it says on the BBC's website: he's supporting a Haram act and he further goes on to say he thinks that having sex before marriage is "moving forward", what kind of mad man is this? Personally, I don't mind if he has an opinion but as soon as starts openly stating his opinion [which is against the Shariat] then it's a different matter altogether. I don't understand why you're obsessed with freedom of speech till the extent of people being allowed to publicly announce their un-islamic opinions.
I don't think it is very Islamic to order a girl who has been raped to marry her rapist nor to threaten someone with death for holding an opinion! Muslims should try to be morally upright and not do such things (like have pre marital relations) but, being weak, human beings often succumb and I don't think in today's societies prohibition works and certainly its not the business of the State to pry on what people do in private. Also such laws are often used by people to settle scores with others. Having said that, if the majority of Moroccans are happy with Article 490 then its no one else's business but their own. All I'll add is that the few people from that part of the world I've met or known have been extreme Francophiles and culturally indistinguishable from the French. And I really don't want to argue in this blessed month!
