The main purpose of Henry Manson through his book, Religion and Power in Morocco, is to provide an alternative argument to the political role of Islam in pre-colonial Morocco. Though to do so he focuses on incidents of the “myth of the righteous man of God who dares to defy an unjust sultan,” he structures his argument by proving the historical and cultural inaccuracies of Geertz’s accounts in Islam Observed. He provides an alternative to everything disproved with intricate arguments. Geertz’s greatest error, according to this work, is “neglecting the historical and symbolic contexts of events” when discussing these same events. Manson uses historical text and combines this with ethnographic work, whereas Geertz focused solely on ethnography to make a historical argument.
Manson argues that when talking about religion and politics, people are often too eager to only observe their combined cause and effect. An isolated approach, Manson argues, is necessary to have a holistic opinion of Islam’s political role in Morocco.
He begins by introducing two kinds of legitimacies to a sultan: the hierocratic and the contractual standards. A sultan’s leadership is not fully legitimate until he receives the approval of the ulama. A perfect sultan-ulama relationship would be on where the sultan consults the ulama to make sure his actions are just, and one where the ulama speak out against the sultan when his actions are unjust. Munson says:
“Abdallah Laroui is correct in saying that the precolonial ulama were the only group to whom the sultan felt obliged to justify his actions (1977b, 100). They were the guardians of God’s law and as such were of tremendous symbolic significance in a political order ostensibly based on this law. In the final analysis, however, the sultans were usually able to force most ulama to legitimate whatever they wanted legitimated. Only a few scholars ever conformed to the ideal of the righteous man of God, just as few sultans ever conformed to the ideal of the just ruler” (55).
This introduction opens up the tensions between sultans and the ulama in Moroccan history. Among these confrontations is that between scholar and saint al-Hasan al-Yusi and the sultan Mulay Isma’il, between ‘Abd al-Kabir al-Kattani and sultan Mulay ‘Abd al-Hafidh, and between Muhammad bin al-‘Arby al-‘Alawi (Salafi reformist) and King Hassan II. These clashes furthermore reveal the political and religious evolutions of sultans and scholars in precolonial Morocco.
The ulama’s role is usually passive, except in a few cases Munson includes. These are exceptions, by far. Munson even refers to these instances as the “myth of the righteous man of God” (Munson X). The stories of these men have been almost idolized by modern Moroccans because of their heroic nature.
Munson’s argument is difficult to disagree with. Munson takes a thoughtful route and cares to include historical and ethnographic interpretations, each where each applies the best. However, his argument could be better organized. Because of the abstract nature of ethnography, it would benefit him to follow a format closer to a timeline rather than isolating specific events without much context. While the historic timeline he includes in the beginning is helpful, more historical context with each incident would help lessen confusion.
The themes Henry Munson discusses, and the organization he uses to do so, require the utmost attention when reading. There are many things he does to make it easier for the reader that are very much appreciated. As mentioned before, the historic timeline Munson includes in the beginning help contextualize his arguments more than they would be if no timeline was included. Furthermore, the outline of each chapter that Hanson provides at the beginning of the book is an excellent guide. Manson also defines the basic terminology in this field.
This was by far the most difficult reading for this class. However, it was of equal importance. It is necessary just how politics and religion interact globally, but especially within the context of Morocco, which is the gateway between Western Europe and the rest of the Arab World. Moreover, even though it is a difficult read, it is a perfect introduction into the shared world of Islam and politics. For someone who is not well immersed in the literature, this book is the perfect way to dive in.
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