Foundation Islamic Union
Kingdom of Morocco
Official name: Kingdom of Morocco (MA)
Capital: Rabat
Important Cities: Dâru'l-Beyza (Casablanca), Morocco, Marrakech, Meknes, Ujda, Tangier, Tatvan, Aghâdir, al-Jadide, Kenitra, Safi. Casablanca,
Area: 710,850 km2.
Population : 36,313,000 (2021) [1]
Number of People Per Km2: 58
Average Human Lifespan: 63 years
Language: Arabic (official language), French (commercial and diplomatic language), Berber is also spoken.
Religion: The official religion is Islam. 98.7 per cent of the population is Muslim. The majority of Muslims are Maliki and a few are Hanafi. The proportion of Christians of European origin is 1% and the proportion of Jews is 0.5%.
Geographical Situation: Located at the northwestern end of the African continent and surrounded by the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Algeria to the east, Mauritania to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Morocco has a strategic position dominating the Strait of Gibraltar. Its border with Algeria is 1,617 km, with Mauritania 1,213 km, and its coastline on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean exceeds 3,500 kilometres. The northern cities of Sebta and Melillia are under Spanish administration. The Atlas Mountains cut the country from south to north, while in the north the Rif mountain range runs parallel to the Mediterranean Sea.
Mode of Government: Morocco, which was under French and Spanish protectorate between 1912 and 1956, regained its independence in 1956 and became a constitutional kingdom based on the Constitution. Morocco is governed by a bicameral (House of Representatives and House of Counsellors) parliamentary monarchy regime in which the King is vested with broad powers. The King is both head of state and religious leader. The Prime Minister and the Ministers of Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs, the so-called 'Ministries of Sovereignty', are directly appointed by the King. The King, who personally assumes the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the General Staff, also appoints other Ministers to form the government upon the proposal of the Prime Minister. The government is responsible to the King and the Chamber of Deputies. The country was administratively divided into 16 states and 2 governorates
Political Parties: Istiqlal Party: It is a centre-left party. Union of Socialist Populist Forces: This left-wing party won 48 seats in parliament in the last general elections and became the first party. National Unity for Freedom Party: A centre-right pro-King party. Socialist Unity Party: One of the parties that joined the above-mentioned 'Democratic Bloc' alliance in the June 93 elections. Party for Socialism and Development, Democratic National Party: It is a right-wing party with a liberal westernist outlook and pro-king. In the last general elections, it won 24 seats in parliament.
History: The lands of Morocco are called 'al-Maghrib al-Aqsa' (Far West) in Islamic historical sources. Northwest African countries are all called Maghrib (west). Islamic armies under the command of Ukba bin Nafi (r.a.) first came to these lands in 686. Ukba bin Nafi (r.a.) conquered a part of Maghrib and the province of Ifrikiyya under the caliphate was established here. The remaining part of Maghrib was conquered during the time of Hassan bin Nu'man who came to the region in 688 and Musa bin Nusayr who came to the region in 712. Tariq bin Ziyad, one of Musa bin Nusayr's commanders, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the territory of today's Spain and the foundations of the Islamic state of Andalusia were laid in this way. The name of the Strait of Gibraltar (Mount Tariq) is also attributed to Tariq bin Ziyad. After the lands of Maghrib were conquered by the Islamic armies, they remained under the Caliphate until the 770s. After 770s, some independent small Muslim states started to be established, although a significant part of them remained under the caliphate. The most important Islamic state established in the Maghrib in history is the state of the Murabaptids. Founded in 1056, the Murabaptids established sovereignty over a vast region of 6 million km2 covering the whole of North Africa and Andalusia, and created a unity and central authority by putting an end to the disorganisation in these regions. The centre of the Murabaptids was Marrakesh, which is today within the borders of Morocco. The Murabaptids were able to survive until 1147. After this date, they came under the rule of the Muvahhids. The rule of the Muwahhids lasted until 1269.
The French colonialists, who occupied Algeria in 1830, made various attempts to occupy Moroccan territory. However, German colonialists prevented this due to some interests. The French occupied Moroccan territory based on the Moroccan treaty signed on 30 March 1912. On the other hand, Spain also claimed Morocco and occupied the northern part of the country on the Mediterranean coast on 27 November 1912. As a result, on 2 March 1956, the French occupiers were forced to withdraw from Morocco and recognise the independence of this country. On 29 October 1956, the Spanish withdrew from part of their occupied territories in the north. The Spanish still occupy some cities of Morocco. After the withdrawal of the French, Sultan Mohammed IV took over the powers of governing the country. His rule lasted until 26 February 1961.
Ottoman-Moroccan Relations. The Ottoman state's contact with the Maghreb countries began with the Spanish, who acted with a crusader mentality after expelling the Muslims from Andalusia.
In 1785, a delegation headed by the son-in-law of the Sultan of Morocco complained about the bad behaviour of the Ottoman administration in Algeria. Abdülhamid I sent a delegation with gifts and a letter in reply, and after stating that the complained situation would be corrected, he stated that the Ottoman Empire was expecting Morocco's help for the war against the Russians in order to liberate Crimea. Upon the delay of the aid, a second delegation was sent in the same year, but again no aid was received on the grounds that the Algerian issue had not been resolved; however, two ships were sent later, albeit belatedly. When the French invaded Algeria in 1789, in July 1830, the inhabitants of the city of Tilim-sân, which had previously been part of Morocco but had been under Ottoman rule in Algeria for 300 years, were left without a protector after the Turks withdrew from the region, and a delegation was sent to ask the Sultan of Morocco, Mawlây Abdurrahman, to accept their allegiance. The sultan asked the Moroccan ulema about the situation since they were subject to the Ottoman sultan, and when he received a favourable answer, he accepted the allegiance of the Tilimsânians, and thus the Ottoman state's existing organic bond with the region was severed.
Internal Problems: The most important internal problem is the Western Sahara issue. This issue is a legacy of the colonial powers. The Polisario Front, which was established during the Spanish and French occupation of Western Sahara to fight for independence against these occupation forces, changed its direction after the independence of Morocco and Mauritania and started a guerrilla war against these two countries in order to establish an independent state in Western Sahara. The Polisario Front, which today is supported by some Western countries, notably France and Spain, has taken control of some parts of Western Sahara. However, it lost a significant part of the territory it had captured in 1993 when some of the guerrillas and commanders of the front defected to the government side. The Western Sahara issue imposes a great economic burden on Morocco. The colonial powers attach special importance to Western Sahara due to its rich phosphate reserves. The people of Western Sahara are Saharan Berbers, who are called Sahrawis. The second internal issue of Morocco is the Berber issue. After the French colonisers occupied Morocco, they divided the people of this country into Arabs and Berbers and resorted to various means to turn them against each other. The French claimed that the Berbers had been victimised by the Arabs throughout history and that they had been removed from their true identities, and they tried to return them to their pre-Islamic lives. For this purpose, they separated the regions where Berbers lived from other regions and gave them partial autonomy. In addition to this, they created a Berber tribalism movement through the men they trained. Today's Berber issue is an issue caused by the Berber tribalism movement that emerged under the supervision of the French occupiers. In fact, the vast majority of the Berber people protect their Islamic identity and do not support the Berber tribalism movement. Some Berbers still endeavour to keep this movement alive.[2]
External Problems: The most important external problem of Morocco is Sebte and Melilla. These two beautiful cities, located on the Mediterranean coast and the majority of whose people are Muslims, are still under Spanish occupation today. The Spanish administration keeps these two cities under its rule by force and violence. In order to reduce the Muslims in these cities to a minority, the Spanish administration is constantly trying to settle Spaniards in these cities. In Melilla, a separate site was built for Spaniards and Muslims were forbidden to settle in this site. The Moroccan government wants Spain to end its occupation of these cities and leave them to Spain. The US administration has announced that it supports Spain's policy on Sebte and Melilla and that it will stand by Spain if it tries to take these cities from Spain.
Islam in the country: There are 29 Islamic organisations in Morocco. While some of them are engaged in political activities aiming at the Islamisation of the state, some of them are engaged only in preaching and education. There are also various differences between the working methods of these communities. We can say that the 'Islah and Tajdid Jama'at' has the widest mass base among the Islamic communities and spreads its activities over the widest area. The request of the Islah and Tajdid Jamaat to establish a political party was not accepted by the government. The Islah and Tajdid Jama'at prefers to spread to the grassroots without entering into any conflict with the administration and using the method of communiqué and invitation. In spite of this, the administration sometimes interferes with the work of this community and uses various means to make it difficult for it to reach the people. The following statement in a brochure of the Jamaat al-Islah wa Tajdid entitled 'General Declaration' gives an idea about the aim of this organisation: 'The Jamaat al-Islah wa Tajdid calls on all legislative, executive and judicial institutions of our people to fulfil their responsibilities and act in accordance with their roles in the matter of returning to Islam.
One of the Islamic organisations is the 'Justice and Ihsan Jama'at'. The leader of this community is Abdus-Salam Yasin. The Justice and Ihsan Jama'at has adopted a harsher and more uncompromising stance than the Islah and Tajdid Jama'at. The leader of the Brotherhood, Abdus-Salam Yasin, was accused of insanity and imprisoned in 1975 after he wrote an open letter of more than 100 pages to King Hassan II entitled "Islam or the Flood". In fact, the allegation against Abdus-Salam Yasin and the verdict were in complete contradiction. Because if the allegation that he was insane was true, he should have been sent to a mental hospital and not to prison. Moreover, Sheikh Abdus-Salam Yasin was imprisoned for six months and three years in total without ever being brought before a court. Released from prison in 1978, Abdus-Salâm Yasin was imprisoned again in 1983 for an article published in the first issue of the magazine "al-Subh (Sabah)" and was imprisoned for two years. Since his release from prison in 1985, he has been subjected to compulsory residence in Sella, near the capital Rabat, and journalists are not allowed to interview him. The government has also rejected a request by the Justice and Ihsan Jama'at to form a political party.
One of the leading Islamic communities in Morocco is the Islamic Youth Movement. The founder of this movement is Abdul-Kerim Muti, who is called Sayyid Qutb of Morocco. We can say that most of the leaders of the existing Islamic communities in Morocco grew up in this movement. As we mentioned above, the Islamic Community, which later became the Reform and Tajdid Community, also emerged from the Islamic Youth Movement. The founder of the Islamic Youth Movement, Abdul-Karim Muti', was sentenced to death twice, but these sentences were not executed. Some of the other Islamic communities in Morocco are unique to this country, while others are extensions of various Islamic communities established outside Morocco. Some of the Moroccan communities are as follows: Tabyin Jamaat, Moroccan Mujahideen Organisation, Soldiers of Allah Organisation, Muqaddes Jihad Organisation, Revolutionary Islamist Youth Organisation. In addition to these, some movements such as Hizbu't-Tahrir, which is known for its emphasis on the caliphate, and the Tablighi Jama'at, which has its headquarters in Pakistan and does not have any political activities, also have extensions in Morocco. Some organisations such as Hayra Davet Cemiyeti, Hakka Davet Cemiyeti, Allah'a Davet Cemiyeti, Muhammadi Çağrı Jamaat, Vaaz ve İrşad Cemiyeti (Preaching and Irshad Cemiyeti) focus on education and notification activities. The Islamic awakening movement in Morocco is getting stronger day by day. Especially in the university community, the Islamic movement is now the strongest movement. The reactions and marches in Morocco to the military coup in Algeria, which was carried out to prevent the Islamic Liberation Front from coming to power, also revealed the strength of the Islamic movement in this country.
Economy: Morocco's economy is mostly based on agriculture, mining and tourism revenues. The share of income from agricultural products in gross domestic product is 16%. 40% of the working population is employed in agriculture. The main agricultural products produced are cereals, cotton, sunflower, sugar cane, citrus fruits and various fruits and vegetables. In 1992, 2 million 590 thousand tonnes of cereals, 915 thousand tonnes of ground crops, 163 thousand tonnes of legumes, 2 million 150 thousand tonnes of fruits and 2 million 785 thousand tonnes of vegetables were produced. Livestock and fisheries are also in good condition. In 1992, there were 3 million 300 thousand heads of cattle, 17 million 25 thousand heads of sheep and 9 thousand heads of pigs. In 1991, 593 thousand tonnes of fish were caught. In the same year, 609 million dollars income was obtained from the exported fish. One of Morocco's most important sources of income is phosphate. It ranks first in the world in terms of phosphate reserves. Phosphate provides 15% of export revenues. In 1991, 555 thousand tonnes of coal were produced. Coal production covers one third of domestic consumption. The share of income from phosphate and other minerals in the gross domestic product is 3 per cent.
In 1992, a total of 100 thousand barrels of oil and 31 million m3 of natural gas were produced. Morocco's total oil reserves in 1993 were 2 million barrels and natural gas reserves were 1 billion m3.
Currency: Moroccan Dirham (MAD)
National Income per Capita: 3,471 USD (2021)
Foreign Trade: The main export products are phosphate, agricultural products, fish, foodstuffs, various manufactured goods. It imports crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, transport vehicles and spare parts. France ranks first in foreign trade. The share of imports from France in all imports is 24 per cent. The following countries after France are the USA, Spain, Saudi Arabia and India. The foreign trade deficit in 1991 was 2 billion 583 million dollars.
Industry: Industry in Morocco is in relatively good condition. Some heavy industrial plants have been established. The most important of these are factories producing motor vehicles and car tyres. There are also oil refining plants. Other industrial organisations are engaged in the production of chemicals, leatherwork, textiles, garments, furniture, paper, rubber, plastic, construction materials, metal works, electrical vehicle production and foodstuffs. 80% of the industrial establishments are located in the most populous city of the country, al-Dâru'l-Beyza. The share of industrial revenues in the gross domestic product is 19 per cent. 7.3% of the working population is employed in the industrial sector.
Energy: Morocco also has oil and natural gas reserves. However, the oil produced for the time being does not meet domestic needs.
Transportation: The capital Rabat, Dâru'l-Beyza (Casablanca) and Tangier have one airport open to international traffic. Apart from these, there are 13 airports with scheduled flights. There are harbours in all cities on the coastline of Morocco. Many of them, especially Daru'l-Beyza and Tangier ports, are used for import and export. Morocco has 492 ships capable of carrying cargoes over 100 gph. There are 2.000 km. railway, 800 km. of which 800 km. is electrified, and 60.000 km. highway, 26.000 km. of which is asphalted. In Morocco, there is one motorised transport vehicle for 26 people on average
Health: There are about 250 hospitals, 6200 doctors, 750 dentists, 25,000 nurses. There is one doctor for 4,306 people.
Education: Primary education is compulsory and free of charge. It lasts five years starting at the age of six. This is followed by three years of secondary school and four years of high school education. There are 4052 primary schools, 1300 general secondary schools and 600 vocational secondary schools. In addition to public schools, there are many madrasas and courses providing Qur'anic and religious education. In addition, Qur'an lessons are also given in public schools. There are 6 universities, 29 colleges and 10 research institutes in Morocco. The rate of university enrolment among university-age youth is 9 per cent. The rate of those who can read and write is 50 per cent.
Major International Organisations: UN, Maghreb Arab League (MAB), Arab League, OIC, Community of Coastal-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
Currency: Moroccan Dirham.
[1] www.ticaret.gov.tr(October-2021 Access)
[2] Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV..
