The Face of Anger in Morocco: Between the Stakes of Conflict and the Prospects for Change
(Translated)
Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 571 - 29/10/2025
By: Ustadh Yassin Ben Yahya

The wave of anger and the accompanying protests in Morocco cannot be separated from the Ummah’s revolutions that began in 2010-2011, whether in terms of humanitarian or political demands, which were partially controlled through constitutional and political containment mechanisms, in line with the international project to contain revolutions.

The Moroccan context was characterized by the regime’s ability at the time to contain protests through constitutional reforms, and its involvement in the international project of controlled political transition, as demonstrated at the Deauville Conference in 2011, which contributed to reducing the intensity of demands calling for radical change and the overthrow of the regime.

Leading the protests via Generation Z212

The recent protests in Morocco were characterized by the emergence of a leaderless digital youth movement known as “Generation Z212”, which organizes itself through social media platforms, and distances itself from traditional political parties. It focuses on social and economic reform demands without calling for the overthrow of the regime. Therefore, the authorities’ response was limited to the intervention of internal security forces to control the protests.

The wave of anger that swept across many regions stemmed from deep-seated social and economic grievances, most notably the deterioration of public services, particularly in the health and education sectors, high youth unemployment rates, and widespread government corruption and mismanagement. The protests erupted with force following the deaths of eight women during childbirth at Hassan II Hospital in Agadir, a tragedy that highlighted the collapse of the healthcare system and ignited public outrage. The protests also sharply criticized government spending policies that prioritize funding major events like the World Cup at the expense of essential services for those living below the poverty line.

The prominent Generation Z212 movement represents a qualitative shift in the Moroccan protest landscape, embodying a digitally savvy, leaderless generation that relies on network organization via digital platforms such as Discord and TikTok. The movement adopts a distinctly national identity through the symbol 212 which is Morocco’s international dialling code.

What happens after the protests are suspended?

The Generation Z212 movement temporarily suspended its protests as of October 11, 2025. This move was considered a strategy to reorganize its ranks and prepare for more effective future actions, while reaffirming its unwavering commitment to all its demands.

The youth movement also faces a complex challenge in the possibility of the state shifting from a policy of soft containment to outright repression. This shift can be sensed through field indicators such as systematic media restrictions, preemptive security moves, organized smear campaigns, and changes in official discourse towards the movement.

If some of these indicators coincide, the possible scenarios fall into three categories: a temporary contraction of the movement into a state of "tactical dormancy," a gradual shift towards radicalization as a reaction to repression, or the achievement of "legitimacy through repression" by transforming pressure into an opportunity for astute political transformation. It is worth noting that the movement is aware of these challenges and is addressing them strategically by avoiding hierarchical organization and direct radical rhetoric. It operates within the framework of "internationally accepted legitimacy" by focusing on social and human rights demands, that raise the cost of repression for the regime in the eyes of the international community.

Islamic presence in the movement

Moroccan authorities consider the "Islamist exploitation" of protests a red line and may intensify repression if they detect any political organization behind them. Therefore, Islamists—even those in opposition—maintain a policy of "silent participation."

This is what made the Islamists’ presence in the protests palpable but not dominant. Traditional Islamist parties like the Justice and Development Party and the Movement for Unity and Reform were almost entirely absent from leading the movement due to their loss of popularity after their experience in government. They limited themselves to cautious stances to avoid giving the regime a pretext to discredit the protests. In contrast, young people from Islamist backgrounds participated as individuals, engaging with the same social demands without raising religious slogans. As for the Justice and Charity Group, the largest unlicensed Islamist opposition organization, it adopted a tactical approach; broad mobilization from behind the scenes without declared leadership, focusing on slogans of societal justice, dignity, and combating corruption, without clashing with the state. The general slogans of the movement remained rights-based and social, reflecting a shift in the protest landscape towards specific demands, while the Islamists retained their role as a “silent popular force” in the background.

The danger of Generation Z’s association with non-governmental organizations

It is worth noting that the Generation Z movement maintains an undeclared organizational relationship with local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), based on shared values and a common human rights discourse, without direct organizational coordination. These NGOs provide a legal and regulatory framework for youth initiatives and enable Generation Z to implement tangible projects in education, health, the environment, and equality, acting as a link between what is termed civil society and international institutions.

As is well known, the activities of non-governmental organizations are aligned with the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations 2015-2030 (17 SDGs), which aim to address challenges such as poverty, equality, gender, and other issues that the capitalist international order has put in place as a project of cultural, civilizational and political hegemony, against the Islamic project of the Ummah.

Beware of falling into these colonialist Westernization projects. The revolutionary youth must keep in mind the danger of this connection, and its distortion of the goals of the revolution. The youth must realize that the activities of these organizations appear to be service-oriented, but they work to pass plans that fight Islam, and work to perpetuate colonialism in our country and to spread corruption among us.

The Ummah’s revolution was only against agent regimes that served colonialism, exploited our wealth and resources for it, and followed its secular, Westernizing approach to the letter for the sake of crooked thrones.

So the Ummah rose up against them in all Arab countries, overthrew their leaders, and demanded change of them. However, true change will not be achieved except by the establishment of the Ummah’s political project, the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood, which unifies the lands of Muslims and eradicates colonialism and what it brought to our lands of corruption and depravity. Allah (swt) said,

[وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ] “And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know” [TMQ Surah Yusuf: 21].