Good on you.

Very cool things appear to be afoot in Morocco:

Fifty women have graduated as Muslim preachers, part of a concerted effort by authorities in Morocco to promote moderate Islam in a country grappling with extremism.

Another 150 men graduated Wednesday as imams, or prayer leaders. The 50 female religious guides, or morchidat, won't lead prayers in mosques, which is reserved for men, but will be sent around the country to teach women — and, occasionally, men — about Islam.

While Moroccan officials said the appointment of female state preachers was a rare experiment in the Muslim world, others said it was unprecedented in Morocco and the majority of other Arab countries.

"Your duty ... is to prevent intrusion by foreign agents trying to violate our values and traditions," Ahmed Taoufiq, minister of Islamic Affairs, told the graduates Wednesday.

Granted, this is a pretty small step in the grand scheme of things, but it's great to see a moderate country like Morocco putting its money where its mouth is, so to speak. Bringing women into Islamic teaching like this is an initiative strongly supported by King Mohammed VI, who is one fine lookin' descendant of the Prophet (also, his wife is an IT engineer!), if I may be so bold (with a respectful tip of my cap to HRH Princess Consort Lalla Salma... strong work).

Anyway, Morocco has a ways to go (as do most countries steeped in Muslim theocratic tradition), but I'm hopeful with King Mohammed VI at the helm. Between this and the family law adjustments he made to give women more power in the eyes of the courts, he could be well on his way to easing his country into the forefront of a moderate movement. Of course, it's still something of a police state, if my memory of it serves, and they could use a little more government transparency, but I'm optimistic that this isn't some empty gesture.

I just realized it's been five years since I was there. I'm going to need to get myself to Essaouira for grilled whiting just out of the net. Or to the Rif mountains. Or to Marrakech. Or the date market in Zagora. Who's with me?