#King Mohammed VI

[thepastisalreadywritten]

By Sam Metz

September 11, 2023

An earthquake has sown destruction and devastation in Morocco, where death and injury counts continue to rise as rescue crews dig out people both alive and dead in villages that were reduced to rubble.

Law enforcement and aid workers — both Moroccan and international — have arrived in the region south of the city of Marrakech that was hardest hit by the magnitude-6.8 tremor on Friday night and several aftershocks.

Residents await food, water and electricity, and giant boulders now block steep mountain roads.

Here’s what you need to know:

WHAT ARE THE AREAS MOST AFFECTED?

The epicenter was high in the Atlas Mountains about 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Marrakech in Al Haouz province.

The region is largely rural, made up of red-rock mountains, picturesque gorges and glistening streams and lakes.

For residents like Hamid Idsalah, a 72-year-old mountain guide from the Ouargane Valley, it is unclear what the future holds.

Idsalah relies on Moroccan and foreign tourists who visit the region due to its proximity to both Marrakech and Toubkal, North Africa’s tallest peak and a destination for hikers and climbers.

“I can’t reconstruct my home. I don’t know what I’ll do. Still, I’m alive so I’ll wait,” he said as rescue teams traversed the unpaved road through the valley for the first time this weekend.

The earthquake shook most of Morocco and caused injury and death in other provinces, including Marrakech, Taroudant and Chichaoua.

WHO WAS AFFECTED?

Of the 2,122 deaths reported as of Sunday evening, 1,351 were in Al Haouz, a region with a population of around 570,000, according to Morocco’s 2014 census.

People speak a combination of Arabic and Tachelhit, Morroco’s most common Indigenous language.

Villages of clay and mud brick built into mountainsides have been destroyed.

Though tourism contributes to the economy, the province is largely agrarian.

And like much of North Africa, before the earthquake, Al Haouz was reckoning with record drought that dried rivers and lakes, imperiling the largely agricultural economy and way of life.

Outside a destroyed mosque in the town of Amizmiz, Abdelkadir Smana said the disaster would compound existing struggles in the area, which had reckoned with the coronavirus pandemic in addition to the drought.

“Before and now, it’s the same,” said the 85-year-old. “There wasn’t work or much at all.”

WHO IS PROVIDING AID?

Morocco has deployed ambulances, rescue crews and soldiers to the region to help assist with emergency response efforts.

Aid groups said the government has not made a broad appeal for help and accepted only limited foreign assistance.

The Interior Ministry said it was accepting search and rescue-focused international aid from Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates, bypassing offers from French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden.

“We stand ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Moroccan people,” Biden said Sunday on a trip to Vietnam.

WHY IS MARRAKECH HISTORIC?

The earthquake cracked and crumbled parts of the walls that surround Marrakech’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site built in the 12th century.

Videos showed dust emanating from parts of the Koutoubia Mosque, one of the city’s best known historic sites.

The city is Morocco’s most widely visited destination, known for its palaces, spice markets, tanneries and Jemaa El Fna, its noisy square full of food vendors and musicians.

HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO OTHER QUAKES?

Friday’s earthquake was Morocco’s strongest in over a century but, though such powerful tremors are rare, it isn’t the country’s deadliest.

Just over 60 years ago, the country was rocked by a magnitude-5.8 quake that killed over 12,000 people on its western coast, where the city of Agadir, southwest of Marrakech, crumbled.

That quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.

There had not been any earthquakes stronger than magnitude 6.0 within 310 miles (500 kilometers) of Friday’s tremor in at least a century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Northern Morocco experiences earthquakes more often, including tremors of magnitude 6.4 in 2004 and magnitude 6.3 in 2016.

Elsewhere this year, a magnitude 7.8 temblor that shook Syria and Turkey killed more than 21,600 people.

The most devastating earthquakes in recent history have been above magnitude 7.0, including a 2015 tremor in Nepal that killed over 8,800 people and a 2008 quake that killed 87,500 in China.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

Emergency response efforts are likely to continue as teams traverse mountain roads to reach villages hit hardest by the earthquake.

Many communities lack food, water, electricity, and shelter.

But once aid crews and soldiers leave, the challenges facing hundreds of thousands who call the area home will likely remain.

Members of the Moroccan Parliament are scheduled to convene Monday to create a government fund for earthquake response at the request of King Mohammed VI.

[royal-confessions]

“I thought the kings of the Gulf were the worst, but I discovered that the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, is the worst of all. He owns many billions, palaces and yachts, but the people are hungry, and he sends Moroccan girls to prostitute themselves in Dubai.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[eretzyisrael]

The synagogue is called Beit Allah, “like the House of God,” Mimouna Association founder and president El Mehdi Boudra, told The Media Line.

Boudra said that not only was a synagogue built on a campus in the Arab world for the first time ever, but it was also constructed directly next to a new mosque – “with only a wall between them” – as an example of Moroccan coexistence in action.

“It’s not a big synagogue but it can have a minyan [the quorum of 10 men required for public Jewish prayer services], and the Torah scrolls and all the religious articles were donated by the Jewish communities of Fez and Marrakech,” he said.

Jewish culture plays a major role in Moroccan history and identity

Boudra believes that Jewish culture plays a major role in Morocco’s history and identity and that the synagogue has the full blessing of the king. Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan bin Mohammed, he pointed out, attends the Rabat branch of UM6P.

“Moroccan Judaism is really a part of Moroccan society for 2,000 years. Morocco is also a Jewish land and we celebrate the diversity of Morocco traditionally,” he said.

“King Mohammed VI has restored 167 Jewish cemeteries around Morocco in the last 10 years. He restored more than 20 synagogues around Morocco, and he restored the mellah, the former Jewish neighborhood.”

He sees the inauguration as a celebration for the entire Jewish community of Morocco.

“The president of the Jewish community of Marrakech gave a mezuzah, we have [placed] it on the door of the synagogue and they made the first prayer in presence of Jewish people from the city of Marrakesh and Fez,” he said, adding that there were also guests from the UAE and the United States as well as Muslim students and participants.

[orymation]

No way, No fuckin' way

[ifreakingloveroyals]

15 July 2013 | King Mohammed VI of Morocco receives King Juan Carlos of Spain at the Rabat Sale airport in Rabat, Morocco. King Juan Carlos of Spain is on a four-day official visit to Morocco. (c) Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

[thejewishlink]

Morocco opens Arab world’s first campus synagogue

Morocco opens Arab world’s first campus synagogue

The house of worship is considered a sign of the warming ties between Rabat and Jerusalem as well as a symbol of Moroccan tolerance. By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News The first university campus synagogue in the Arab world was opened in Morocco Thursday in a ceremony attended by the heads of the Jewish communities of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as local Jewish and…

[tiaramania]

Foreign Royals at the Coronation of King Charles III

Even though we now know that the coronation on May 6th will not be a tiara event, I'll still keep a running list of foreign royals that have confirmed attendance. Traditionally other monarchs don't attend coronations in the United Kingdom unless they are from a Commonwealth country (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga) but they are doing away with that this time around.

Bahrain - King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

Belgium - King Philippe & Queen Mathilde

Bhutan - King Jigme Kesar & Queen Jetsun Pema

Brunei - Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah & Prince 'Abdul Mateen

Cambodia -

Denmark - Crown Prince Frederik & Crown Princess Mary

Eswatini - King Mswati III & Queen Sibonelo LaMbikiza

Japan - Crown Prince Akishino & Crown Princess Kiko

Jordan - King Abdullah II & Queen Rania

Kuwait - Crown Prince Mishal Al Ahmad

Lesotho - King Letsie III & Queen 'Masenate

Liechtenstein - Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie

Luxembourg - Grand Duke Henri & Grand Duchess Maria Teresa

Malaysia - King Abdullah & Queen Azizah

Monaco - Prince Albert & Princess Charlene

Morocco - Princess Lalla Meryem

Netherlands - King Willem Alexander & Queen Máxima

Norway - Crown Prince Haakon & Crown Princess Mette Marit

Oman - Crown Prince Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said

Qatar - Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Saudi Arabia - Prince Turki bin Mohammed Al Saud

Spain - King Felipe & Queen Letizia

Sweden - King Carl XVI Gustaf & Crown Princess Victoria

Thailand - King Vajiralongkorn & Queen Suthida

Tonga - King Tupou VI & Queen Nanasipau’u

United Arab Emirates - Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Non-Reigning Royals

Ashanti - King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II & Lady Julia

Baden - Margrave Bernhard & Margravine Stephanie

Bulgaria - King Simeon & Queen Margarita

Greece - Queen Anne Marie & Crown Prince Pavlos (I've seen conflicting reports about Crown Princess Marie Chantal attending.)

Hesse - Landgrave Donatus

Hohenlohe-Langenburg - Prince Philipp & Princess Saskia

Māori - King Tuheitia & Queen Te Atawhai

Romania - Princess Margareta & Prince Radu

Serbia - Crown Prince Alexander & Crown Princess Katherine

[zvaigzdelasas]

On Wednesday, the Algerian ambassador in Bamako was summoned by the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Algiers was accused of holding meetings with Tuareg separatists without involving the Malian authorities.

Bamako summoned the Algerian ambassador "to voice a strong protest" from Mali "following the recent unfriendly acts by the Algerian authorities, under the guise of the peace process", according to an official Malian press release.[...]

Algiers argued that recent meetings with the leaders of the signatory movements of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in Mali resulting from the Algiers process were "perfectly in line with the letter and spirit" of this appeal. Mr Attaf called on the Malian government to "join Algeria's current efforts" to "give new impetus" to the peace agreement signed in Algiers in 2015.

22 Dec 23

[Yabiladi is Moroccan Private Media]

Morocco is trying to mend diplomatic ties with Mali and Niger. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, met on Saturday, December 22 in Marrakech on the sidelines of the ministerial coordination meeting on the international initiative of King Mohammed VI to promote access of the Sahel countries to the Atlantic, with his Malian counterpart, Abdoulaye Diop. An initiative, launched by the Sovereign, during his speech on November 6. Diop's presence at the meeting is highly symbolic, given the recent tense episode between Algiers and Bamako.

The recent crisis gives Rabat an unbeatable chance to strengthen ties with the Sahelian country. France and Algeria, who had excluded the Kingdom in 2014 from the reconciliation process in this country, have lost their influence with the authorities who have ruled Bamako since the coup d'Etat of August 2020. Thus, the French army, present in Mali since Operation Serval, launched in January 2013, was forced by the military in power to leave the country in August 2022.[...]

Two weeks ago, Radio Algérie accused, based on information from «sources close to the matter», the United Arab Emirates and Morocco «of creating a climate of tension between Algeria and the countries of the Sahel», in particular «Mali and Niger in order to sell the idea that it is Algeria that finances the destabilization of these two brother countries».

King Mohammed VI made two visits to Mali in 2013 and 2014.

24 Dec 23

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Meghan DEFLATES in Morocco.

She actually sat with a big belly and crossed legs in front of the Moroccan King and his family.

South Park is right, she's stupid.

This is an oldie but goodie. Meghan flew from NYC to the UK and then to Morocco with Harry. Years ago, a creative lady actually slowed down this moment and shared it across social media. If you have a copy of that video, please share it.

Notice after she pressed the moonbump to deflate, she plopped her backside down into the vehicle with no concern for her big belly or back. Strange that her acting career never took off!

Comments from her Squatting & Popping Video

Bonus

Reporter: She's Repugnant

[world-of-wales]

CONFIRMED ATTENDEES TO QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S STATE FUNERAL:

Foreign Royalty

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima 🇳🇱

Queen Beatrix 🇳🇱

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia 🇪🇸

King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía 🇪🇸

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako 🇯🇵

King Phillipe and Queen Mathilde 🇧🇪

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Theresa 🇱🇺

King Tupou VI 🇹🇴

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia 🇸🇪

Queen Margrethe II and Crown Prince Frederik 🇩🇰

King Harald V and Queen Sonja 🇳🇴

Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene 🇲🇨

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Emir of Qatar)🇶🇦

King Jigme Khesar and Queen Jetsun Pema 🇧🇹

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah & Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku of Malaysia 🇲🇾

Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie 🇱🇮

King Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII

Sultan Haitham 🇴🇲

Sultan Hassanal 🇧🇳

Crown Prince Moulay Hassan 🇲🇦

Prince Faisal bin Turki Al Saud 🇸🇦

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan 🇦🇪

Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and 🇰🇼

King Letsie III 🇱🇸

King Abdullah II and Queen Rania 🇯🇴

Crown Prince Hussein 🇯🇴

King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa 🇧🇭

Deposed Royalty + Distant Family Relations

Margareta (Custodian of the Crown) and Prince Radu 🇷🇴

Queen Anne-Marie 🇬🇷

Crown Prince Palovs and Crown Princess Marie Chantal 🇬🇷

Crown Prince Alexander 🇷🇸

Prince Emanuele of Savoy

Tsar Simeon II 🇧🇬

Maximilian (Margrave of Baden), Prince Bernhard and Hereditary Princess Stephanie of Baden

Prince Philipp and Princess Saskia of Hohenlohe - Langenburg 

Prince Donatus (Landgrave of Hesse)

Archduke Karl of Austria

Lady Pamela Hicks

Foreign Heads of State and Governments

President Joe Biden & First Lady Jill Biden 🇺🇸

President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin 🇮🇪

President Gitanas Nausėda and First Lady Dina Nausėda 🇱🇹

President Egils Levits and First Lady Andra Levite 🇱🇻

President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda 🇵🇱

President Isaac Herzog 🇮🇱

Jair Bolsonaro 🇧🇷

President Sergio Mattarella 🇮🇹

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa 🇵🇹

President Yoon Suk-yeol 🇰🇷

President Paula-Mae Weekes 🇹🇹

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier 🇩🇪

President Sauli Niinistö & Mrs Jenni Haukio 🇫🇮

Prime Minister Andrew Holness 🇯🇲

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 🇨🇦

President Ranil Wickremesinghe 🇱🇰

President Emmanuel Macron 🇫🇷

President Katalin Novák 🇭🇺

President Alexander van der Bellen and First Lady Doris Schmiedauer 🇦🇹

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern 🇳🇿

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 🇦🇺

Prime Minister James Marape 🇵🇬

President Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦

President Hage Geingob 🇳🇦

President Zoran Milanović 🇭🇷

President George Vella 🇲🇹

Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II 🇼🇸

President Droupadi Murmu 🇮🇳

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 🇧🇩

President Alar Karis 🇪🇪

President Zuzana Čaputová 🇸🇰

Prime Minister Petr Fiala 🇨🇿

President Ignazio Cassis 🇨🇭

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 🇵🇰

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly 🇪🇬

President Salome Zourabichvili 🇬🇪

President Ali Bongo Ondimba 🇬🇦

President William Ruto 🇰🇪

First Lady Olena Zelenska 🇺🇦

Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene 🇲🇳

President Guðni Jóhannesson and First Lady Eliza Reid 🇮🇸

President Nicos Anastasiades 🇨🇾

Prime Minister Joseph Ngute 🇨🇲

President Halimah Yacob 🇸🇬

President Dame Sandra Mason 🇧🇧

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth 🇲🇺

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed 🇲🇻

President Nana Akufo-Addo 🇬🇭

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama 🇫🇯

Governmental Representatives

Marcelo Ebrard (Secretary of Foreign Affairs) 🇲🇽

High Commissioner Ralph Goodale 🇨🇦

Ambassador Igor Pokaz 🇭🇷

Vice President Wang Qishan 🇨🇳

Foreign Minister Narayan Khakda 🇳🇵

Former President Dr Joyce Banda 🇲🇼

Captains Regent Oscar Mina and Paolo Rondelli 🇸🇲

Irene Marcos 🇵🇭

Governor Generals

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen 🇯🇲

Governor General Mary Simon 🇨🇦

Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro 🇳🇿

Governor General David Hurley 🇦🇺

Governor General Sir Bob Dadae 🇵🇬

Governor General Dame Froyla Tzalam 🇧🇿

Governor General Dame Cécile La Grenade 🇬🇩

Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani 🇹🇻

Governor General Sir David Vunag 🇸🇧

Governor General Dame Susan Dougan 🇻🇨

Acting Governor-General Errol Charles 🇱🇨

Governor General Sir Cornelius A. Smith 🇧🇸

Governor General Sir Rodney Williams and Lady Williams 🇦🇬

International organisations

Charles Michel (President) 🇪🇺

Ursula von der Leyen (President of European Commission)

Jens Stoltenberg (Secretary General of NATO)

Earle Courtenay Rattray (Chief of Staff to UN Secretary General)

Baroness Scotland (Secretary-General of the Commonwealth)

Sir Don McKinnon (Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth)

Religious Leaders

Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin 🇻🇦

Foreign Minster Archbishop Paul Gallagher 🇻🇦

Maybe attending -

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama 🇺🇸

[royal-confessions]

“I just got swallowed into the Hussein/Rajwa saga and they give me major gay and lesbian energy. Similar to the disappeared Lalla Salma and King Mohammed.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[feministsforkatemiddleton]

Royal Rota reporters and Meghan articles, circa 2019

Some posters pointed out that Charles and Camilla do leak while, William and Catherine do not. This is true. It is more nuanced than how the reporter to NYMag described it, and I'm guessing that's perhaps their experience versus other rota members.

Charles is notorious for leaking, especially against his sons, and is "friendly" with royal reporters.

However, I'd like bring up a different element here. The Sussexes and co. claim the rota was unfair to Meghan and portrayed her in a negative light. Well...let's look at a reporter of their ire, Rebecca English of the DailyMail, and some of the headlines of her reporting in 2019.

For example:

Prince Harry jokes about baby number TWO as he engages in rugby banter with Falklands veteran - while glowing Meghan tells guests: 'We're nearly there'

Meghan's fashion finale! Duchess of Sussex stuns in a blue Carolina Herrera gown as she joins her husband for a private meeting with King Mohammed VI on their last evening in Morocco

Meghan's fashion finale! Duchess of Sussex stuns in a blue Carolina Herrera gown as she joins her husband for a private meeting with King Mohammed VI on their last evening in Morocco

Touching moment Meghan glances down at her baby bump during an investiture ceremony in Morocco (before cheeky Harry jokes that he didn't realise she was pregnant)

Maternal Meghan makes a beeline for two adorable sisters who waited for TWO HOURS to catch a glimpse of 'the prince and princess' in Morocco

Meghan impresses schoolgirls in Morocco by talking in FRENCH - but embarrassed Harry apologises because he doesn't speak it, after Duchess of Sussex has henna tattoo to celebrate pregnancy

Pregnant Meghan dazzles in a flowing red Valentino dress covering her bump as she and Harry land in Casablanca ahead of three-day tour of Morocco where they will stay as guests of King Mohammed

Bun's the word! Meghan goes for a sleek topknot as she opts for an all-black outfit including a recycled Givenchy coat for university visit

Meghan's starring role! Duchess of Sussex is pretty in peach at the National Theatre as she makes her debut as royal patron after succeeding the Queen

oh and look here!

Palace staff are forced to spend hours moderating 'hundreds of thousands' of vile sexist and racist comments on Palace social media pages aimed at Kate and Meghan fuelled by rivalry between the duchesses' warring fans

The Markle sparkle! Meghan glitters in a £3,400 Roland Mouret gown and Diana's bracelet as she joins Harry for a charity performance by Cirque de Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall

Note: This was the night when allegedly Meghan told Harry she was struggling with her mental health, and he did nothing.

Joking well-wisher tells pregnant Meghan she's 'a fat lady' during her visit to a London animal welfare charity - but fortunately the Duchess sees the funny side

'We're ready, we're so excited': Moment Meghan couldn't resist revealing her due date to fans in Merseyside - and one claims she 'came straight out with it'

I'm having an April baby! Meghan lets slip to well-wishers during a walkabout in Birkenhead she is now SIX months pregnant – but doesn’t know if it’s a boy or a girl as she wants it to be a surprise 

Here one unflattering story, which is based on the incident when Meghan lashed out at a staffer that English herself witnesses while the Sussexes were on tour in Fiji. Again - this is what the press does. You don't do your job, you misuse their power, and they call you out.

Meghan's bodyguard to quit after just six months in the job - weeks after her PA walked out - as protection officers 'find the Duchess's wish to be "one of the people" challenging' 

More complimentary articles

Meghan shows how to dress to impress! Duchess gives fashion tips as she becomes patron of charity helping women get back to work - while wearing a £2,600 coat and a £1,700 handbag

How Meghan is 'incredibly relaxed' about her impending birth despite being up to a week overdue and facing having a hospital delivery instead of her dream natural home birth

Ha, fun side bar -- Amal Clooney getting an award from Charles.

Amal Clooney joins Prince's Trust charity as a figurehead for the first global youth campaign... with Prince Charles finding her 'deeply impressive' 

Juming forward to the South African tour -- which actually, the Sussexes did very well on.

Archie meets the Archbishop! Meghan Markle and Prince Harry take son to tea with veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu whose daughter jokes: 'He's going to be a ladies' man!'

Meghan Markle conjures memories of Princess Diana as she wears a headscarf in public for the first time on visit to Cape Town mosque  

'He's the best dad!' Meghan Markle praises Prince Harry's parenting skills as he says she is 'the best mum' after they join in dance with South African children on latest stop in their African tour 

Meghan Markle is greeted by a very enthusiastic fan, 81, as she and Prince Harry visit Cape Town's poignant District 6 Museum before sitting down to a snack of traditional pastries and samosas

Prince Harry says he 'can't wait' to introduce son Archie to Africa as he, Meghan and the baby head off for a ten-day tour

'Meghan will inspire women, partly because she is black': University of Johannesburg professor praises Duchess of Sussex as she is greeted by excited students ahead of tonight's reunion with Prince Harry

Fit for a prince! Meghan Markle picks up some denim dungarees for Archie (and jeans for herself) before hugging starstruck girls as she visits Johannesburg art studio without her son or Prince Harry

Meghan Markle thrills a classroom of charity workers when she SKYPES them during Prince Harry's visit to a college in Malawi on the couple's African tour

Then the Sussexes went to Canada and announced that they would step back from royal duties, and it all went downhill from there because of their own actions.

ACTIONS = CONSEQUCNES.

[gothhabiba]

Tamazight, the other prevalent first language in Morocco, is spoken by roughly 40-50% of the Moroccan population. Varieties of Tamazight in Morocco are generally considered lacking in social, cultural and economic capital and arguably comprise the most devalued language in Morocco (Ennaji 2005; Sadiqi 2007). They are associated with folklore, poverty, rurality and women (Hoffman 2006). In response to a long history of discrimination against Tamazight, the Moroccan King Mohammed VI created the Moroccan Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture charged with directing Tamazight language policy and cultural affairs. He also publicly recognized the Tamazight language as a valuable part of the cultural heritage of all Moroccans and adopted the Tifinagh writing system, an alphabetic system based on a 5,000 year old script, with which to teach and to write a standardized variety of Tamazight (Errihani 2006). According to the new constitution voted for on July 1, 2011, Tamazight is now also an official language alongside Standard Arabic. Moroccan Arabic, by contrast, was not recognized in the constitution.

Errihani (2006) argues that the new Tamazight language policy in Morocco is seen by many Moroccan intellectuals as merely a symbolic and political maneuver by the Monarchy to appear responsive to Western, pluralist, identity politics and discourses of minority rights. He warns it will be ineffective in either teaching Tamazight to Moroccan Arabic speaking children or raising the cultural and economic value of Tamazight language varieties more generally. Furthermore, he notes that Tamazight, while a mandatory school subject, is never the medium of education and that by taking effect only in public schools it targets the poor and disadvantaged disproportionately, since children of the elite tend to enroll in private French or English medium schools where State education policies have limited reach. My experiences visiting public schools in the central region of Morocco support this view. I repeatedly heard teachers complaining that they did not have the training necessary to teach Tamazight and Tifinagh and that the amount of time, when spent on the subject at all, would have been better put towards French or English. One school I visited in the region of Beni Mellal had placed all the Tamazight educational materials received by the government directly into storage, and years later had yet to utilize them because according to the director, the children’s parents were against the teaching of a standardized Tamazight to native Tamazight speaking children. They viewed the Tamazight standard developed by the Moroccan government as a fake and inauthentic language imposed upon them for political purposes.

— Jennifer Lee Hall, Debating Darija: Language Ideology and the Written Representation of Moroccan Arabic in Morocco (PhD dissertation), 2015, pp. 18-19.

Ennaji, Moha 2005 Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco. New York: Springer.

Errihani, Mohammed 2006 Language Policy in Morocco: Problems and Prospects of Teaching Tamazight. The Journal of North African Studies.

Hoffman, Katherine 2006 Berber Language Ideologies, Maintenance, and Contraction: Gendered Variation in the Indigenous Margins of Morocco. Language and Communication 26(2):144-167.

Sadiqi, F. 2007 The Role of Moroccan Women in Preserving Amazigh Language and Culture. Museum International 59(4):26.

[fashionbooksmilano]

Moroccan Decorative Arts

Philippe Saharoff

Assouline,New York 2023, 340 pages, over 300 ilustrations, 27,7x32,5cm, ISBN 9781649802392

euro 250,00

email if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

Morocco's enduring artistic heritage and craftsmanship are celebrated worldwide. Photographer Philippe Saharoff's three-year exploration captures the nation's vibrant artistry, from Marrakech's leatherwork to Essaouira's woodcraft. This 300-page volume showcases zellige, pottery, metalwork, and more, including exclusive photographs of King Mohammed VI's collection. Moroccan Decorative Arts is the ultimate tribute toM Morocco's craftsmanship.

24/11/23

[ifreakingloveroyals]

12 April 2018 | King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain receive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia for an official lunch at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain. (c) Jose Luis Cuesta - Pool/Getty Images