European Forum Event: The Kingdom of Morocco, its Past and Present
By Humaira Patel
European Forum Event: The Kingdom of Morocco, its Past and Present
In advance of the NLC European Forum’s visit to Morocco in 2023, the NLC European Forum hosted Professor Amira Bennison on April 5th, 2022, for a brief yet insightful expedition into Morocco’s past and present.
Professor Bennison, who specialises in the History and Culture of the Maghrib and is the Director of Studies in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge University, provided a wonderful snapshot of the country’s history, spanning over millennia. Morocco’s pre-Islamic history includes the establishment of settlements by the Phoenicians and Romans, Tangiers being one of them.
After the birth of Islam and the Islamic conquest, the country adopted the religion; however, the people, who were mostly Berbers, also known as Amazigh, rejected the Arabic language, preferring to stick to their own dialects. Professor Bennison explained that this is one of the reasons that the Amazigh language still exists. She further pointed out an apparent paradox in that Spain’s Andalusia welcomed the Arab language, but rejected Islam and Judaism.
The captivating journey through Morocco’s history highlighted the different dynasties that ruled the country, including the Idrisids, Almoravids, Almohads, Marinids, Saadians and the current ruling dynasty, the Alaouites.
Professor Bennison also did not fail to also weave some Moroccan Jewish history into her talk, including the two-way traffic of migration of Moroccan Jews to Spain and Spanish Jews to Morocco, dating back to the rule of the Idrisid dynasty in 8th century. As well as providing an insight into the prominent Jewish philosopher Maimonides’s sojourn in Fez, after fleeing Spain, she also drew the audience’s attention to the Jewish quarters (mellahs) founded in Moroccan cities such as Marrakesh, Fez and Rabat between the 13th and 16th centuries.
A spattering of cultural sites was thrown into the discussion, which included those in the city of Fez, one of the destinations of the future NLC visit. The city’s architectural heritage shifted over the course of a few centuries, now resembling more the Marinid era (13-15th century) than the initial Idrisid era, in which the city has its roots.
Additionally, it was fascinating to hear about the 16th century diplomatic relationship between the Moroccan royal family and Queen Elizabeth I. This was, of course, due to their mutual opposition of Spain, which also played a large part in Morocco’s history.
A discussion about Morocco’s history would not have been complete without the mention of its French colonial past as a French protectorate. It was interesting to note that the country’s independence came in 1956, just as the French state was trying hard to retain Algeria, which they saw as an extension of France, rather than a protectorate.
Finally, Professor Bennison discussed Morocco’s current situation, highlighting the relative level of stability the country felt through the so-called Arab Spring over a decade ago, as a result of the country’s constitutional monarchy, where the monarchy has over the years made leeway and delegated nuggets of power to parliament, sufficient to entrust some influence to create change, but also retaining enough for the monarchy to retain control.
The event was followed by a dinner in the Dining Room, where Professor Bennison shared amusing, yet perceptive, anecdotes from her visits to Morocco.
Please register interest in the upcoming NLC European Forum visit to Morocco in October 2023 on our main page.
