The 2011 Moroccan Constitution paints Morocco as a highly
heterogeneous nation, stating in the preamble that the country’s unity “is forged by the convergence
of its Arab-Islamist, Berber and Saharan-Hassanic components, nourished and
enriched by its African, Andalusian, Hebraic, and Mediterranean influences.” According
to certain North Africa scholars, including Samuel Tadros, Morocco’s efforts to
become a “new Andalusia” have played a large part in Morocco’s attitudes toward
its Jewish community. Unlike many Arab states, Morocco maintains diplomatic
ties with Israel, and the Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca is one of
the only of its kind in the Arab world. Furthermore, despite being a Sunni
Muslim state, Morocco has gone to great lengths to protect and support its
Jewish community. Why does Morocco, unlike so many other countries, put such
great emphasis on ensuring that its Jewish community flourishes?
This
question is one that I sought to answer in my undergraduate thesis, “By the
Book? Moroccan and Egyptian Religious Freedom Policy Implementation.” Through a
grant from Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs,
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Morocco in March 2016
in order to conduct research regarding the history of Morocco’s Jewish
community, as well as modern Moroccan attitudes toward Jews. On the surface,
Morocco and Egypt both have extremely similar religious freedom policies. Although
both recognize Sunni Islam as the official state religion, the constitution in
each country also provides for freedom of conscience, belief, and worship. Nevertheless,
religious minorities in Egypt don’t receive anywhere near the level of support
that Morocco grants its Jewish community.
One
of my most significant findings was that the vast majority of Moroccans truly
do seem to consider Morocco’s Jewish history to be a significant part of the
country’s heritage. One woman told me, “No Moroccan is truly Arab, or [Berber],
or anything else—we are Moroccan because we are a mixture of all of
these. I am not Jewish, but the Jews are also part of that.” A man that I spoke
with told me that his childhood neighbors had been Jewish, and that he had
celebrated Jewish holidays with them while growing up without realizing that
the holidays were Jewish. The children next door had a similar experience with
Muslim holidays.
I
also was able to meet with Dr. Mohamed Chtatou, one of the world’s leading
scholars on Moroccan Jewish history. His insights provided me with a broader
framework for understanding the current state of Moroccan Jews. According to
him, Jews have long played an extremely significant role within Morocco’s
political and economic spheres. When the state of Israel was created, he said,
the Moroccan king realized that there needed to be some incentive for Jews to
stay in Morocco; otherwise, many would emigrate, and the Moroccan economy would
suffer. Ensuring support for the Jewish community was part of this Moroccan
effort to provide this incentive.
The
monarchy remains involved in maintaining Morocco’s Jewish heritage. In 2010,
King Mohammed VI announced a new initiative to restore Jewish cemeteries in
Morocco. When I told her why I was in Morocco, my landlady informed me that she
knew of a book about the initiative, including photos of the cemeteries and
descriptions of the project’s implementation. Unfortunately, the book had been
published by a relatively obscure agency and wasn’t available in bookstores. Nevertheless,
I became determined to find this book. Eventually, I was able to track it down—through a friend of a friend of my landlady’s sister’s nephew. I felt
that this book alone—which I cited several times in my thesis—justified my
time in Morocco, given that finding it would have been impossible had I not
been in the country.
Overall,
my time in Morocco was extremely informative and greatly aided me in my thesis
research. Seeing sites and artifacts about which I had read was incredible, and
hearing from Moroccans themselves helped me have a more nuanced understanding
of Moroccan religious freedom policy. I am extremely grateful to the Berkley
Center for this wonderful opportunity!
