The fact that there are followers of Ahl al-Bayt
in Morocco should come as no surprise considering the fact
that wherever there are Muslims, there are Shi'ites. The
history of Islam in Morocco traces back to the year 683 when
Uqba ibn Nafi, the commander of the 'Ummayad dynasty in
Damascus conquered the region. While many Berbers were quick
to embrace Islam, this did not guarantee their support for
their Arab conquerors who taxed them heavily, treated converts
as second-class Muslims, and, in the worst cases, even
enslaved them. As a result, many Berbers became inclined to
the teachings of Kharijism, as well as Isma'ili and Imami
Shi'ism.
 |
It was only in 788, with the arrival of Idris
ibn Abd Allah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty, that Imami
Shi'ism spread throughout the country. Moulay Idris, as he was
respectfully known, traced his ancestry back to 'Ali ibn Abi
Talib and Fatimah al-Zahra. As an Imami Shi'ite, he was
persecuted by the Abbassids. As one of the few survivors of
the battle of Fakhkh, in which many 'Alids were slain by the
Abbassids, Idris fled to the Maghreb. There, he was embraced
by Muslim Berbers as their Imam, converted the remaining
Berber tribes to Shi'ite Islam, and created the first
autonomous Islamic state in Morocco. Moulay Idris established
the sharifian tradition in Morocco, by which the claim of
descent from the Prophet was the basic requirement for
monarchic rule. His dynasty was also the first to incorporate
both Berbers and Arabs.
The Idrisids would rule Morocco until 985, losing power for
short periods (922-25 and 927-37) to the Miknasa who were
Fatimid allies, and thus Isma'ili Muslims. In the 10 th
century, the Idrisid dynasty fell apart and Morocco was
divided into smaller kingdoms. The entire country was
re-united once again by the Almoravides (1062-1145), who were
followed by the Almohades (1145-1248), the Merinides
(1248-1554), the Saadians (1554-1660), and, finally, the
Alaouites (1660-present).
 |
Every dynasty which has ruled Morocco--with
the exception of the Almoravides and the Almohades--has
claimed descent from the Prophet and followed a Shi'ite
political model. With regards to theology, philosophy and
jurisprudence, Moroccan rulers have traditionally espoused the
Maliki madhhab, officially and obligatorily imposed by the
Almoravides. Much like the Wahhabis, the Almoravides, sought
to "purify" religious practice. Their goal was the conversion
of the pagans or semi-pagans of the Sahara , as well as the
struggle against Christians and "heretical" Muslims. The
spread of Malikism commenced around the year 1040 with the
help of 'Abd Allah ibn Yasin, a zealous Maliki missionary from
Tunisia brought to the country by Almoravid leader Yahya ibn
Ibrahim. The conversions, however, were not without compulsion
and by 1054, the Moroccan Shi'ites who failed to practice
taqiyyah had all been exterminated. Due to perpetual
persecution, Moroccan Shi'ites were forced to go underground
until the 21st century.
The situation for Shi'ites in Morocco has
improved sufficiently for them to present themselves timidly
in the public sphere. In April of 2003, the daily Assabah
revealed the existence of a strong Shi'ite presence at the
core of the PJD, al-Yaqadha wa al-fadhila, a Muslim political
party. According to the article, more than fifty Shi'ites
participated in the first assembly of the movement. The report
was quickly denied by Saâd Bouaachrine, one of the founders of
the movement. His denial seemed odd, indeed, since for more
than one year the movement's official publication, al-Asr, had
devoted a column to Driss Hani, the head of the Moroccan
Shi'ite community, titled "Tahta' chams."
Besides participating in political debate,
Shi'ite Moroccans have also established religious
organizations like Attawassoul in al-Hoceima, al-Inbiaat in
Tangiers, and al-Ghadir in Meknes. This latter group, whose
founding members include Mohsinne Hani, was cited in the 2002
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, published in March
31, 2003, by the American Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor. The report mentions that in May of 2002, the
organization al-Ghadir asked for official status. It was the
first time an association of Shi'ite citizens asked for
official recognition. As of 2006, no response has been
received from the authorities. While the Shi'ite community
awaits official recognition from the Moroccan government,
other associations are being organized discreetly in Agadir,
Marrakesh, and Tetouan, without revealing their religious
affiliation. If the Moroccan government, which is known for
its omnipresence and omniscience, can confirm the existence of
some 300 Bahais in the country, the Shi'ites in the country
have lived in such deep dissimulation that no number exists
for them.
The majority of Shi'ites of Morocco are highly
educated and young, rarely reaching forty years of age. They
are engineers, medical doctors, lawyers, business men,
teachers, and students. It is the latter who form the core of
the Shi'ite movement in Morocco. Some of them come from
Shi'ite families which have been deep in taqiyyah for over one
millennium. Others are converts who studied abroad in Lebanon,
Syria, or Iran, and returned with the faith of Ahl al-Bayt.
And yet others embraced Shi'ism thanks to the inspiration of
Imam Khomeini, as well as Hizbullah's al-Manar television
network. This station is finding more and more viewers in
Morocco, an audience which continues to steadily increase with
its new broadcasts in French aimed at the Francophone
intelligentsia in the Maghreb. Last but not least, we must
also mention the important role of Shi'ite literature in the
spread of Shi'ism in Morocco.
Shi'ite literature is now readily available in
many bookstores throughout in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh.
During the past two years, the International Book Fair in
Casablanca was marked by exceptional fanfare around the stands
of two Iranian and Lebanese publishers who offered a wide
selection of books on Shi'ite Islam at rock bottom prices.
Since 1999, there is even a bookstore specializing in Shi'ite
scholarship in downtown Casablanca. The founder of the library
is a convert to Shi'ism in his forties. He has a degree in
business management and has become a fervent defender of
Shi'ite philosophy. He openly discusses religious matters but
insists on remaining anonymous, possibly fearing "problems"
with the authorities.
If Moroccan Shi'ites remain discreet about
their faith, they have plenty of reasons to do so. Many of
them remember the late 70s and early 80s when the Moroccan
government sought support from Saudi Arabia to counter the
influence of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. As a result,
Wahhabism, which had merely been a marginal movement
introduced in Morocco in the 19 th century, found
state-support. By accepting Saudi oil money, which helped
counter Iranian efforts to export the revolution as well as
finance the war against the Polisario in the south, the
Moroccans were obliged to accept Saudi scholars. With the help
of the Saudis, a full-scale propaganda campaign against
Shi'ism was launched on the country's state-controlled media.
The situation reached a critical point in 1984 with the "pro-Khomeini"
manifestations which resulted in many arrest. It was at this
time that the Moroccan court- 'ulama passed a fatwah declaring
that Imam Khomeini was an infidel. Rather than speaking in
Modern Standard Arabic as is the norm in Arabic countries,
broadcasters spoke in colloquial Arabic to ensure the message
would reach the masses.
With the help of the Saudis, Wahhabi religious
schools spread throughout Morocco, extremist literature was
distributed to thousands of students, and scholarships were
given to study in Saudi-supported universities. Morroco, which
in modern times was known for its moderation, was soon
confronted with the surrogate prodigal sons of the Saudis:
Wahhabi-trained preachers who returned home to spread their
theories. These Wahhabi theorists rejected the modern open
Malikism of Morocco and denounced Shi'ites as apostates. As a
result, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in
1979, many Moroccan Shi'ites, men, women, and children, have
simply left the country and moved to Iran where they could
practice their religion freely.
It was only in the late 1990s, with the
process of democratization initiated by King Hassan II, that
Shi'ites found a degree of religious freedom. The Moroccan
Constitution of 1996 establishes Islam as the state religion
and guarantees freedom of religion to all of its citizens
(Article 6). It also guarantees its citizens freedom of
expression and association (Article 9). Despite these
newly-acquired constitutional rights, Shi'ite Muslims still
felt obliged to meet semi-secretly to discuss and debate the
future of their faith in the Maghreb. It was only after the
tragedy of 9/11 that the Moroccan state started to shift its
policy, officially breaking from Wahhabism as a result of the
Casablanca bombings in 2003. While the real culprits were soon
caught, all members of the Salafia Jihadia, the government
initially suggested that Shi'ites were responsible for the
attacks, subjecting 6 Shi'ites from the PDJ to investigations
according to the Minister of Justice himself.
It was only in November 2002 that the
continued existence of Moroccan Shi'ites came to light through
an interview with Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Dris Hani, the
spiritual leader of the Moroccan Shi'ites, which appeared in
Maroc Hebdo. Now in his mid-thirties, and living peacefully in
Sale with his wife and well-to-do family, Dris Hani discovered
Shi'ism as a teen and moved to Syria at the age of 18 to study
in the Hawzah. Upon his return to Morocco, he felt invested
with a mission: to struggle for the recognition and respect of
the minority Shi'ite community. In his interview with Maroc
Hebdo, he stated that "Morocco was a Shi'ite country;" that
Shi'ism was the rule and that Sunnism was the exception. He
explained that there was no need to make Morocco a Shi'ite
country, because it already was one. He also hoped that the
community could create a political party like the Hizbullah,
but adapted to Moroccan reality. Due to pressures placed on
him by the Moroccan authorities, always eager to ensure
national unity through uniformity--Allah, King, and Country,
one religion, one language, and one madhhab--he was
"requested" to retract his statements. In subsequent
interviews, he took back many of the statements which had been
attributed to him, even his titled of "Hujjat al-Islam," made
a vow of silence, and then returned to the scene speaking of
Islamic ecumenism and the need to unite the Muslim 'Ummah. In
his words, Sunnism and Shi'ism are two complementary currents,
and all Muslims, be they Sunni or Shi'i share, the same
fundamental beliefs.
Despite the fact that Moroccans were forced to
embrace Sunni Islam, they always retained many aspects of
Shi'ite Islam: the love for the Prophet and his Family; the
respect for descendants of the Prophets, known in Morocco as
the shurafa; the celebration of 'Id al-Mawlid, a Shi'ite
custom commenced in the country by the Merinides; the common
invocations of intercession made to the Prophet and Fatimah;
the reverence of saints; the rich Shi'ite-inspired
spirituality of the Sufis; and the commemoration of 'Ashura.
In Morocco, these mourning ceremonies are observed mainly by
women and children. They were commenced by the Shi'i
communities which existed in the country between the 9 th and
12th centuries and were perpetuated by the Sharifs, the
descendants of the Prophet. As Hujjat al-Islam Dris Hani
explains, "Even countries which claim to be Sunni are in fact
Shi'ite, since they all share the same respect for Ahl al-Bayt.
It is just a question of their degree of Shi'ism." As many
Moroccans say, "We are Sunnis in practice, but Shi'ites at
heart."