The Rituals of Ashura: Between Spirituality, Deception, and the Absence of Law Enforcement
As the night of the 10th of Muharram approaches, a time of deep spirituality and religious significance for Moroccans, certain practices and behaviors that tarnish the sanctity of this occasion come to the forefront, raising numerous questions about the complete absence of law enforcement in both digital and physical spaces.
While people eagerly await these blessed days to draw closer to God through fasting, charity, and family ties, social media platforms, especially Facebook, are witnessing an unprecedented influx of pages dedicated to witchcraft and sorcery. The most notorious among them is a page called “The Moroccan Facebook Hospital,” which has become an open platform for witches and sorcerers who promote their services without any oversight.
What is truly concerning is that this page features hundreds of daily posts offering services such as “drawing the beloved closer,” “binding a husband to his wife,” “opening fortune,” and even making promises that go beyond, like “facilitating the acquisition of a European visa.” This absurdity reveals the extent of ignorance that is shamelessly exploited by quacks.
Moreover, some of these sorcerers have no qualms about posting pictures of what they describe as their “spoils,” including money, jewelry, and valuable gifts received from their victims, in a blatant display of wealth gained through fraud, as well as a clear violation of laws that criminalize sorcery and the religious and ethical norms upon which Moroccan society is built.
All of this occurs in a public virtual space, in plain view of everyone, without any significant intervention from the relevant authorities, whether from the General Directorate of National Security, the Public Prosecution, or the Cybercrime Police. Where are the oversight agencies? Where is the enforcement of the law? How can pages brimming with blatant fraud be left unaccounted for?
Worse still, this situation worsens during the Ashura season, where certain popular traditions intersect with rituals of sorcery, creating fertile ground for practitioners who know precisely when and how to ensnare their victims.
This alarming reality calls for a deep reflection, not only on the behaviors of some citizens who resort to deceit instead of reason but also on the state’s performance, especially in combating unlawful phenomena that threaten societal cohesion and undermine the core values of religion, reason, and science.
Isn’t it more appropriate at this moment to launch national campaigns against digital sorcery, just as we fight against fake news and hate speech? Is it not the duty of the authorities to seriously act to deter those who exploit human misery?
And how long will pages promoting falsehood remain more influential than awareness campaigns?
Preserving the sanctity of Ashura and its significance in the Moroccan conscience requires not only reminders of its religious merits but also the protection of the community from anything that insults it, starting from practices of sorcery all the way to the incomprehensible absence of authorities that are supposed to embody the law and its dignity.
