The constant and the variable in the attitudes of Moroccan Islamists towards the civil state

Abstract EN

This study examines the attitudes of Morocco's two main Islamist parties towards the modern civil state, and the extent to which members of the Justice and Charity Movement and the Justice and Development Party are willing to change their attitudes towards the notion of the civil state.

The findings reveal that both movements concur in their categorical rejection of a ruler being non-Muslim and in their affirmation of the importance of political participation in the context of an Islamic system of government, which is understood as being synonymous with shura (consultation).

Notable differences are detected, however, with the Justice and Development Party deemed more receptive to partial secularism and to the election of government officials.

The change in attitudes for the sample as a whole reveals a rise in the number of positive attitudes towards secularism and a drop in those concerned with its twin, democracy, as well as a marginal decline in the number of positive attitudes towards party pluralism and the election of government officials.