Al Adl wal Ihsane (; Justice and Kindness or ''Justice and Spirituality'') is a Moroccan Islamist association, founded by Cheikh Abdesslam Yassine. This association is not legal but is tolerated by the Moroccan authorities. The current leader is Mohammed Abbadi, who was elected secretary-general of the organization.

Founder

Its founder, Abdessalam Yassine, an old inspector in the Moroccan National Education Ministry was initially a member of Zaouia boutchichia, a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

brotherhood that he quit after deploring its evolution and because he was not offered the role of the leader of this brotherhood prior to his son. Yassine was also heavily influenced at his beginnings by the thinking of

Sayyid Qutb Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb (9 October 190629 August 1966) was an Egyptian political theorist and revolutionary who was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood. As the author of 24 books, with around 30 books unpublished for differe ...

, he considered that the Moroccan society lives in a '' fitna'' (division) under the regime of ignorance. He also started advocating for a policy near Iran's after the revolution.

Journey

Abdessalam Yassine was born in 1928. His father, a poor peasant, belonged to the family of "Ait-Bihi", he proclaims himself an Idrisid

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

from the region of Aoulouz in

Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) (, ) is a historical, cultural and geographical region of Morocco, which constitutes part of the region administration of Souss-Massa and Guelmim-Oued Noun. The region is known for the en ...

(Southern Morocco). He completed his primary studies in a school founded in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

by Mohamed Mokhtar Soussi. After four years of studies, he graduated from the Ibn Youssef Institute. He finished his studies at the teacher training school in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

in 1947, then worked in national education, for twenty years he was brought to represent Morocco in many international educational meetings. In 1968, he was dismissed from his post without any administrative decision, he was retired in 1987.

Policies

Yassine acted as a charismatic leader for the organisation, which attributes him near saintly-status and operates on lines similar to those a Moroccan

brotherhood ( Zaouia boutchichia), of which Yassine was a member prior to his politicisation. The party advocates the transformation of Morocco into an Islamist republic, ruled by its interpretation of the Shariah. Like the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

, it works for the Islamisation of the whole society, through its grassroots social welfare organisations and important presence in universities. Contrary to the legalist Justice and Development Party, Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane has not been allowed to transform itself into a political party by the Moroccan government, it has also been argued that it's the party's choice to not do so as it refuses to enter the political game under the current political practices, which it perceives as illegitimate; the party also opposes the article of the Moroccan

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

which states that the king Mohammed VI is also Amir al-Muminin.

Three No's

The organization's principles were summed up and reaffirmend, during the 24 December 2012 press conference following Mohammed Abbadi election, as "No to violence, no to secrecy, no to foreign intervention."

References

External links

* http://www.yassine.net * https://web.archive.org/web/20001018121219/http://www.aljamaa.com/ {{Authority control Politics of Morocco Islamic political parties Organizations with year of establishment missing Islamism in Morocco