In August 1919, a newly crowned king in Afghanistan named Amanullah Khan (1892-1960) launched an ambitious reform program with the goals of reordering his kingdom into a constitutional monarchy. In this paper I show that as Shah Amanullah sought to propel dramatic top-down social change in Afghanistan through law, he was at pains to stress his reforms were a legitimate interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence in light of modern conditions. As a case in point, this paper focuses on one of the only extant documents attributed to the pen of Shah Amanullah—four Friday sermons he delivered in the southern city of Qandahar, Afghanistan in autumn of 1925. As a window into one of the twentieth century’s first—and largely unexplored—examples of Islamic legal modernism in power, this paper approaches Afghanistan’s Nizamnama reforms through the chief architect’s own words. I argue that by means of carefully crafted sermons endorsing his “shari’ah-compliant” social and legal reforms, Shah Amanullah sought the ever-elusive goal of reconstituting Afghan society in a manner conducive to the efficient administration of a centralized, territorial nation-state, all the while hoisting the modernist and populist banner of an “Islamic rule of law” in Afghanistan.

Using archival documents, press, and published memoirs, reports, fiction, and poetry, this historical examination of responses to the 1960 earthquake in Agadir, Morocco explores French, Moroccan, British, and American responses to the disaster in the context of Cold War and decolonization. Drawing upon the historiography of French decolonization in North Africa as well as work in Disaster Studies, the paper argues that the 1960 earthquake was not only revelatory, exposing social conditions and cultural attitudes kept hidden under normal circumstances, but also was transformative, prompting a reconfiguration of conceptions of the Franco-Moroccan relationship and Moroccan modernity. The paper thus takes up the challenge posed by environmental historians to consider seriously the impact of the environment on human history as we investigate the intersections of tectonic activity with the political and the cultural shifts that shaped modern Morocco. This paper examines both political and literary discourse relating to aspects of catastrophic event including the treatment of survivors, the handling of the dead, and the reconstruction of the city. In many respects, the seismic intrusion into Morocco’s human history in 1960 created a disruption in French hegemony, as alarmed voices from the French right and the Tangier settler press recognized. The resulting anxieties prompted new articulations of France’s relation to its former “protectorate,” and the place of French expatriates in the post-colonial situation. Meanwhile, this event provided an opportunity for the Moroccan monarchy to assert its authority, and opened the door to new forms of American influence. For some, Agadir became a symbol of disorientation and rootlessness; for others, it represented progress, resolve, and opportunity. The paper explores the inscription of such meanings into the city, inscriptions made possible by this terrible environmental catastrophe.

This paper will survey the current state of legal protection afforded to Yemen’s immense cultural patrimony, focusing on its tangible heritage, both moveable and immoveable. Analyzing national, sub-national, local, and individual efforts, the paper will argue that the current period is of critical importance to heritage protection in the country, for two primary reasons: to further encourage recent positive measures, and to prevent the neglect and criminality which presently threaten conservation. The paper will specifically spotlight a proposed law currently being debated in the Yemeni Parliament, which would grant legal protection to immoveable heritage, namely historic cities, and would strengthen in-country institutions to protect them. This bill, one of ten conditions Yemen must meet to retain the city of Zabid as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, may pass into law this year, potentially offering at least nominal legal protection to tangible heritage in the country other than artifacts. However, the debate over this law brings a number of local and national political issues to the fore. Among these are smuggling and black market trade in artifacts, the lack of economic investment in heritage infrastructure at national and municipal levels, and the poverty and lack of awareness and education which often stifle preservation efforts at individual and local levels. This paper will therefore also analyze Yemen’s efforts to address these problems through national and local legislation, and the degree of consistency and fairness with which such legislation is enforced. The particular threats to heritage conservation in the city of Zabid and their legal remedies will receive special consideration, given its critical situation and possible de-listing as a World Heritage Site. In addition to cities and artifacts, Yemen’s cultural capital includes those individuals most experienced in heritage conservation and restoration. Yet these and other leaders are often marginalized from the debate over how best to protect and develop the country’s heritage resources. Research for the paper will also include a series of interviews with these individuals—mayors, politicians, architects, archeologists, and professors—asking whether they believe current Yemeni law suffices to address these pressing issues, and if not, what suggestions they have for improvements to legislation and enforcement.