Morocco gets it

Good news out of Morocco -- from the Weekly Standard:

The King�s Speech
On July 1 Moroccans will vote on a set of constitutional changes proposed by their king, Mohammed VI. These new amendments guarantee the full equality of women and the rights of minorities, like the Berbers, whose language, Amazigh, will now be an official language alongside Arabic; they criminalize torture, establish the independence of the judiciary, and invest more executive authority in a head of government chosen from the party that wins the most seats in parliament.

The king�s speech announcing these proposed amendments didn�t win the international attention afforded the street demonstrations that brought down longstanding authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, but here�s a Muslim-majority Middle Eastern state where reform has become a reality, not a slogan. The pity is that the Obama administration seems oblivious.

The Moroccan reforms issue from negotiations and consultations that began in March, after Tunisia�s Ben Ali and Egypt�s Mubarak had already been swept away. Still, the reform process began much earlier than that, when Mohammed VI succeeded his father Hassan II on the throne in 1999. Over the last decade, opposition parties became restless and demanded the monarchy follow through on its promises. The Arab Spring filled the sails of reform. The proposed amendments, expected to pass by a large majority, will set Morocco on course for a constitutional monarchy resembling Spain�s​�​and, according to some analysts, will actually cede more power than Spain�s reformer king Juan Carlos was first willing to give up.

Morocco is a small nation but let us pray that with these baby steps, the other Muslim nations take notice.