Blame it on Spain

The true hero of Andre Techine's beautiful film "Far Away," which was recently shown at the country's cinematheques, is the city of Tangier. Not the "spiritual" Tangier, swathed in the nostalgia of poets and expatriates, but the real, neglected and polluted Tangier. And what is it that the residents of this Tangier ask? To go far away, beyond the straits, to Spain, the land of unlimited opportunities.

The more that the investigation of the terrorist bombings in Madrid (and the related Casablanca bombings) progresses, the clearer it becomes that the film touched a basic truth that evaded the scrutiny of the intelligence experts. Tangier is a metaphor for Morocco. And indeed, the most astounding demographic phenomenon of the past decade is the acceleration of migration from Morocco to Europe, so much so that the number of Moroccan citizens residing in Europe, not including the second and third generation, has doubled in 10 years. Estimates revolve around 1.4 million, half of whom live - and most of whom earn their living - in France.

However, the number of Moroccans in Spain has increased four-fold in 10 years, to more than 300,000. Italy's situation is similar. What these two countries have in common is long coastlines, which in the opinion of illegal aliens is a major advantage at when Europe is increasingly sealing its borders.

The main reason for this massive flow of migrants is a "push" factor - natural childbirth rates in Morocco are the highest in North Africa, whereas the economy is stagnating. Per capita income is declining, and the unemployment rate in the cities is approximately 40 percent. However, "pull" factors are also at work: The world of television images, which show the beautiful life in Europe, is easily received on screens in Morocco.

An immense increase in foreign population rattles the collective mentality of the absorbing country. Although the immigrants are mainly employed in agriculture and construction, at low wages, Spain still holds a strong power of attraction for them. The proof of this may be found not only in the continued immigration, but also in the rising number of women (who now represent about one-quarter of Moroccan resident aliens) - an indication of the intent to build families.

Within a decade, Spain and Italy will face the problem of a second immigrant generation, of the sort with which France and Britain have been contending. In the meantime, they have to deal with the problems of the present.

This is where the difference between Spain and Italy lies. Spain has blatant racism directed at the "Moros," a nickname for Moroccans that is rooted in a derogatory epithet assigned to Muslims in Spain of the Middle Ages. The lower classes in Spain are characterized by a combination of deeply rooted Catholicism and racism toward the dark-skinned. The penetration by Moroccans of the service sector broadens the area of friction, while their meager financial resources restrict them to decrepit, crime-ridden ghettoes. The negative images are automatically reinforced.

The hostility of the population is such that in certain agricultural regions, employers have had to replace Moroccan workers with Poles, "Catholics that are our own kind," even though the productivity of the Moroccans was much higher.

Conversely, Italy does not have any residual tensions of a Muslim past. There is no centuries-old tradition of "purity of race," and the attitude toward foreigners is more diluted with empathy and at times even compassion, which explains why maltreatment and abuse of Moroccans is less prevalent.

No wonder that the Moroccan minority in Spain is becoming a reservoir for the enlistment of volunteers for fanatic movements from Morocco, such as those that carried out the Casablanca attacks, movements that are themselves fed by the shantytowns of their homeland. Some of these movements, inspired by the ideology of Al-Qaida but without any organizational links to it, decided to export their activities to Europe.

Although jihad against "converts" - Muslim rulers who serve the ideals of modern apostasy - is a more important religious commandment than jihad against infidels, at times the movement is so badly battered in a Muslim country that it has to find channels for its energy in infidel lands. What's more, these countries provide financial and strategic support for "false Muslim" leaders such as King Mohammed VI. This created the link that conceived the March 11 attacks in Madrid.

Spain can withdraw its soldiers from Iraq, Miguel Moratinos can work on a solution to the conflict in the Middle East, and Spanish intellectuals can sing about the Christian-Muslim symbiosis that ostensibly existed in Middle Ages Andalusia. Yet none of this offers any remedy to the bitterness of the Moroccan immigrant exploited by his Spanish employers, rejected by his environment and often attacked, physically and verbally.

A forecast: Factors pushing in favor of immigration to Europe will continue to act, and Spanish racism will continue to spawn Muslim fanaticism there.

The writer is a professor of Islamic history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.