The institutionalization of the religious discourse as a response to radical Islam in post-Casablanca suicide bombings of May 16, 2003

The project conducted in this masters thesis treats the religious reforms initiated by the Moroccan government in its efforts to address the radicalization of a marginalized portion of Moroccos young people. This has been initiated after the suicide bombings that the city of Casablanca witnessed in 2003. The reforms were launched in 2004 as a response to the radicalization of Islamic discourse in a nationMoroccothat has an Islamic tradition going back over fourteen hundred years. The reforms include significant strategic steps, among which are the adopting and implementing in a regimented manner the principles of the Mlik School of jurisprudence, the al-Asharite doctrine of theology, both balanced by adherence to the path of Sfism, according to the teachings of the well-known Sufi scholar, Al-Junayd al-Slik. The thesis will discuss the effectiveness of implementing such reforms in defining traditional Islam within the context of Morocco as a modern democratic state.