50 Women Join Ranks of Muslim Preachers - Los Angeles Times

50 Women Join Ranks of Muslim Preachers - Los Angeles Times: "
Fifty women have graduated as Muslim preachers, part of Morocco's effort to promote moderate Islam.

An additional 150 men graduated as imams, or prayer leaders. The 50 female religious guides, or morchidat, won't lead prayers in mosques but will be sent around the country to teach women — and, occasionally, men — about Islam. 'Your duty … is to prevent intrusion by foreign agents trying to violate our values and traditions,' Ahmed Toufiq, minister of Islamic affairs, told the graduates."