Mohammed Vi And Princess Salma

They work fast.

In Hola.com today...

Mohammed VI and his wife, Salma Bennani are expecting their first child. It's been nine months since their wedding (my bad and rough Spanish translation)

[samitude]

Ahh! Congratulations! This is always an exciting event. :)

[Julia]

8 MAY 2003
The people of Morocco are celebrating after Princess Lalla Salma gave birth to the new crown prince. Baby Hassan, who was named after his late grandfather, is first in line to the throne of the north African country.

The capital city Rabat has been getting ready for the arrival for some days, with streets cleaned and lights put up in preparation for the birth of the newest member of the royal family. Public squares outside the capital have also been readied for festivities, though the most lavish celebrations will be staged at the Mechouar Esplanade, in front of the royal palace.

The new baby will one day become the 18th head of the Alaouite dynasty, which has ruled over Morocco since the mid-17th century.

King Mohammed VI married red-haired computer engineer Salma Bennani one year ago. Morocco does not have a queen, so Salma carries the title of princess.

[samitude]

Isn't he adorable? It makes me want to marry and have a little baby!

[Mandy]

He is absolutely adorable.

[Mandy]

MOROCCAN ROYALS CELEBRATE CROWN PRINCE BAPTISM

16 MAY 2003
The newborn Crown Prince of Morocco, Moulay Al Hassan, remains the centre of his country's attention after he was baptised in Rabat.

Proud father King Mohammed marked the birth of his son, just days ago, by staging huge celebrations all over the country. Twenty-one-gun salutes also sounded from the palace in Rabat after Her Royal Highness Lalla Salma gave birth to little Moulay.

The baby will one day become the 18th head of the Alaouite dynasty, which has ruled over Morocco since the 17th century.

And his father's reputation as a moderniser has been boosted by pictures showing him as a doting father. The 39-year-old monarch broke with tradition by releasing informal pictures of himself and his new son just after the birth. The latest shots depicting the young family together are further evidence of King Mohammed's contemporary approach.

Article from HELLO! Magazine

[Mandy]

Picture from HELLO! Magazine
Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Salma holds little Prince Moulay Hassan as his father looks on at the royal palace in Rabat.
Photo: © AFP

[Mandy]

Picture from HELLO! Magazine
Ordinary Moroccans take part in the ceremonies and festivities organised to mark the baptism of Prince Moulay
Photo: © AFP

[Alexandra]

:woot: Baptism??? Aren´t moroccoan people mohammedans? I thought they are.

[mybags]

Hi Alexandra,

King Muhammad VI and his wife, Princess Lalla Salma are Muslims. Crown Prince Moulay al-Hassan participated in a Muslim baptism, the equivalent of a Christian baptism.

[Jacqueline]

Morocco's king has a son, and 9,400 have freedom
By Isambard Wilkinson in Huelva
(Filed: 09/05/2003)

King Mohammed VI of Morocco celebrated the birth of a son and heir yesterday by ordering the release of more than 9,400 prisoners from the country's crowded jails.

A palace communique, issued shortly after a 21-gun salute had echoed around the walls of the royal compound in Rabat, announced the birth of Moulay Al Hassan, who will succeed his father to the throne.

To celebrate the event, the official MAP news agency said the king had decided to free 9,459 prisoners, including 293 foreigners, and reduce the jail sentences of 38,529.

King Mohammed VI, 39, ascended the throne in 1999 following the death of his father, who had ruled for 38 years.

In March 2002, the young king married Salma Bannani, 24, a commoner from a middle-class family from Fez who worked for one of Morocco's largest conglomerates. The baby is their first child.

The palace statement said the child and Princess Salma were in good health and that the boy was named "after his august grandfather, His Majesty Hassan II".

A Moroccan government spokesman said: "The announcement put an end to lots of gossip and worry in the souk. People have been waiting for news over the last few days."

The newly born prince is the latest addition to the Alawite dynasty that has ruled Morocco since 1665. He will one day become the 18th sovereign of the dynasty, assuming the name Hassan III.

He will most probably not assume the throne at an easy time. Although his father has began the laborious programme of reform, forces that remained in check under the iron grip of Hassan II have now been unleashed.

Powerful courtiers oppose change while critics claim that every day without further reform gives further credibility to Islamist factions. Moderate Islamists won a third of the seats in a general election last year against a backdrop of increasing anger with the monarch's pro-America stance.

When Mohammed came to the throne he was known as The King of Cool, not just for his keen dress sense but for his reputed travels incognito among his subjects to find out at first hand their needs.

Critics soon attacked this image as a distortion, saying the king was damaged by his bullying father, and that he was a weak and rather foppish king who could not address the problems of his kingdom.

Article From: news.telegraph.co.uk

[Jacqueline]

KING MOHAMMED VI CELEBRATES HIS SON'S BIRTH IN TYPICALLY MODERN FASHION


9 MAY 2003
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has been commemorating the arrival of his first son with lavish celebrations. There were huge parties throughout the North African country, and a 21-gun salute sounded from the royal compound in Rabat after the birth of Crown Prince Moulay Al Hassan.

The young royal has furthered his reputation as a modern monarch by releasing intimate photographs of himself holding baby Moulay. The doting father's decision to appear in such informal poses is in keeping with his commitment to a more contemporary approach to his role. Since he ascended to the throne in 1999, Mohammed has begun a courageous programme of reform to put an end to authoritarian rule in Morocco.

In 2002 he married Salma Bennani, a 25-year-old computer engineer from a middle class family, and immediately broke with tradition by giving her the title of princess. Until then it was customary for the king's wife to be known only as "mother of the princes" and she never appeared in public.

The 39-year-old ruler also marked his son's birth by ordering the release of 9,500 inmates from the country's prisons. Nearly 300 foreigners are among those to be set free and a further 38,000 prisoners are to have their sentences reduced.

Article From: Hellomagazine.com

[Jacqueline]

Moroccan Journalist Jailed For ‘Insulting’ King

RABAT, May 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A Moroccan journalist was jailed for four years Wednesday, May 21, for insulting King Mohammed VI and undermining the country's national integrity, sparking protests that the sentence was too harsh and politically biased.

But journalist Ali Lamrabet, editor-in-chief of the satirical magazines Demain and Doumane, said he was not surprised by his weighty sentence as police prepared to escort him from the court in Rabat to prison in the nearby town of Sale, agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

The convictions drew condemnation from rights watchdogs Amnesty International and Reporters sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Frontiers RSF). An Amnesty spokeswoman said it "regarded Ali Lamrabet as a prisoner of conscience, condemned the verdict and called for his immediate and unconditional release."

She said Amnesty was worried about the physical condition of Lamrabet who has been on hunger strike since May 6.

"This verdict doesn't surprise me," said Lamrabet, who was also fined 20,000 dirhams (1,900 euros/2,100 dollars) and saw his two magazines banned.

"The interior ministry and the DST (Moroccan intelligence) focused on my caricatures and drawings instead of looking after the security of the country," said Lamrabet, alluding to the series of blasts that rocked the Moroccan city of Casablanca on Friday, May 16, claiming 41 lives.

Lamrabet's controversial sentence came as Morocco tries to position itself as a burgeoning democracy, where freedom of expression is encouraged. The attacks in Casablanca last week have sparked fears that democratic rights and freedoms will from now on be limited in Morocco.

Charges were brought against Lamrabet after his magazines published articles on topics including a parliamentary vote on the king's civil list, the budget of the royal palace, and a cartoon on the history of slavery in Morocco. Another article quoted a Moroccan republican activist.

"Prison doesn't scare me," Lamrabet said, clutching a small bag containing some personal effects which he had brought to court, convinced he would be jailed.

The prosecution last week recommended Lamrabet be given the maximum sentence for defaming the king, or five years in prison.

A section of Morocco's penal code allows immediate imprisonment on conviction by a court.

"I knew from the start of the trial that they wanted to jail me and that the sentence would be heavy," he told dozens of reporters and lawyers at the court, all angered by the severity of the sentence.

Unfair, Scandalous

Lamrabet's lawyers said they would appeal the sentence, which they called "a serious regression for freedom of the press in Morocco."

They said it was the first time since 1971 that a journalist had been jailed on similar charges in the North African kingdom.

Ahmed Benjelloun, one of Lamrabet's lawyers, called the trial "unfair, scandalous" and "a parody of justice."

"We will appeal, but we have no illusions, the judiciary in our country being what it is," he said.

"With this sentence, the margins of freedom of the press have been pulled back further," he lamented.

Robert Menard, secretary general of media rights watchdog RSF -- which Lamrabet represents in Morocco -- said in a statement he was "appalled and horrified by this verdict."

"The trial we just witnessed was no more or less than a political trial," Menard said.

"Is Ali Lamrabet a criminal that one throws immediately into prison?" Menard asked, calling on the king, often hailed as a modernizer, to prove "with strong gestures his belief in true freedom of the press, without taboos or forbidden territory."

The Moroccan parliament in May last year approved a new press code, which reduced the maximum prison term for defaming the royal family from 20 years to five.

But the code, which replaced existing regulations governing the media, did not do away with prison terms for defamation as demanded by the National Union of the Moroccan Press (SNPM).

"The worst thing is that they have jailed Ali Lamrabet instead of waiting for him to lodge an appeal. This sentence smacks of vengeance," Younes Moujahid, Secretary-General of the SNPM told AFP Wednesday.

Lamrabet said he intended to continue a hunger strike he began two weeks ago "to denounce this unfair trial and obtain permission to publish the two weeklies."

Communication Minister Nabil Benabdallah refused to comment on the sentence, saying it was a judicial decision, and doing so would undermine the sovereignty of the judiciary.

A difference had to be drawn, said Benabdallah, between a decision taken by the courts and repressive measures taken by the authorities.

Article From: Islam Online

[Jenna1186]

Hey Jacqueline,

Thanks for the interesting article.

[Jacqueline]

You're welcome, Jenna.

I am glad that you enjoyed it. :)

[zanita]

Originally posted by mybags@May 17th, 2003 - 11:00 am
Hi Alexandra,

King Muhammad VI and his wife, Princess Lalla Salma are Muslims. Crown Prince Moulay al-Hassan participated in a Muslim baptism, the equivalent of a Christian baptism.

Does anyone know who were the child's Godparents??

~Z~

[mybags]

from www.hellomagazine.com

18 JULY 2003
Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco stepped into the limelight alongside her husband King Mohammed VI on Wednesday, greeting the president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, as he continued a North African tour with a stop in Rabat.

While many remember Princess Lalla Salma in the traditional Moroccan dress she donned for her March 2002 wedding and the celebrations for her first son's birth earlier this year, she opted for a decidedly different look for the official visit.

With her auburn locks falling around her shoulders, the 25-year-old royal was picture perfect in a pink top and long jacket in pastel tones, accessorised with a beige clutch bag and pearl earrings.

And, now married for more than a year to the monarch, the princess seemed extremely relaxed in her role. Donning a pair of trendy sunglasses, she strolled behind her spouse and the president in the grounds of the royal palace chatting with the Pakistani first lady.

[mybags]

If someone could go the following site and post the pictures I would be very appreciative. When I tried to post them I received an error message saying that I cannot upload this type of file. Princess Lalla Salma looks very beautiful.

http://www.hellomagazine.com/2003/07/18/mo...moroccanroyals/

[Raia]

Princess Lalla Salma chats with Sehba Musharraf, the first lady of Pakistan, at the Moroccan royal palace in Rabat