Women in Morocco
The recent political upheavals in the Arab world were marked by women’s significant presence in struggling for democracy alongside men. Muslim women activists in Morocco have particularly gained legitimacy in the context of the Arab Spring, which has brought the Justice and Development conse...
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International Institute of Islamic Thought
2013
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oai:doaj.org-article:7fe2073d7af64b02a412b213d1bf1af52021-12-02T19:41:21ZWomen in Morocco10.35632/ajis.v30i4.10962690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/7fe2073d7af64b02a412b213d1bf1af52013-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1096https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741The recent political upheavals in the Arab world were marked by women’s significant presence in struggling for democracy alongside men. Muslim women activists in Morocco have particularly gained legitimacy in the context of the Arab Spring, which has brought the Justice and Development conservative political party to power. This has contributed to a shift from the elite liberal state feminism to a more legitimate religious activism. This introduces new spaces for contention, taking into consideration that following the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Morocco has taken a series of measures to absorb the growing momentum of political Islam. One such measure has been to restructure the religious field by means of reforming and controlling the dynamics of religion in Morocco; this was primarily marked by the significant entry and deployment of women in the religious field as religious leaders and scholars. These statetrained female religious authorities offer spiritual counseling and religious instruction to different social segments. Therefore, they redefine parameters of religious authority and define a new model of activism that seeks to cultivate collective pious conduct within society and thus contribute to a comprehensive social reform. Therefore, this article explores the dynamics of female religious authority in Morocco in light of the current social and political changes. I examine how these women construct authority as religious leaders and how they endorse the state’s authority to control the dynamics of religion in Morocco and curb the voices of individuals or groups that operate outside of official Islam. I argue that despite the fact that these female religious authorities are viewed as instruments of state propaganda, they are gaining wider legitimacy and contributing greatly to the social welfare of their communities, which makes their “official” entry into the religious domain a serious step toward democracy and positive change. Meriem El HaitamiInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 30, Iss 4 (2013) |
| institution |
DOAJ |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
Islam BP1-253 |
| spellingShingle |
Islam BP1-253 Meriem El Haitami Women in Morocco |
| description |
The recent political upheavals in the Arab world were marked by
women’s significant presence in struggling for democracy alongside
men. Muslim women activists in Morocco have particularly gained
legitimacy in the context of the Arab Spring, which has brought the
Justice and Development conservative political party to power. This
has contributed to a shift from the elite liberal state feminism to a
more legitimate religious activism. This introduces new spaces for
contention, taking into consideration that following the 2003
Casablanca bombings, Morocco has taken a series of measures to
absorb the growing momentum of political Islam. One such measure
has been to restructure the religious field by means of reforming
and controlling the dynamics of religion in Morocco; this was primarily
marked by the significant entry and deployment of women
in the religious field as religious leaders and scholars. These statetrained
female religious authorities offer spiritual counseling and
religious instruction to different social segments. Therefore, they
redefine parameters of religious authority and define a new model
of activism that seeks to cultivate collective pious conduct within
society and thus contribute to a comprehensive social reform.
Therefore, this article explores the dynamics of female religious
authority in Morocco in light of the current social and political
changes. I examine how these women construct authority as religious
leaders and how they endorse the state’s authority to control
the dynamics of religion in Morocco and curb the voices of individuals
or groups that operate outside of official Islam. I argue
that despite the fact that these female religious authorities are
viewed as instruments of state propaganda, they are gaining wider
legitimacy and contributing greatly to the social welfare of their
communities, which makes their “official” entry into the religious
domain a serious step toward democracy and positive change.
|
| format |
article |
| author |
Meriem El Haitami |
| author_facet |
Meriem El Haitami |
| author_sort |
Meriem El Haitami |
| title |
Women in Morocco |
| title_short |
Women in Morocco |
| title_full |
Women in Morocco |
| title_fullStr |
Women in Morocco |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Women in Morocco |
| title_sort |
women in morocco |
| publisher |
International Institute of Islamic Thought |
| publishDate |
2013 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/7fe2073d7af64b02a412b213d1bf1af5 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT meriemelhaitami womeninmorocco |
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1718376211618463744 |