Berber Dahir
Encyclopedia
The so-called Berber Dahir is a dahir
(decree) created by French protectorate
in Morocco on May 16, 1930. It was an adaptation of secular, traditional Berber
laws to the conditions of the time. The French wanted to facilitate their takeover of the Berber tribes's property while maintaining the Berber customary laws in place. The laws would only apply on some Berber-speaking regions, where the Islamic laws were already not applied. This decree was signed by Mohammed V
the Moroccan king at the time. The Dahir was cancelled following pressure by Arab-minded nationalists and Islamists, who saw it as a threat to Arab rule and Islamic sharia
. The decree's original French name translates to: The decree that manages the course of justice in the regions of Berber customs.
The core general objective the French occupation authority was the takeover of the lands of the Berber tribes under a legal cover.
and Middle Atlas
, such as Maurice Glay (civil Controller and author of Récits de la plaine et des monts, les sentiers de la guerre et de l'amour, la mort du Rougui etc.), a core of professors hostile to Islam
and in collaboration with bishop of Rabat
. The purpose of this dahir was the adaptation of a so-called "Berber Justice" to the proper conditions of the time and, which corresponded to the spirit of the French policy in Morocco
under the governance of the Resident-General Lyautey
who signed the dahir
of September 11, 1914.
The fundamental characteristic of this policy consisted in preserving the traditional autonomy of Berbers, primarily in the legal field, by disassiociating them from the Islamic legislation or "Chrâa", and by maintaining their common law
known as or "Azref". The residence was mobilized to apply its plan by making the sultan Yusef
sign the Dahir or legislative text, which will disassociate in fact some Berber tribes from the Islamic law
, making all the calls for the judgements related to the French juridiction.
Dahir
A Dahir is a Moroccan King's decree.-List of Dahirs:* August 12, 1913 - Criminal proceedings* March 11, 1915 - Education * November 17, 1915 - Creation of the 5-branch Seal of Solomon Flag of Morocco....
(decree) created by French protectorate
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
in Morocco on May 16, 1930. It was an adaptation of secular, traditional Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
laws to the conditions of the time. The French wanted to facilitate their takeover of the Berber tribes's property while maintaining the Berber customary laws in place. The laws would only apply on some Berber-speaking regions, where the Islamic laws were already not applied. This decree was signed by Mohammed V
Mohammed V of Morocco
Mohammed V was Sultan of Morocco from 1927–53, exiled from 1953–55, where he was again recognized as Sultan upon his return, and King from 1957 to 1961. His full name was Sidi Mohammed ben Yusef, or Son of Yusef, upon whose death he succeeded to the throne...
the Moroccan king at the time. The Dahir was cancelled following pressure by Arab-minded nationalists and Islamists, who saw it as a threat to Arab rule and Islamic sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. The decree's original French name translates to: The decree that manages the course of justice in the regions of Berber customs.
The core general objective the French occupation authority was the takeover of the lands of the Berber tribes under a legal cover.
September 11, 1914
A first formulation appeared under the influence of a group of specialists of Berbers of High AtlasHigh Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa.The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. At the Atlantic and to the southwest the range drops abruptly...
and Middle Atlas
Middle Atlas
The Middle Atlas is part of the Atlas mountain range lying in Morocco, a mountainous country with more than 100,000 km² or 15% of its landmass rising above 2,000 metres. The Middle Atlas is the northernmost of three Atlas Mountains chains that define a large plateaued basin extending eastward...
, such as Maurice Glay (civil Controller and author of Récits de la plaine et des monts, les sentiers de la guerre et de l'amour, la mort du Rougui etc.), a core of professors hostile to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and in collaboration with bishop of Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
. The purpose of this dahir was the adaptation of a so-called "Berber Justice" to the proper conditions of the time and, which corresponded to the spirit of the French policy in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
under the governance of the Resident-General Lyautey
Lyautey
Lyautey is the name of:*Hubert Lyautey, military governor and then Resident-General of then-French Morocco from 1907 through 1925*Port Lyautey, Morocco, named after Hubert Lyautey; now renamed Kenitra...
who signed the dahir
Dahir
A Dahir is a Moroccan King's decree.-List of Dahirs:* August 12, 1913 - Criminal proceedings* March 11, 1915 - Education * November 17, 1915 - Creation of the 5-branch Seal of Solomon Flag of Morocco....
of September 11, 1914.
The fundamental characteristic of this policy consisted in preserving the traditional autonomy of Berbers, primarily in the legal field, by disassiociating them from the Islamic legislation or "Chrâa", and by maintaining their common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
known as or "Azref". The residence was mobilized to apply its plan by making the sultan Yusef
Yusef of Morocco
Sultan Yusef ben Hassan ruled Morocco from 1912 until his death in 1927. Born in the city of Meknes to Sultan Hassan I, he inherited the throne from his brother, Sultan Abdelhafid, who abdicated after the Treaty of Fez , which made Morocco a French protectorate. He was a member of the Alaouite...
sign the Dahir or legislative text, which will disassociate in fact some Berber tribes from the Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, making all the calls for the judgements related to the French juridiction.
April 8, 1934
Its exact heading that was given to the Dahir by the French was titled "Dahir regulating the functioning of justice in the tribes of Berber customs". In its application, the ministrial decree of April 8, 1934 organized the customary courts that were established for the purpose.May 16, 1930
Officializing the customary justice in the country, whose roots date back to thousands of years.Nationalist reaction
Before arriving at the sultan, the text drafted by France would be translated into Arabic. The text of May 1930 was in the hands of Abdellatif Sbihi, he alerted nationalists from Salé. They saw it as an attempt to "divide Moroccan people", especially by reading the Article 6. On Friday, June 27, 1930, Imam Ali Haj Awad, presided at the Great Mosque of Salé, the reading of "Latif". Roberta Rezette in his book "The Moroccan political Party" write: campaign against the Berber Dahir began with the recitation of "Latif" in the mosques of Sale. So it fed the protests. On July 4, Rabat ignites in mosques under the leadership of Mohamed Lyazid and July 5 at the mosque in Fez Quaraouiyine through Al Alam Chahbi Qorchi before spreading to Marrakech and Casablanca.Sultan reaction
The occupant of the colonial residence will quickly respond by exerting heavy pressure on His Majesty the Sultan aged 21 to publicly condemn all manifestations against this Dahir. At the occasion of the commemoration of the Prophet's birthday celebration on August 11, 1930 a message of Sultan Mohammed V prepared by the residence was read in all the mosques of the country.Petition against Dahir
It is not enough to calm the spirits and on August 28, 1930, one hundred nationalists gathered in the house of Ahmed bin Haj Mohamed Lahrech in Salé where Mufti Boubker Zniber wrote the "petition against the Berber Dahir" to be sent to Grand Vizier Al-moqri by a slaoui delegation. Moroccan activists mobilized to alert the international and Arab press ; then Chakib Arsalane made a brief stop in Morocco to inform and educate the nationalists.The signatories of the petition against the Berber Dahir
Mohammed ben Lamfadal Al-Alami al-Idrissi, Mohammed Al-Alami, Abdelhamid Al-Alaoui, Hicham Al-Alaoui, Mohammed ben Abdeslam Al-Alaoui, Mohammed ben Mekki Al-Alaoui, Mohammed ben Tayyeb Al-Alaoui, Mohammed Al-Aâlou, Abdallah Al-Aâouni, Bennacer ben Ahmed Aouad, Boubker ben Ahmed Aouad, Mohammed Aouad, Driss Aouad, Omar ben Ahmed Aouad, Abdallah ben Ahmed ben Baïja, Boubker ben Mohammed Bouchaâra, Thami Bouchaâra, Ahmed Bendahmane, Mohammed Bendahmane, Mohammed ben al-haj Bendahmane, Boubker Bennaghmouche, Mohammed Benmoumen, Boubker Bensaïd, Hachemi ben Omar Bensaïd, Mohammed Bensaïd, Mohammed ben Larbi Bensaïd, Mohammed ben Mohammed Berouayyal, Hussaïne ben Abdelqader Bouzid, Mohammed Chaoui, Driss Chaddadi, Boubker ben Mohammed Chmaâou, Brahim Chmaâou, Qassem ben Qassem Al-Fassi, Mohammed ben Saddiq Al-Filali, Mohammed Al-Gharbi, Abdelqader ben Mohammed Hajji, Ahmed ben Abdallah Hajji, Boubker Hajji, Mohammed ben Al-Hassan Hajji, Mohammed ben Mohammed Hajji, Tahar ben Abdeslam Hajji, Mohammed ben Al-Harraq, Abdallah Al-Hassouni, Mohammed Benaâchir Al-Hassouni, Mustapha ben Mohammed Al-Hassouni, Driss Jaïdi, Ahmed ben al-faqih Al-jariri, Abdallah J'ghalef, Mohammed Laâlou, Ahmed ben Haj Mohammed Lahrech, Boubker ben Ahmed Lahrech, Ahmed ben Mohammed Maâninou, Mohammed ben Ahmed Maâninou, Mohammed ben Ahmed Mallah, Abdelkrim Al-Malqi, Boubker Al-Malqi, Mohammed Al-Malqi, Mohammed ben Ali Al-Masaîdi, Ahmed ben Lamfaddal Al-M'kinsi, Driss ben Mohammed, Mohammed ben Lakbir Al-Moqaddam, Abdelhaq M'rini, Boubker Al-M'rini, Mohammed Al-M'rini, Mohammed ben Ahmed Nejjar Laqrbi Nejjar, Abdelqader Al-kadiri, Boubker El Kadiri, Abderrahmane Qandil, Lakhdar Qandil, Mustapha Qandil, Mohammed ben Larbi Riffi, Ahmed Sabounji, Boubker ben Abdallah Sabounji, M'hammed Sabounji, Mohammed ben Abdallah Sabounji, Mohammed ben Ahmed Sabounji, Hachemi Saleh, Boubker Sbihi, Larbi Sbihi, Mohammed ben Hachemi Sbihi, Ahmed ben Mohammed Safiani, Bennacer ben Mohammed Safiani, Tayyeb ben Abdallah Saffar, Ali ben Ali Talbi, Boubker Talbi, Mohammed ben Ahmed Talbi, Hassan Trabelsi, Mohammed ben Brahim Trabelsi, Ahmed ben Mohammed Tiyyal, Tayyeb Tiyyal, Abbas ben Mohammed Zniber, Abdelmajid ben Mohammed Zniber, Ahmed Zniber, Boubker ben Tahar Zniber, Larbi ben Boubker Zniber, Mohammed ben Abdelhadi Zniber, Omar ben Ahmed Zniber, Benaâchir Zouaoui.Reflections on the Berber Dahir
Peaceful demonstrations spread in some parts of the country through the appeal to "latif" relayed by the Petition of 28 August 1930 constitute the first organized nationalist backlash against the occupation and lead to the withdrawal of France's Berber Dahir. Many now agree to recognize that this important historical episode and the decline of France has strengthened the nationalist and was the founding act of political awareness will lead a decade later for signature on 11 January 1944 a new petition, this time called "Manifesto of Independence".Further reading
- Katherine E. Hoffman, Assistant Professor (PhD Columbia 2000), Language Ideologies of the French Protectorate's Native Policy in Morocco, 1912-1956 examines the ideological underpinnings and effects of French Protectorate administrative policies for categorizing the Moroccan Muslim population as Arab and Berber. The manuscript probes links between language, law, and tribe that were codified willy-nilly by Affaires Indigènes officials.
External links
Full Text of the so-called Berber Dahir- Wikisource: Berber Dahir