Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos took off the diplomat's suit and wore the thinker's cloak, as he discussed the contributions of Moroccan thinker Mohammed Abed Al-Jabri, the philosopher of the Arab mind who passed away last month. And although Moratinos focused on the aspects of the Averroes (Ibn Rushd) experiment, which Al-Jabri died before finishing, the most likely political connotations of his words reside in the fact that he, alongside Moroccan politicians, was behind the idea of establishing the Averroes committee, which included experts from both countries, to deepen the convergence and dispel the misunderstandings that take place once in a while. The issue regards an intellectual project with political implications, most immediate being that of firmly establishing dialogue between civilizations and cultures, according to rules governed by mutual respect and compliance with the logic of convincing and being convinced, far from preconceived ideas over the relationship of Islam to the West. However, Moratinos's defense of Averroes, as well as his spiritual relationship to the path of the thought shaped by Al-Jabri, comes at a time at which fears prevail regarding excessive aspects of misunderstanding between Morocco and Spain. Some time ago, the Spanish Ambassador in Rabat refused to take delivery of a report from the Moroccan Foreign Ministry that discusses the city of Ceuta, describing it as “the occupied harbor”. Meanwhile, the Spanish governor of its counterpart Melilla aroused much uproar over a banner hung at the city's crossing, describing it as occupied. This quiet escalation coincided with a statement by Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El-Fassi in which he called on Spanish authorities to enter into dialogue over the future of the two occupied cities in the North of the country. Reactions were ceaseless to this apparent crisis, which it seems neither Rabat nor Madrid wish to exceed the limits of control. Indeed, they both have tested the significance of unleashing small crises, which have reached the point of ambassadors being summoned for discussion. And it is out of the question for them to slip into situations similar to past experiences, as took place in dealing with the problem of the uninhabited Perejil (Leila) Island, or the official visit of Spanish Monarch Juan Carlos to the two occupied cities. One may speak of a new kind of diplomacy with cultural impetus that the two neighboring countries have resorted to. Indeed, Morocco has participated in forums over the dialogue of civilizations in Spain, while Foreign Minister Moratinos has spoken of Al-Jabri's thought as a model embodying hope for the future. He thus considered that the Moroccan thinker “was not only a role model for Moroccans, but also Muslims, Spaniards and Europeans”, basing this on the role of culture in strengthening mutual understanding. Indicative of this is the fact that in what regular channels in the diplomatic field cannot achieve, thought and culture can replace them and fill the gaps of divergence, when doors are shut and every party clings to its stances. Indeed, neither can Morocco go back on an issue it considers to be integral to its indivisible sovereignty, nor can Spain swallow renewed Moroccan demands without stringency, as it addresses Spanish public opinion much more than it lays the blame on the Moroccan government. It is no longer an option for the two neighboring countries to distribute their little wars in fields that do not help to build the relations of the future, based on trust and good neighborliness. Indeed, they have become more than partners, especially ever since the European Union granted its Southern neighbor Morocco advanced status in relations. And just as Madrid did not wish to go against the direction taken by the EU, which considers further opening up to the countries of North Africa to be a strategic choice, Morocco in turn did not wish to spoil the excellent climate of relations with a European partner, with which it realizes there will come a time when it will open a broad dialogue over all pending issues. Moreover, the balance Morocco must maintain in attracting Spain towards supporting Rabat's stance in the issue of the Western Sahara does not leave it with much of a margin to enter into a confrontation on its Northern coast. All the diplomatic prescriptions that were tried as solutions to the problem of continued Spanish occupation of the two cities of Ceuta and Melilla did not lead to the recovery of relations between the two neighboring countries. Nevertheless, the head of Spanish diplomacy, who is a prominent figure characterized by intelligence and flexibility, is today formulating a new prescription which will doubtless be well heard in Rabat, if not in order to postpone any escalation in an issue that is likely to take time, then in order to return to the source of civilized dialogue that would link the two shores of the Mediterranean culturally and politically with the thin thread of thought.
