Morocco is a constitutional monarchy; however, unlike European constitutional monarchies, the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty has absolute power. Indeed, most Moroccans are very circumspect when talking about royalty. Lèse Majesté laws are in effect and “respected” by the population. Our tour guides were, for example, were very cautious about what they said. There are elections, but the outcome is predictable. In speaking with our tour guides it became evident that they were unhappy with lack of health and education services for their families - indeed, their frustration was clearly evident, but they did not blame the king who has any number of palaces throughout the country that are permanently staffed. Building golf courses is a priority, despite the water shortages, because the king is a keen golfer. The average citizen feels that the government and monarchy don’t represent them, nor share their priorities. When we asked the tour guides why they don’t speak up, they replied by asking us to look at what was happening in neighbouring countries - and concluded they were better off with their status quo, than their counterparts where there had been uprisings.
Terrorism has not been a major issue in Morocco. This is not to ignore the 2011 bombing in Marrakech referred to earlier, nor the beheading of two young women mountain climbers in December 2018.
In an effort to exercise control, the government recently passed a bill to pay the salary for the imam and muezzin in each and every mosque in the country. When you realize that some small villages may have 5 mosques, this is a huge cost to the tax payer. The thinking behind the move is that the imams and muezzins are less likely to foment unrest nor bite the hand that feeds them!!