Moroccan director of Israel-based group questioned after saying Prophet Muhammad was a Zionist

The Morocco director of an association that promotes Arab normalisation with Israel has been questioned in Casablanca after he allegedly suggested that the prophet of Islam was a Zionist.

Investigations against Youssef Elazhari from 'Sharaka,' which is based in Tel Aviv but has offices in several countries, came after anti-normalisation activists and lawyers filed a complaint against members of a youth delegation that visited Israel in July, which Elazhari had joined.

Elazhari had reportedly partaken in an event at the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, where he allegedly said Prophet Muhammad was a Zionist. This, according to the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation, was in attempt to "justify" his own stances on Zionism.

Insulting Islam can land an individual in prison for up to five years in Morocco. But rights groups say the country’s penal code is not clear on what constitutes an insult.

Insulting the monarchy is also punishable by law.

The Observatory had recorded in a previous statement "the commission of a major crime requiring legal accountability here at home, which is the serious insult to the Messenger of God".

The July trip to Israel, which included 23 young Moroccans, was organised by the "Moroccan Coexistence" association in cooperation with Sharaka.

Funded by the German government, meetings were held with Israeli officials, most notably Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat.

It was also in July when Israel's Knesset overwhelmingly voted against the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Morocco and Israel have shared diplomatic ties since 2020, when the North African kingdom joined the controversial US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Despite Rabat’s ties to Tel Aviv, the visit was controversial when it was first reported on in July. Thousands of people protested in Morocco since the start of the war on Gaza, demanding that relations with Israel be cut.

Earlier this week, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita defended his country’s agreement with Israel, arguing that maintaining relations with Tel Aviv does not signify endorsement of Israeli government actions in Gaza.