Here is an short piece from the Arab News Digest of the UAE newspaper The National about calls to abolish the practice of kissing the King's hand. This should be the least of people's concerns regarding what needs to change about the Moroccan government, but it is a nice distraction. ___________________________________
Royal Moroccan protocol under review
"Media sources said that the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, might introduce fundamental changes to the royal protocol. An essential part is the habit of kissing the monarch's hand by citizens. The royal court, it is said, will issue a communiqué to finally and officially abolish this practice," reported Mahmoud Maarfouf in the London-based newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi.
Earlier, officials had called for a simpler and more practical royal protocol at a time when the role of the monarchy is under discussion within a constitutional reform framework, as Mohammed VI highlighted last month.
The Moroccan newspaper Al Osboa said that official sources from the royal palace confirmed that some customs were outdated. It is expected to release a statement on the matter shortly.
The minister of state and deputy prime minister Mohammed el Yazghi agreed, adding that there is no reason not to propose a new set of protocols that are acceptable to both king and country.
Kissing the king's hand was the subject of a special dossier published on Saturday by the Al Ittihad al Ishtiraki newspaper, an affiliate to the Socialist Union Party, where it called for new protocols that cancel outdated practices. They should keep up with the evolution of society, but without disrespecting Moroccans' esteem for the person of the king, said Moulay Ismail Alaoui, a senior official at the Party of Progress and Socialism.
To piss or not to piss in his hand? That is the question!
ReplyDeleteP.S: Posted as anon for obvious reasons.