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Article: Islamic Party Confident in Morocco; Moderate Muslims Predict Big Gains in Today's Vote, New Role in Government
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 7, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Saad Eddine el-Othmani, the head of an Islamic party expected to
triumph in Morocco's parliamentary elections Friday, mentions the
economy and economic development seven times in the course of a 20-
minute conversation. He mentions Islam only once, in passing.
After an introduction, Othmani reaches out to shake a woman's
hand -- a quick reflex that marks him as a moderate Muslim man.
Asked this week about how strict a view his Justice and
Development Party takes of Islam's role in daily life, a party
official simply pointed to campaign ads featuring the party's dozens
of female candidates, many of them without the head scarf
increasingly being worn by women in some parts of the Muslim ...