The secret politics of the Sufi: The sultan and the saint in modern Morocco
Abdelilah Bouasria
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Mixed-methods qualitative study with participant observation and quantitative survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 634 |
| Population | Sufi members in Morocco, including members of Al Adl Wal Ihsane and the Boutchichi order |
| Duration | Six-year fieldwork participant observation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | The author argues that the Boutchichi order's public deference to the Moroccan monarchy conceals a hidden political activism, termed "kryptopolitics," expressed through rumors, dream narratives, silence, and songs. A survey of 634 Sufi members indicates AWI competes with the Boutchichi order in the Sufi market, and six years of participant observation suggest the Boutchichi order possesses significant invisible insurgency potential, with AWI leader Abdessalam Yassine proposed as the political counterpart of Boutchichi head Sidi Hamza. |
Abstract
This dissertation studies the relationship between Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, and political activism in Morocco. Its goal is to see if the Sufi saint, in his relation with the sultan, is apolitical, acquiescent, rebellious, or expert in retracing the boundaries of political dissent. This dissertation compared two Sufi Islamic movements in Morocco: Al Adl Wal Ihsane (AWI) known for its disobedient political behavior towards the monarchy and its resentment of open political participation in general and the Boutchichi order, famous for its co-opted submissive attitude towards the Moroccan monarchy. The Boutchichi order appears to be politically acquiescent when one looks at its deference towards the monarchy, a site known as public transcripts (appointments of its members to public positions, public marches, writings of the members, and public positions towards politics), and nonpolitical when one trusts its discourse to its disciples to avoid politics, assumed to be a dirty game. One needs to analyze the kryptopolitics of the Boutchichi order, its meta-hidden transcripts (rumors, dream narratives, silence, and songs), and mistrust its claim to political emptiness in order to conclude that the Sufi rituals are disguised daggers of silent insurgency. Since the very politically prohibitive Boutchichi discourse needs to describe in detailed manner how politics corrupts the soul, it displays a political knowledge so big that it redefines it in its own occult and esoteric terms. Kryptopolitics goes beyond the informal and hidden levels, since it argues that the height of political activism is achieved through eloquent silence and lucid dreams. If the quantitative survey of 634 Sufi members randomly sampled reveals that AWI is the competitor of the Boutchichi order in the Sufi market, a six-year fieldwork participant observation approach unveils the great invisible Boutchichi insurgency potential. Abdessalam Yassine, AWI's leader, is unveiled as the avatar of Sidi Hamza, the head of the Boutchichi order, in the sphere of politics. The state counteracts kryptopolitics not in its invisible realm but precisely by rendering its secret too visible.