The King and the Kickboxer

December 30, 2023 6:06 AM

"Five years ago, an unusual image appeared on Instagram. It showed Mohammed VI, the 54-year-old king of Morocco, sitting on a sofa next to a muscular man in sportswear. The two men were pressed up next to each other with matching grins like a pair of kids at summer camp. Moroccans were more accustomed to seeing their king alone on a gilded throne. The story behind the picture was even stranger. Abu Azaitar, the 32-year-old man sitting next to the king, is a veteran of the German prison system as well as a mixed-martial-arts (mma) champion." From April of this year, The Economist's 1843 Magazine, "The mystery of Morocco’s missing king."
posted by mittens (5 comments total)

I've lived in Morocco several different times, for a total of about 3 years. Moroccans are the nicest people on the entire planet. It was generally understood that Muhammad VI was gay as hell, but he was a way better king than his murderous despot father, so, shrug. I would love to read this but am blocked by a paywall.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 6:13 AM on December 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

The missing king of Morocco, set free
posted by chavenet at 6:17 AM on December 30, 2023 [4 favorites]

Thanks @chavenet!

I lived in Morocco when Mohammed VI was known as Abdul, his birth name, and people were talking about his partying then, too. Every Moroccan I knew favored his younger brother. As @outgrown_hobnail points out, his father Hassan II was a brutal dictator, so Mmd VI is still better to most Moroccans. It is interesting to see a country with so much history and potential grapple with modernity.
posted by DeSelbyofDalkey at 8:05 AM on December 30, 2023

That is a lot of words not to include "gay."
posted by praemunire at 2:14 PM on December 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Around the turn of the century I traveled around Europe with some friends and acquaintances, including a Moroccan, and she was really excited about M6, as she referred to him. Her hope for the future really struck me. For the generation of people who were young when he came into power, he represented a new beginning, and it’s a shame that the Moroccan state has become jammed.
posted by Kattullus at 2:48 PM on December 30, 2023