Morocco

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The recent arrests of 56 individuals allegedly planning a violent campaign against the monarchy is certainly worrying, particularly given that it includes nine members of the security forces. While this may well indicate that the militant Islamism has spread beyond the urban slums and rural poor, and hence become a serious future potential challenge to the state, we believe that the short-term risks have been somewhat overblown. Past experiences suggest that the authorities have attempted to play on the terrorist threat in order to discredit Islamist movements, which are considered as a threat to political legitimacy of the monarchy