Abstract
This contribution deals with the main political and ideological characteristics of Moroccan political Islam, based on the premise that ideology is the main power resource used by Moroccan Islamist movements. In their dialectical link with power, the main Moroccan Islamist actors, such as the PJD, the MUR and the JS, stress ethics as a core conceptual tool to legitimate their position within society in general and within the competition for political power in particular.
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Notes
- 1.
The concept that links these organisations with the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun).
- 2.
From da‘wa, “preaching”, “inviting to Islam”, “calling for conversion”.
- 3.
Other less representative categories of Islamic associations or those carrying out religious actions are those represented by what Darif calls the Salafi circle of action (da’irat al-fi‘l al-salafi), as exemplified by the Jami‘iyya al-Da‘wa ilà l-Qur’an wa-l-Sunna (Association of the Call to the Qur’an and the Sunnah), and the cultural circle of action (da’irat al-fi`l al-thaqafi), represented by the association Rabitat al-Mustaqbal al-Islami (League of Islamic Future), which do not work in the strictly political field, but rather in the religious and cultural ones, at least in their early stages (Darif 1999b).
- 4.
The organisations al-Haraka min Ajl al-Umma (Movement for the Ummah) and Nadi al-Fikr al-Islami (Circle of Islamic Thought) could also be said to form part of Moroccan political Islam, though they are minority parties with little social and political influence. Another organisation forming part of the aforementioned Islamic movement is al-Badil al-Hadari (Civilising Alternative [AC]). The AC was an interesting attempt to shift leftists and ikhwani ideas and took part in political competition as a political party between 2002 and 2008, when it was declared illegal by Moroccan authorities. This organisation is “frozen” nowadays, and thus not included in this study either.
- 5.
The minhaj is the “path” Yasin designed as a global religious, social, economic and political project, and which he describes in his most important work, al-Minhaj al-nabawi (The prophetic path) (Yasin 2001).
- 6.
In Yasin’s works, as well as in the perception of the members of the JS, a clear identification takes place between what can be described as the “authentic” Islam and the minhaji, methodology, as well as between the social and political development of the organisation and the prophetic context, of which the movement considers itself to be the heir and force of ideological renewal.
- 7.
The shura is a concept of Qur’anic origin that describes the obligatory nature of “mutual consultation” or agreement between governors and governed within the framework of the Islamic ummah.
- 8.
The official websites of the JS include the official webpage of the movement (www.alJama’a.net), one dedicated to ‘Abd al-Salam Yasin (www.yassine.net), and another to the women’s sector of the JS (www.mouminate.net).
- 9.
See www.jadidpresse.com (December 2016).
- 10.
The makhzen is a notion that usually appears in bibliographies about Morocco and is commonly used in Moroccan political culture. The makhzen alludes to formal and informal structures endowed with material power, both of which constitute the framework of the authoritarian system.
- 11.
In article 15 of the PJD’s statutes a quota of 20 percent is set for women and 20 percent for people under 40 in the party’s organisations (PJD 2006: 4).
- 12.
The PJD’s most recent secretary-generals have been Saad al-Din al-‘Uthmani (2004–2008) and ‘Abd al-Ilah Benkiran (2008- present).
- 13.
Interview with ‘Abd al-Ilah Benkiran in al-‘Asr (Novemeber 10, 1997), 16.
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Macías-Amoretti, J.A. (2017). Political Islam in Morocco: From Islamic Ethics to Political Power. In: Izquierdo Brichs, F., Etherington, J., Feliu, L. (eds) Political Islam in a Time of Revolt. Islam and Nationalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52833-5_10
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