Advocating a form of democratic rule under which the Moroccan people would have the freedom and right to choose their own government, he argues that the country must avoid a procedural democracy based on secularism and indifferent to Islamic moral values. But an Islamist vision of the future, such as the more moderate one articulated by Abdelkrim Khatib's Party of Justice and Development, should not be automatically interpreted as a threat to turn Morocco into another Algeria or Iran. Descended from the Prophet Mohammed, the Moroccan dynasty already has a great deal of religious legitimacy. To the extent that most Islamists press for greater political freedom, rule of law, and dramatic economic reforms, they strengthen democratization more than undermine it. Greater expression of Islam is compatible with, if not instrumental to, convergence toward European values, practices, and standards.
Many political challenges remain.
The monarchy has not given up control over key policies, institutions, and appointments. The administrative apparatus is Byzantine. Political parties are internally fragmented. Nevertheless, the country is fast moving away from the coercive, unstable, and ethnically and religiously divided systems of so many Arab and African regimes. Competitive elections, protection of civil rights, and an open press seem to be pushing Morocco inexorably toward a more democratic European future.