There are times when you realize the great benefit of living in a Muslim country or is it?:

When you are awakened by the adhan in the morning, when the stores put Quran recitation in the background after they open in the morning, or when the hotel manager refuses to let you and your wife book a hotel room because you forgot your family booklet at home…

All of these things remind you that you live in a society that has remained committed to fundamental human values.

That’s why I was so happy when last year the court system put the young “Hanaa” in jail after an indecent video of her leaked on the internet. “Finally, a crime that will not go unpunished,” I said to myself.

Of course, it was unfortunate that only the girl had been put in jail and not her partner. But at least, it felt good to know that in Morocco, fornication is not totally unpunished and that my daughters are safe from dirty pigs.

However, some Moroccan youth did not see it this way.

Following the event, they decorated the web with the hashtags #Vote4Love, #LoveIsNotACrime, or #Stop490; referencing the article 490 of the law, which requires couples to present a marriage certificate in order to book a hotel room.

Subhanallah!

“Love is not a crime?” Okay, but Zina is. Period.

Actually, love can be a crime, even according to liberals. Rapists, pedophiles, zoophiles, et al., are all hideous criminals, yet they are sometimes in love.

This slogan is as dumb as the ones who spread it.

Hoteliers or Pimps?

The Economics:

It is bad enough that the pandemic cut the number of foreign tourists by 80%; to make matters even worse, Morocco’s ban on extramarital sex is stifling the domestic market in hotel beds. Unmarried couples caught in the same room are liable to jail terms of up to a year under Article 490 of the penal code. Each week the police check hotel records to uphold the law. Receptionists-turned-private detectives require verification of marriage certificates before handing over the keys. “I get more calls from unmarried couples wanting to stay than anyone else,” says Meryem Zniber, who runs a resort in the Rif mountains. “I could fill my hotel 100% if only they’d lift the law.” 

Their protest reminds me of a verse:

Indeed, they who conceal what Allah has sent down of the Book and exchange it for a small price – those consume not into their bellies except the Fire. And Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And they will have a painful punishment.

Quran 2:174

I am concerned that some hoteliers want to convert their hotels into brothels. It says a lot about the honor of these shameless people. Maybe they should leave Morocco and start anew in the Netherlands!

As for the youth, I ask Allah to give them rectitude. The poor have been fed with propaganda from France since childhood to the point that the LGBTQ+ and hedonistic discourse has corrupted some.

However, what is being shown in social networks must be put into perspective. Most of the population doesn’t log on to Twitter. They would spit in the faces of these immature fools who ask to be given an enclosure to fornicate like donkeys!

And even among the new generation, there is still a large group that has opposed it, spreading the hashtag #keep490. Muslims are not fooled by Western propaganda and see that their values and identity are being attacked. A quick internet poll shows that they represent most of the population, a clear majority, ready to stand — in sha Allah — during the worst of tribulations.