Morocco's Benchemsi says journalists should reject extremism
2007-06-18
In the second part of a two-part interview, award-winning Moroccan journalist Ahmed Reda Benchemsi talks about the role of journalists in rejecting extremism and about the new press law in Morocco.
By Imane Belhaj for Magharebia in Casablanca – 18/06/2007
 [Imane Belhaj] Benchemsi denies any relation between Islam and the atrocities carried out in its name |
Moroccan journalist Ahmed Reda Benchemsi, publications manager for French-language weekly magazine Tel Quel and Arabic-language weekly magazine Nichane, was selected recently for the Press Freedom Award, created in memory of late Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir, assassinated in a car bombing in Beirut in 2005.
Benchemsi earned the 15,000-euro award for his piece entitled "The Cult of Personality", published in Tel Quel in July 2006. The award is conferred annually by the Delegation of the European Commission and the Samir Kassir Foundation.
In the second part of a two-part interview, Benchemsi talks about the role of journalists in rejecting extremism and about the new press code in Morocco.
Magharebia: Aside from condemnation, what can you do as a Muslim journalist to put a stop to the abduction of foreign journalists in Iraq or Afghanistan, which is usually carried out in the name of religion in countries torn apart by conflicts, and to avert accusation against Islam?
Ahmed Reda Benchemsi: First, I do not want to talk to you here as a Muslim journalist, but as a journalist only, without regard for my religious affiliation. For I am a journalist before everything, and my being a Muslim is something else. I do not want to mix them in any case. I am a big defender of secularism, and this means faith is solely a personal matter to its holder, bearing no relationship to what we write. I think the solidarity of Moroccan journalists with their abducted colleagues in all parts of the world is something professional, whether the abducted person is Muslim or otherwise. And our condemnation of the operation is absolute, whether the perpetrators are Muslim or otherwise. Religion bears no relationship to what happens in terms of civil strife in the world, and Islam bears no relationship to a number of abominable behaviours carried out in its name daily. But I think extremism is the origin of the problem, not in the Islamic religion alone, but even in the other religions. Extremism is the deed of those with sick minds, whether they are Muslim, Jewish or Christian. Thus, I say any journalist who defends the values of modernity and openness and the values of humanism and the right to freedom, rejects all forms of extremism, whether in religion, politics or any other ideology.
Magharebia: What is your opinion on the new press law, which is still pending and has not yet been authorised?
Benchemsi: In truth, I personally do not know the reason for its delay. But my opinion on the law itself is that it moved us from the point of negative 100 to negative 50, meaning that in the end things remain as-is. Nonetheless, they want us to applaud it. It is not possible for us to rejoice over this law, even if it reduces all the deleterious penalties on freedom with regards to journalists. For we cannot merely reduce the number of these penalties in the new law in order to say we made progress. On the contrary, so long as there remains a single deleterious penalty on freedom, we will continue to reject this law, which takes us backwards.
Magharebia: In your view, what is the Moroccan press still lacking?
Benchemsi: In general, perhaps we are lacking balance in courage and professionalism, because the truly professional newspapers represent a minority in Morocco. In my view, some newspapers are still operating with the logic of defending principles bearing no relationship to the press. Professionalism requires confirming the veracity of news before publishing it, and, in the case of publishing erroneous news, it is necessary to apologise for it as soon as possible. This is what makes it respect its readers. This common denominator must exist among all journalists. After that, each one may defend the principals or understandings he wishes, without being concerned thereafter whether or not others agree with him.
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miloud Posted 2007-06-18
There is a $45,000 price on the head of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, leader of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). The term Salafiya [from which Salafist is a derivative] in Arabic means compliance with the preaching style defined by the righteous early generation of Muslims, namely the early Islamic generation, their immediate second and third subsequent generations. Muslims around the world who consider themselves advocates of the Salafiya philosophy support the explanation of the Qur'an and the Prophet’s legacy from the perspective of those three generations. There is nothing in the core thought of the Salafists that necessarily calls for the use or endorsement of violence as a warfare mechanism on the political battle arena. Nevertheless, the GSPC, which the Algerian army accuses of abducting European tourists in the Algerian desert, is one of the most radical groups that is waging an in-country and relentless war against its government. Press reports said the group, with 300 armed fighters, seeks to overthrow the Algerian government and install an Islamic state and target Western interests in the region. The group, being on the US list of terrorist groups since 2002, is believed to have links with al-Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden as well as its activity in Europe, the US and the Middle East. Other observers feel the groups is merely a gang of bandits and smugglers. The group is reportedly raising funds through cigarettes, drugs, cars and weapon smuggling. Algerian press have linked Mokhar Belmokhtar, a.k.a “Laawar” [the one-eyed man] to the group. He is a former solider who came a long way through the radical promotion path and spent time in Afghanistan. A former inmate with Belmokhtar, 23 years old, described his personality as a mix of Robin Hood and Osama Bin Laden. With a wide public support, the GSPC has existed since 1996. they are the ones who held European tourists for three months in the Algerian desert. The group was given birth from a leading radical organization in Algeria, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which was accused of attacking the Paris subway network with bombs packed with nails in 1995 and a significant number of attacks against military and civilian targets in Algeria. Unlike the GIA, the GSPC has garnered popular support by alleging not to target civilians inside Algeria, a pledge not fully honoured by followers of the group. James Rif, an analyst and expert in Algerian affairs at the Economist Intelligence Unit said in an interview with BBC News Online “if it was the GIA who held the tourists, it would have beheaded them”. “GSPC was looking for a soft target to embarrass the government. There are no tourists in northern Algeria and the group knows that there are German tourists in the Algerian desert southward”. It is believed that the GSPC is funded by some Algerian expatriates abroad. The Algerian government even accused Iran and Sudan of providing support to the group. In late 2002, Algerian authorities announced that they killed a Yemeni member of al-Qaeda who was conducting meetings with GSPC lieutenants inside Algeria.
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