But no more. A band of men here, known as the Islamists, took matters into their own hands last fall. The men deny that they were on a religious campaign, or that they are fanatics. They were tired, they said, of living side by side with drunken, brawling clients, tired of having their daughters propositioned as they headed home from school, tired of being embarrassed about where they lived.
It was crazy. These days the side streets are quiet. The doors, painted green and yellow, are mostly shut, though a few prostitutes remain, now trying to sell candy instead of sex. In the square, the pace has slowed, fresh chickens and slabs of meat hang for sale on hooks, and villagers take their time over displays of vegetables.
Nearby, women are bent over looms making traditional Berber rugs. The changes in Ain Leuh are being held up by some in Morocco as another triumph of the Arab Spring β testament to what can happen when ordinary citizens stand up for change and make life better for themselves.
For others, however, the events of the past year show how the more fundamentalist Islamists, though continuing to be shut out of power in countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, nonetheless manage to promote their conservative agendas β often taking the law into their own hands, and in this case threatening the prostitutes and their customers and driving away the only industry in these parts. They had cash. They bought things. Some people here are really happy about the changes. But some people are not.
Morocco has avoided much of the violence that has gripped Arab countries in the last few years. Since then, the country has adopted a new Constitution and elected a new government, led by a moderate Islamist party. The new prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, who has refused many of the perks of his office, has a flair for mingling with the average man. But many remain frustrated over the pace of change in a country plagued by high unemployment and corruption.
