Research On Religion » King Mohammed VI

Ann Wainscott on Morocco’s Religious Foreign Policy

tonygill — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 08:00:00 +0000

During the past two years, the Moroccan government has begun exporting various religious education programs as part of its foreign policy strategy in the North and West African region. Prof. Ann Wainscott, an assistant professor of political science at St. Louis University, explains how this new development is both an outgrowth if its domestic religious strategy, and a response to requests by other nations to adopt some of the policies implemented in Morocco. We also receive a fascinating lesson in the unique brand of Moroccan and West African Islam, indicating that Islam is really a variegated religious tradition, not the monolithic entity that is often assumed by Westerners.

The conversation begins with Tony pointing out that Ann previously appeared on the show as a graduate student, but now is calling in as a tenure-track professor at a superb university. We chat a little bit about the transition from graduate student to professor, and Ann offers up a few pieces of wisdom for others who are about to go on the academic job market.

We quickly turn to a discussion of recent developments in Morocco and some of the fascinating changes that have taken place since Ann was on the show two years ago. Prof. Wainscott reviews the recent history of Morocco and briefly summarizes the government’s domestic policy towards religion over the past four decades or so. Dating back to the 1960s/70s, the Moroccan monarchy promoted Islamic education as a means of building a national identity that would counter growing secular leftist movements of the time. This policy inadvertently gave rise to some Islamic extremism, resulting in a major terrorist attack in Casablanca in 2003. Since that time, the regime of King Mohammed VI has become more involved in the religious education system as a means of moderating the more radical elements of Islam and as a means to avoid the bloody civil conflict that beset Algeria during the 1990s. Ann then notes that this domestic educational policy has been of great interest to several other countries in the North and West African region, and there have been requests by these nations to help implement similar policies leading to a new religious foreign policy emphasis.

Before diving into the specifics of Morocco’s religious foreign policy turn, Dr. Wainscott helps us understand the unique nature of Moroccan (and West African) Islam. She lists five features that make Islam in this region unique. The first feature, which is the dominance of Sunni Islam is not particularly unique to the region, but it is different than Shia Islam that has been increasingly promoted in the region by Iran, and which has concerned the Moroccan regime. The second differentiating aspect of Moroccan Islam is its general adherence to the Maliki school of legal interpretation, which is more flexible perspective than other legal traditions. Ann also explains why legal interpretation is important in Islam. Next, and in a related vein, Moroccan (and West African Islam) favors the Ash’ari doctrine of scriptural interpretation. This way of looking at the Koran and other holy texts promotes the use of human reasoning, and not just rote adherence to holy texts, as a means of understanding one’s faith. Moroccans also tend to favor Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that emphasizes ones direct experience with Allah. Fifth, and finally, Moroccans and others in the general West African region, prefer a Warsh style of scriptural recitation. Ann explains how this gives oral readings a distinct dialect and serves as an important signal that the Koranic texts being read come from an interpretation of Islam that favors the other four characteristics mentioned above.

We then return to a discussion of Morocco’s new foreign policy of promoting this brand or “flavor” of Islam in other countries in the region (as well as in France, which has a sizable Moroccan population). Interestingly, Ann points out that a desire to promote religious education as part of its foreign policy was not simply a unilateral decision by the Moroccan government, but rather developed out of requests by other nations to adopt Moroccan policy. Concerned by the emergence of a radical Islamist separatist movement in northern Mali, many political leaders in the region wanted a model for a more moderate and controlled Islam. Morocco’s experience proved tempting. Ann then argues that the success of Morocco in promoting its policies of religious education abroad are the result of three factors: 1) Morocco’s cultural and historical legitimacy in the region; 2) the pre-existing institutions that Morocco has built over the years; and 3) linking religious education with increased economic trade. Ann details several of the ongoing efforts to train regional religious scholars in Morocco, as well as to promote different scholarly associations abroad. Prof. Wainscott points out the strength of these initiatives by noting that King Mohammed VI has made several trips to other countries to promote these efforts and build new relationships. While seemingly innocuous to citizens in Western democracies, trips by monarchs or autocrats in less-than-democratic regimes often raise the probability of a coup, thus such trips by Mohammed VI are very notable. We finish with some of Ann’s reflections on these recent developments. While the promotion of more moderate forms of Islam may fall in favor with Western diplomats battling the “war on terror,” the increasing involvement by the government in training clergy is of concern in that it weakens a traditional buffer between the state and the citizenry. Recorded: September 1, 2015.

Ann Wainscott on the Politics of Islam in Morocco

tonygill — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 08:00:41 +0000

The rise of political Islam over the past several decades has become a topic of great interest to scholars and policymakers recently. Numerous explanations for its rise abound, several of which have been covered on our podcast previously (see “related podcasts” below). To advance another piece of the puzzle, Ann Wainscott, a graduate student in political science at the University of Florida, joins us to discuss some of her fascinating research on this topic. She traces the emergence of a Salafi Islamist movement in Morocco, in part, to educational reforms advanced several decades ago with the ostensible purpose of dissipating growing leftist influence among students and intellectuals. Ironically, the unintended consequence of this policy was to provide a new space of resistance to political dissidents.

We begin our discussion with a rather vivid story about a knife fight occuring at the school Ann was attending in Fez several years ago. While not personally witnessing the events, her interaction with her Arabic instructor provided a deep insight into some trends in Moroccan society that she had only vaguely been aware of. This new insight allows her to think more broadly about her dissertation research that was, at first, narrowly focused on a set of recent educational reforms. We then step back to review the history of Morocco over the past half century, beginning with the independence movement shortly after World War II. Ann reviews for us a series of key events all situated in the context of the Cold War. With Morocco being considered a geopolitical significant country, both domestic and international pressure to control any growing socialist influence is consider an imperative in Moroccan policymaking circles. With King Hasan II seeing religion as a mobilizing resource to gain support amongst the population and stave off political challengers, he embarks on a series of reforms to introduce Islam more deeply into the public school curriculum. This effort emerges most strongly in the aftermath of the 1965 Casablanca riots that involved high school and college students.

Ann then explains the nature and content of these educational reforms, noting that in an authoritarian context, every aspect of society becomes political including education. While initially helping to reduce the influence of left-leaning political opponents of the regime, the Islamization of the curriculum allows political discourse to emerge in a new context. We observe how the king’s regime focused on three important arenas. First, at the institutional level, the regime determined which schools would get funding and which ones would not, obviously having an incentivizing effect on how loyal the leaders of any given school would be to the king. Second, there was a concerted effort to place Islam-friendly leaders in key positions of the educational sytem, from national administrators down to the principals of schools. Over time, this had the effect of seeping down to the teaching staff as well. Finally, there were conscious policies designed to insert Salafi Islam into all aspects of the curriculum, including math and science courses. Ann explains why Salafism was chosen. These three methods were seen as an “Islamic solution” to a growing left-wing threat at the time.

The intial effect of these reforms was to “exhaust” the resources of the left, and we see this in how the Moroccan Student Union, an entity started by leftists, comes under the control of Salafists. However, the “Islamic solution” becomes an “Islamist problem” by the late 1980s, as a number of Islamic elites become critical of the ruling regime, now under the control over Mohammed V’s son, King Hasan II. We discuss the response to this “problem” — which Ann is careful to mention is a “problem” from the vantage point of the government. Attempts are made to remove Islamic teachings from the curriculum as well as to introduce a more moderate flavor of Islam into the nation, namely Sufism, via subsidies to key individuals and institutions. With the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent bombing of several restaurants in Casablanca in 2003, the regime becomes more alarmed by the growing radicalization of Islam in society and begins to close that space even more. We finish with Ann’s thoughts on how this is all playing out with respect to the region as a whole and where Moroccan society is today. Recorded: May 29, 2013.