Al Meftah, also responsible for Islamic affairs, said the training
marked a cooperation agreement between Manama and Rabat. In a Feb. 7
statement, the undersecretary said the training in Morocco would begin soon.
Officials said the two countries have organized workshops that would
teach the clerics to present what they termed moderate sermons. They said
Bahrain would also send women to Morocco for the course.
Bahrain, which contains the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, has sought to
prevent Al Qaida from recruiting youngsters in mosques. Over the last 18
months, the GCC state has blocked at least two Al Qaida-aligned plots.
The Bahrainis sent to Morocco would consist of both Sunnis and Shi'ites.
Until now, most Shi'ite theological students traveled to Iraq or Iran to
become certified clerics.
Officials said Morocco has also been training Sunni clerics from
European Union states to preach a benign doctrine of Islam. They said
several countries with large Moroccan expatriate communities, including
Belgium, France and Spain, were participating in the program.
