Moroccan Minister for Moroccan Communities Abroad, Mohammed Ameur, says that his fellow Moroccan nationals in the Netherlands belong to the 17th province of Morocco. I assume that the Moroccan state has 16 provinces, with the Netherlands becoming the 17th.
Moroccan migrants in Europe need to work harder to preserve their language and culture. But his statement has rubbed Dutch politicians the wrong way. It’s beginning to take on the appearance of a trend. While European immigration ministers emphasise the need for migrants to integrate – and preferably even assimilate – politicians from their countries of origin underline the need for migrants to preserve their cultural identity.
Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan sparked an outcry when he said that assimilation was no less than a crime against humanity. The Moroccan minister appears to have taken a page from his book.
Classes
In the French language magazine Aujourd’hui le Maroc, Minister Ameur recently revealed Morocco’s new migrants policy. “The Moroccan community abroad”, he argued, should be regarded as our country’s 17th province.” The spearhead of the new policy is to ensure that more children of Moroccan descent take classes in Moroccan culture and in Arabic.
Man, how wonderful is that! Here’s another example of the tail wagging the dog, with the Islamic world telling Europe how it should manage the affairs of Muslims it has allowed to immigrate within its borders.
But wait, this is nothing new, Europe has been busy bending itself towards “the Muslim South” and Muslim Middle east for some time now. Bat Ye’or has complied volumes on the Eurabia project, in which the oil rich Arab states supply the needed oil and immigrants and the wealthy Europeans both their finance and political clout.
What is new though, is the brashness of these Muslim states dictating to the Europeans what they should and shouldn’t be doing within their own states. Turkey fired its first salvo last week, now its the Moroccans turn. More here. *L* KGS
