The monarchy, the Islamist movement and religious discourse in Morocco

Abstract

Up to 1973, it would have been fair to say that the status quo represented by the ruling institution in Morocco-the 'constitutional' monarchy of King Hassan II, was severely under strain. In addition to the opposition of the established parties-Istiqlal (Independence Party), the Union Nationale des Forces Populaires (UNFP) which became the Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires (USFP) in 1974 and the Communist Party (Parti du Progres et du Socialisme, PPS), King Hassan also faced opposition from a number of radical opposition groups such as Ilal Amam, 23 mars and the Basri group. The latter had been organising revolutionary armed struggle in various parts of the country. In July 1971 and August 1972, the King was also faced with a new threat from a quite different quarter, when attempts were made within the armed forces to overthrow him. Together, the forces ranged against the Monarch appeared quite formidable, posing the very real possibility of the King's downfall. In the late-1980s the situation had changed quite significantly. The regime at present is enjoying greater stability than at any time in its history since independence in 1956. For the opposition, things did not go as planned, acute economic and social crisis did not lead automatically to the development of political crisis and the downfall of the regime as they had predicted. Instead, the late 1970s and the 1980s saw the resignation of the opposition to its almost token role, where increasingly it gave legitimacy to the facade that currently constitutes the King's 'democracy' in Morocco. The radical underground groups of the far left have practically lost the influence that they enjoyed in the early 1970s. While the security service in Morocco may have proved how effective it could be in dismantling the various Marxist groups during the 1970s, many of the problems faced by these groups were as much internally derived, due to the failure of their political and ideological line and their internal inconsistencies and contradictions, as they were the product of political repression.