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The Definition of National Identity in the Moroccan Constitution from 2011

Lagervall, Rickard LU (2013) The Ninth Nordic Conference on Middle Eastern Studie
Abstract
The uprisings in the Middle East in 2011 had repercussions in Morocco too, where demonstrators demanded a reform of the political system. The king managed to diffuse the protests by presenting a new constitution which was accepted by 98,5 percent of the voters in a referendum in July 2011. While the new constitution introduces some limited restrictions on the king’s power, the bulk of executive power is still in his hands. One interesting aspect is the text’s definition of the Moroccan national identity. Morocco is now not only defined as a Muslim country with Islam as state religion and Arabic as official language. It is also defined as a multicultural and multilingual country in which Amazighe and Hassani languages are central components... (More)
The uprisings in the Middle East in 2011 had repercussions in Morocco too, where demonstrators demanded a reform of the political system. The king managed to diffuse the protests by presenting a new constitution which was accepted by 98,5 percent of the voters in a referendum in July 2011. While the new constitution introduces some limited restrictions on the king’s power, the bulk of executive power is still in his hands. One interesting aspect is the text’s definition of the Moroccan national identity. Morocco is now not only defined as a Muslim country with Islam as state religion and Arabic as official language. It is also defined as a multicultural and multilingual country in which Amazighe and Hassani languages are central components as well as “African, Andalusian, Jewish and Mediterranean elements.” All these elements are described as essential parts of the unified Moroccan identity. All this is in line with the policy of Muhammad VI since he ascended to the throne in 1999. While this is a recognition of different Moroccan cultures and traditions, it also underscores the king’s role as the only unifying factor in a highly diverse society. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
keywords
Islam, Middle East, Arab Uprisings, Law, Constitutional law
conference name
The Ninth Nordic Conference on Middle Eastern Studie
conference location
Lund, Sweden
conference dates
2013-09-19 - 2013-09-21
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
598f5ff7-24b4-4def-a6f3-c1b8131b7eb1 (old id 4146377)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 13:59:47
date last changed
2018-12-04 14:38:56
@misc{598f5ff7-24b4-4def-a6f3-c1b8131b7eb1,
  abstract     = {{The uprisings in the Middle East in 2011 had repercussions in Morocco too, where demonstrators demanded a reform of the political system. The king managed to diffuse the protests by presenting a new constitution which was accepted by 98,5 percent of the voters in a referendum in July 2011. While the new constitution introduces some limited restrictions on the king’s power, the bulk of executive power is still in his hands. One interesting aspect is the text’s definition of the Moroccan national identity. Morocco is now not only defined as a Muslim country with Islam as state religion and Arabic as official language. It is also defined as a multicultural and multilingual country in which Amazighe and Hassani languages are central components as well as “African, Andalusian, Jewish and Mediterranean elements.” All these elements are described as essential parts of the unified Moroccan identity. All this is in line with the policy of Muhammad VI since he ascended to the throne in 1999. While this is a recognition of different Moroccan cultures and traditions, it also underscores the king’s role as the only unifying factor in a highly diverse society.}},
  author       = {{Lagervall, Rickard}},
  keywords     = {{Islam; Middle East; Arab Uprisings; Law; Constitutional law}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{The Definition of National Identity in the Moroccan Constitution from 2011}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}