Sufism, Education and Politics in Contemporary Morocco

Abstract

This paper analyses the role of Sufi sm in education and politics in contemporary Morocco through a case-study of the Qādiriyya Būdshīshiyya. This Sufi order (ṭarīqa), which was founded in the post-colonial period in the remote eastern region of the north of Morocco, has spread to the main cities of the Kingdom and has attracted a strong following among the educated middle classes. In 2002, the order penetrated the highest political echelons with the appointment by King Muhammad VI of one of its prominent affi liates, Aḥmad Tawfīq, as Minister for Habus (religious endowments) and Islamic Aff airs. In return for the state’s support, the order has on many occasions showed its allegiance to the king, for example through its organisation in June 2011 of a march in favour of the constitution. The aim of the Būdshīshiyya, as expressed by its shaykh, Sīdī Hamza, and analysed in this paper, is to reclaim for Sufi sm the role in public life that it lost after Morocco gained independence, and to reform society according to its religious agenda.