Moroccan authorities have introduced a new policy to try and counteract the growing number of practising Muslims in their country. It comes in the form of 2,000 brand-new widescreen plasma TVs

THEY ARE TO be placed inside Masjids across the country in order to preach an extreme moderate version of Islam, a version more consistent with the ideas of King Mohammed VI, or in other words the Western governments.

This original approach to televangelism is meant to counterbalance the influence and the rise of the more dedicated practising Muslims who in recent times have been more vocal and critical of the rulers of the country.

With war raging in Gaza and Lebanon, many Muslims in the country are feeling the pain and anger of their brothers and sisters in Lebabon and Gaza. Therefore to quell this feeling, this moderate televangelism is deliberately aimed at blunting the appeal of the apparent hard-line messages that are coming through other Middle Eastern satellite stations covering the conflicts and which seem to be gaining ground among Morocco's 33 million people?

In case you were wondering how worldly authorities can interfere in what is preached in a house of worship, it is important to understand that the notion of secularism in Morocco is limited to the minds of no more than a handful of intellectuals. (And it can boast few followers anywhere else in the Arab world.)

In fact, Mohammed VI likes to carry the title of Amir Al Mu’mineen - commander of the faithful. According to popular belief and political tradition, the king claims to be a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him), just like his fellow sovereigns in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed VI not only wields almost unlimited political power (Morocco's democratisation is embryonic), he is also the country's highest religious authority. The problem is that his authority as commander of the faithful is being challenged, especially by Islamic groups. Which returns us to the question of whether state-sponsored televangelism can win the hearts and minds of Moroccan Muslims. This is doubtful, to say the least.

The country has roughly 40,000 Masjids, all of which officially fall under the control of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. Their imams, who lead the prayers, are basically civil servants. Because their salaries are paid by the state, most do not preach hate or dispute the king's role as commander of the faithful. Such an anti-monarchist message would lose them their jobs and probably their freedom.

However, most masjids have, in addition to the imam, a preacher who is not on the government payroll and is thus much more difficult to control.

Moreover, the most Islamic groups have long known that across the Arab world, state security services always have kept a close eye on what was being preached. That's why hard-core topics such as Jihad are rarely discussed in Masjids but rather in living rooms, garages, caves — wherever government ears aren't listening.

After bombings shattered Casablanca in 2003, killing 41 people, authorities learned that the bombers had frequented underground houses of worship in the slum of Sidi Moumen, where the bombers had been recruiting. Most of the masjids thought to be preaching anti government messages were dismantled and the known imams jailed. But even that crackdown appeared to have a ricochet effect.

The 2,000 alleged extremists incarcerated after the Casablanca attacks are now said to be recruiting massively inside the prisons. The government response? More televisions! Islamic Affairs Minister Ahmed Toufiq announced last month that another 27 TVs will be placed inside prisons throughout the country.

However, if the authorities in Rabat or any other Arab capital don't address the real reasons why so many young Muslims turn to hatred of the west such as poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, hopelessness, not to mention the Palestinian question and western foreign policies, their 2,000 plasma screens will simply be stolen or auctioned off at the first available opportunity to raise money for the masjids.