Morocco arrests feminist activist over 'insulting God and Islam'

Moroccan authorities have detained prominent feminist activist Ibtissam Lachgar over social media posts deemed offensive to God and insulting to Islam, the country's official religion.

On 31 July, Lachgar posted a picture on X showing her wearing a T-shirt with the phrase "Allah is Lesbian."

The slogan plays on the infamous phrase "God is a Lesbian," which appeared in "The Perils of Pedagogy: The Works of John Greyson," published in 2013, and has since been reproduced on T-shirts; sometimes as a humorous act, while other times as a critique of religion.

Lachgar, a psychologist by training, who co-founded Morocco's Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties (MALI) in 2007, is no stranger to controversy.

She doubled down on her statement with a caption reading, in French, "Islam, like any religious ideology, is fascist, phallocentric and misogynistic."

After weeks of online outrage, during which Lachgar said she received death threats and threats of assault, she was arrested on Sunday under Article 267-5 of Morocco's penal code.

"Three days of online harassment and thousands of threats of rape and death, and calls for execution and stoning over using a well-known feminist slogan," she wrote in French in one of her last posts before arrest.

The law criminalises insults to Islam, the monarchy or incitement against the country's territorial integrity. It sets penalties of up to five years in prison and fines of up to 500,000 dirhams if the act is committed publicly, including through electronic means.

Late on Sunday evening, the public prosecutor at the Rabat Court of First Instance announced that an investigation had been opened "given the seriousness of the matter."

Lachgar, known as "Betty", was placed in police custody pending inquiries by the National Judicial Police Brigade. The prosecutor's statement added that legal measures would be taken "in light of the investigation's findings."

MALI is known for provocative public actions that challenge Morocco's religious and social taboos. One of its most contentious actions was a 2013 "Kiss-in" outside the Parliament in Rabat, organised in response to the arrest of two teenagers who posted a photo of themselves kissing on Facebook.

Lachgar has also been an outspoken advocate for gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights and the separation of religion from public life, and has faced repeated criticism and threats from conservative groups for her activism.

Several fellow activists came to her defence despite not necessarily agreeing with all her views, warning against censorship and the shrinking of freedom of speech in Morocco.

"I fundamentally disagree with her approach and activism. I believe the main struggle today is for justice, dignity and democracy. But none of this justifies attacking her or supporting the authorities in prosecuting her," wrote Moroccan podcaster Abdelaziz Al-Abdi.

Meanwhile, Fatima Karim, a fellow activist who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2022 for 'mocking religion,' said she fully stands with Ibtissam Lachgar for exercising her universal rights to free thought and expression.

"Morocco violates international law by detaining her. Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protect these freedoms beyond the state's reach," wrote Karim in a statement.

Meanwhile, Islamist opposition figures welcomed the arrest.

Mustafa Ramid, a former justice minister from the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), who referred to homosexuals with derogatory terms during his term, called for further legal action against Lachgar.

"She deserves accountability… not for holding a different opinion, but for deliberately insulting God Almighty with words that should neither be spoken nor heard."

"While freedom of expression is broad, it does not extend to mocking people's beliefs or grossly offending their religion," he added in a statement he published on Facebook.