MESA Banner
Enemies, Allies or Competitors? Islamist-Berberist Relations in Contemporary Morocco
Abstract
The two most important and popular socio-political movements to have arisen in the Maghreb during the last three decades have been the Islamist movement and the Berberist or Amazigh movement. Studies of the region's Islamist movements have been quite numerous and there is now more academic interest being shown in the Berberist movements. Surprisingly little attention has, however, been paid to relations between these two movement despite their strength and popularity. This paper aims to partially rectify this by looking at the relations between the two movements in Morocco. It will argue that whilst obvious and important differences exist between the two in terms of ideology and outlook, surprising amounts of cooperation and common ground have at times been found between them. Differences over the place of religion and the Arabic language in the legal framework of the state are frequently sources of basic disagreement. Most Berberist associations take issue with the mainstream Islamist view that Arabic should be the only official language in Morocco and that Islam should be the state religion. Nearly all argue that Berber languages should be given a status equal to that of Arabic and that a formally secular state framework is essential to ensure cultural and linguistic pluralism within the country. In spite of this seemingly fundamental divide, elements of both movements often, however, share similar perspectives on issues such as democratisation and human rights. There have also been efforts from both sides to try and bridge the divide on the issues of language and secularism both intellectually and also organisationally through the creation of Islamist Berber associations and Berberist Islamic organisations. The paper will look at a number of events that shed light on relations between the two sets of movements including, most prominently, the national debate over the choice of alphabet to be used in the teaching of Tamazight (Berber language) in schools. It will draw on a range of sources including existing published works, print media and publications by both the main Islamist movements in Morocco and the main Berberist associations in addition to interviews with senior figures from both movements.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Morocco
Sub Area
Maghreb Studies