreign countries think they can win with weapons this extremism which is threatening the world’s security and peace, but in fact, what they did was the contrary: they failed. » Coulibaly commented. He welcomes Morocco’s role in the stabilisation and security of his country «which is not hunting terrorists with military means but by fighting the terrorist ideology which is much more devastating ». This is the objective of imams’ training and their coaching on the essentials of Islam, which are based on moderation and restraint. To conclude, he added that «imam stands as an icon for many people ».
The director of the Centre for Education of Imams, Abd As-salam Al Azaar, states that in Rabat the two year programme for each group aims at «rehabilitating imams and doctors so that they can accomplish the mission of ordinary imams. Imams who know well the religious affairs according to the good behaviour. Imams who would enlighten people in the right religion and pass onto them the religious message as they themselves received it». He is adamant that «imam should not overpass this role, and should not cross limits as they would create chaos in society ».
The training programme deals with charia, French, and general culture which should, he said, contribute to widen the educational level of students and help «block the road to the pirates of religion, through the very dialogue with those who stand for different ideas ».
The Centre will in future bear the name of Centre Mohamed VI for the training of monitors and will soon welcome new groups from Tunisia, Libya, Ivory Coast, Gabon and France… … Lahsen Sekenfel, a professor in rhetoric and preaching, thinks that their role is to train citizen on their own religion, keeping away from extremism and fundamentalism. «An imam holds a public tribune. This tribune should not be abused for political ends or in a manner opposed to the principles of nation or homeland».
Saad Ar-Rakraki, professor in international law and an expert on international relations, thinks that this operation, which he evaluates as positive, constitutes a small part of a much wider project. The objective is to create a kind of harmony between all imams in the Muslim world and specifically in North Africa. He noted further that «the programme does not only achieve religious objectives but also political ones»; unfortunately, added Ar-Rakraki, «There are various Muslim groups and movements, even opposed to each other, which are detrimental to the image of Islam. » He believes this operation aims at «adopting a common and unified position towards what vision of Islam needs to be communicated to Muslim peoples in general and most specifically to those of the Sahara and Sahel region. ».
The professor in international relations wonders as to the overall objective of this operation: «Is this happening to fill in a void created by extreme political groups which are claiming to promote Islam? Is this a strategy to promote a moderate religious vision in the aim to oppose these movements which are active in the region? Or is it no more that the consequence of the conflict between countries in the region which are attempting to control the whole region of Sahel and Sahara? »
