Morocco refused to host a gay cruise

Recently Nieuw Amsterdam cruise ship from the Holland America lines had to change the route of its cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship had to go to the port of Malaga after abandoning the plan to visit Casablanca. The liner’s crew changed the course after the government of Morocco refused to host the ship, which was carrying more than 1,500 gay men.

Numerous parades of sexual minorities were held last week all around the world. As for the “Nieuw Amsterdam” cruise, here this event has become a sort of on-site version of Gay Pride.

For information on the refusal of the Moroccan authorities to receive gay tourists at the port of Casablanca was published by the Spanish newspaper EL PAIS.
However, the head of the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco has denied the information published by the Spanish edition and noted that none of the Ministry representatives conducted surveys of the liner’s passengers in terms of their sexual preference and no one forbade the ship to visit Casablanca.

At the same time El Pais notes that many people in Morocco were not satisfied by the idea that 1500 gay men will visit in the Great Mosque - one of the main attractions in Casablanca. But the publication did not specify who was not happy about this fact, and how the negative reaction of some citizens could influence the decision to refuse to accept the liner with the already agreed route. In the article are presented comments of “Nieuw Amsterdam” passengers, who were surprised by the puritanical approach to sexual minorities in Morocco.

However, visiting Malaga has partially compensated disappointment of the Nieuw Amsterdam passengers from the previously scheduled tour of the jewel of the Maghreb. Excursion to the main mosque of Casablanca was replaced by the tour of the Picasso Museum in Malaga.

Efim Konovalov

Date: 08/07/2012