Supporters of the movement ‘Al Adl Wal Ihsane’ protest after the Egyptian court sentenced ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to death over jailbreak charges in Rabat on 26 June 2015. [Getty]
For the first time in years, Morocco’s leading Islamist movement, Al Adl Wal Ihsane (AWI), is openly opposing the legitimacy of the monarchy system, amid growing speculation about the group’s potential shift toward electoral participation after decades of boycott.
In a recent interview, Omar Amkassou, a senior member of the movement, firmly rejected the legitimacy of Morocco’s monarchy, deeming it incompatible with democratic values.
“A hereditary monarchy cannot be the basis for a true solution. It goes against the people’s will,” he said, echoing the teachings of Imam Abdessalam Yassine, the group’s late founder.
The AWI founder’s teachings focused on the historical shift from an Islamic caliphate to monarchies, which he argued have often served the interests of elites rather than the people.
For AWI, the label of the system—whether monarchical or republican—matters less than the core values of democracy.
“We want a system where power is decentralised, wealth is shared, and the rights of the people are respected,” Amkassou declared in a Talks21 podcast last week.
The controversial Islamist group has gained a larger support base since 7 October 2023, in addition to its already massive following, estimated at 200,000.
AWI led and organised many of the pro-Palestinian protests, with its members often taking the stage to address the crowd, using Islamist rhetoric to criticise injustice and normalisation with “Zionism,” promising “a solution soon from God.”
The movement, once perceived as too radically religious for many average Muslim Moroccan citizens, has endeared itself to a wide range of society — particularly those who once supported the country’s moderate Islamist party, Justice and Development Party (PJD).
That support ended with the PJD’s signing of the normalisation accord with Israel in December 2020, followed by their defeat in the 2021 elections.
Al Adl Wal Ihsane in Morocco’s legislatives?
In February 2024, AWI released a 150-page political document, which many experts quickly interpreted as a move signalling its intention to join the 2026 legislative elections.
Founded in 1981, the movement has refused to join the elections for decades, maintaining its ‘ideological purity’ and its position as a critic of both the monarchy and the existing political establishment.
Tolerated but not officially recognised by the state, AWI has preferred to create change through its many NGOs rather than participating in a political system it views as ‘corrupt.’
However, since last year, several members of the group have hinted at potentially putting AWI’s name on the ballot in the next elections. When asked about the rumours last year, Omar Iharchane said that the group was not ready to make compromises, and that one of the group’s core beliefs is that the current system is fundamentally undemocratic.
Driss Ghanbouri, an expert on Islamist movements, views AWI’s recent shift to openly oppose the monarchy as a strategic move to push the state into more substantial negotiations with political movements.
“By emphasising the need for a democratic system, Al Adl Wal Ihsane is calling on the state to engage in a real conversation about Morocco’s political future,” Ghanbouri explained in a statement to TNA.
The last negotiations between the palace, political parties, and the people date back to 2011, when thousands of Moroccans took to the streets amid the regional uprisings in the global south.
The 20 February movement, largely endorsed by AWI, didn’t technically fail, but it was disrupted by the conflict between leftists and Islamists over their vision for a free Morocco: the left wanted freedom for everyone, while AWI wanted God to still have a say.
Nonetheless, the palace introduced a new constitution and ordered early elections, which shifted Morocco‘s political space.
After the PJD’s fall in 2020, and its failure to deliver on many of the promises from the 20 February movement, Morocco returned to a government of businessmen that promised pragmatic solutions to economic and employment issues—which many Moroccans longed for after a decade spent toying with political revolution.
Despite the shift, the government has so far failed to deliver on its promises, with unemployment now over 20 percent. Even a state television journalist—who rarely criticises the government—called out the current cabinet last week for its lack of communication amid rising inflation and the growing economic issues since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his latest interview, AWI key figure Omar Amkassou made a rare call for collaboration with all political parties, including the left. “Real change requires the efforts of everyone”, he said. “We cannot do it alone. The people must drive the process.”
While it remains unclear what the group’s next move will be, political experts agree that it is moving beyond its past political isolation.
