Morocco has cancelled at the very last minute a lecture that was expected to be chaired by Kuwaiti scholar Tareq Al Suwaidan. The latter hosted several conferences in Morocco in the past. Kuwaiti Muslim scholar Tareq Al Suwaidan, known in Muslim communities for his management and strategic planning training, is an unwelcome person in Morocco. On Monday, January the 28th, he was expected to chair a conference in Marrakech devoted to the Prophet, his fame and fortune. The Kuwaiti man was invited by the «Ibn Tachfine Foundation», headed by Salafist scholars Adil Rfouche and Hammad El Kebbaj, who are both close the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and former followers of Sheikh Mohamed El Maghraoui. Because of this proximity, Islamist mayor Mohamed Larbi Belcaid dedicated a big conference room to the event. Preparations were underway to welcome the Kuwaiti scholar before an administrative decision banned the conference, reports local online newspaper Kech 24. The two Salafists tried in vain to convince a delegation from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs into allowing then to host the conference in Mohammed VI Museum for the Water Civilization. The Foundation published an apology on its Facebook page, regretting the fact that the conference was cancelled at the very last minute. The latter denounced this «surprising ban», stressing that Al Suwaidan is a «moderate and peaceful» Muslim scholar. Al Suwaidan criticizes King Mohammed VI A few years ago, Tareq Al Suwaidan was welcome in the Kingdom, where he held several conferences to talk about Prophet Mohammed life and story and give advice to medium and small enterprises. However, things have changed after the Kuwaiti preacher criticized King Mohammed VI. Al Suwaidan arrive din Marrakech on Sunday, where he way staying in a big hotel. Despite the strong protests of some left-wing associations and politicians, the Kingdom has allowed radical Islamists to host public meetings on its territory. Here we can refer to Egyptian Islamist Omar Abdelkafi, who chaired a conference at Mohammed V Theater in Rabat after he was invited by an Islamist association. For the record, Moroccan authorities have canceled other extremist conferences. In October 2015, Saudi scholar Mohammed al-Arefe was invited to host a conference in Morocco by The Movement for Unity and Reform (MUR), the second largest Islamic movement in the Kingdom. However, the conference never took place.
