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Then, in 1965, the political climate began to change. Hassan dissolved Parliament, suppressed political parties, and moved sharply toward authoritarian rule. He also made it clear that the monks of Toumliline, because of their liberalism and influence on the Berber countryside, were less welcome than they used to be. Meantime, the monastery was having its own troubles. Water supplies dried up, and the orchard withered away. The cattle on its dairy ranch died off mysteriously. A project for a chicken farm evaporated when a French civilian manager swindled the monks out of all their capital. Once numbering 40, the monks drifted off to other monasteries and assignments. By 1968 the community was down to seven.
Cherished Meditation. Last June, King Hassan told the remaining monks that they would have to leave their monastery. They could have moved to Rabat, where most of Morocco's remaining 140,000 Christians live. But the city was hardly the place for what they still cherished most: meditation. During the winter, the last three monks of Toumliline returned to France. Though they retain some hope of going back to Morocco, the monastery itself has been sold to the government. The Moroccan Interior Ministry plans to turn it into a summer camp for city children.