ar-Rabita Mohammadia of the Ulemas is a Moroccan association of general interest created by King Mohammed VI in 2006 and headed by Ahmed Abbadi. The main objective of this association is to promote a tolerant and open Islam.

ar-Rabita was established by the king’s Dahir “royal decree”, its members are appointed by King Mohammed VI, and it is responsible for the animation of scientific and cultural life in the field of Islamic studies by strengthening cooperation and partnership links with academic institutions as well as other scientific institutions.

ar-Rabita Mohammadia aims to teach the prescriptions of the Islamic Sharia (Islamic laws) and to disseminate the values and precepts of the Islamic religion "in respect with the principles of the happy medium and moderation".

ar-Rabita Association contributes also to the animation of scientific and cultural life in the field of Islamic studies by improving cooperation links and partnerships with universities and scientific institutions.

ar-Rabita religion essence through scientific approaches

The essence of religion can only be shared in today's world through scientific and systematic approaches taking into account the fact that societies are not blocks but rather they’re components that start with the family, children, adolescents, young people, then inspiring actors in societies, as well as the parties in charge of organizing the affairs of society.

The Islamic scholars of ar-Rabita are working to formulate speeches to each of the said components taking into account the context of the current accentuated digital age that has been increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ar-Rabita is doing such a great job in order to clarify a fundamental issue concerning the factors that allow influencers to attract young people to terrorism, through a qualitative study that focused on the distinctive characteristics of these influencers who manage to attract young people in terms of method, knowledge and even dress, among others.

ar-Rabita is thinking about the future through developing a set of intervention tools of guides and directories, digital technologies, which will be adopted in April 2021 to train a group of new supervisors on skills of attracting young people and constructing an alternative discourse to terrorist and extremist one.

This training concern three categories: young intellectuals of civil society, young academics, and journalists.

ar-Rabita of Ulemas deconstructs extremist speech

The mission of ar-Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas is to publicize the prescriptions of the Islamic Sharia and the noble values of Islam, to ensure respect of Islamic moderation principles while developing scientific research in this area.

The association had launched on the end of 2018 "Raed" platform to fight extremism. This scientific series analyzes several concepts of a religious nature, which are distorted by the supporters of extremism and terrorism and on which they base their discourse of hatred and violence.

The "Raed" platform aims to set up mechanisms and tools to deal with extremist ideas, promote constructive dialogue, raise awareness, and present alternatives for young people in the digital field.

This role is accomplished by ar-Rabita in order to develop its role, under the high directives of King Mohammed VI, in terms of deepening studies and research for a good knowledge of Islam and to implement its authentic and moderate content, in the service of the constants of the Kingdom.

ar-Rabita Mohammadia and UNFPA to combat violence against women

Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas and the United Nations Population Fund in Morocco (UNFPA) signed a collaboration agreement to further strengthen the role of religious leaders in combatting violence against women and girls.

The 2021 annual work plan consolidates the achievements of the partnership between ar-Rabita and UNFPA in promoting the health and well-being of young people and preventing violence against women and girls.

This year, the Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas and UNFPA will collaborate to strengthen the capacities of relay Muslim scholars, leading them as well as students from the departments of Islamic studies. The training sessions will provide the Islamic scholars with knowledge and skills related to the themes of sexual and reproductive health and gender equality in order to correct erroneous interpretations of certain religious texts, which reproduce unequal and discriminatory stereotypes against women.

Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas and UNFPA collaboration agreement was signed in Rabat by the Secretary-General of the Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas, Ahmed Abbadi, and the Representative of UNFPA, Luis Mora, this agreement defines an annual action plan to fight violence against women and girls.

The Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas role recognized internationally

The Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas has represented Morocco in a videoconference, organized in September 2020 by the US State Department at the United Nations Headquarters, discussed several themes, including education, respect and inclusion, intending to promote and to consolidate the values of religious and ethnic diversity and to confront ideas and discourse inciting violence and hatred.

The conference discussed means and mechanisms capable of making teaching, religious education, media and technology the fundamental pillars to achieve religious peace, diversity and social cohesion. Also, it highlighted the role of Morocco in promoting principles of tolerance and moderation under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the King.

Speaking at the workshop devoted to the Maghreb, West Africa and the Sahel, the secretary-general of the Rabita Mohammadia of the Ulemas, Ahmed Abbadi, urged the participants to continue their efforts and to develop new strategies based on the strengthening of young people and women’s capacities that can strengthen their critical thinking so that they are immune to hate speech and exclusion, noting as such the need to adopt participatory approaches that inspire and encourage young people to embody noble values in their societies.

Mr. Abbadi did not fail to underline the central role played by the Kingdom of Morocco, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, in the field of the development and promotion of a religious model of peace based on principles of tolerance and moderation, following the High Guidelines of Amir Al Mouminine, recalling that this experience was marked by the launch of the religious field reform project and the creation of institutions and structures that reinforce this approach.”