Essaouira: University professors approach coexistence in the history of Morocco
In the memory house in the city of Essaouira, an intellectual symposium was organized on the sidelines of the celebration of the Amazigh New Year, on Saturday, January 14, 2023 (2973), by the Toudret Association, which was framed by university professors, and it took as its theme coexistence in the history of Morocco.
The first intervention was moderated by Professor Khaled Ousso, Professor of Current History at Hassan II University in Casablanca, who dealt with the topic: Moroccan Jews from the legacy of coexistence to the time of recognition, where he initially stood at the feet of the Jewish presence, its continuity and expansion, which included the continental Maghreb, which confirms the ability of society historically to secure and guarantee The continuity of its pluralism, but noting that the various stations of targeting and distancing that were associated with the Jewish race, were not limited to it as much as they included the rest of the components of society, due to sectarian, doctrinal, or tribal considerations..., and were the product of a special and relative cultural context, with an external source, which explains why On the one hand, the richness of the Moroccan personality, and on the other hand, distinguishes the relationship that linked Moroccan Jews to their country. In order to confirm this continuity, the lecturer stopped at the manifestations of coexistence that ruled the history of Morocco by standing at a number of significant stations, where he spoke about a group of jobs and rights that Moroccan Jews acquired: They practiced the functions of veiling and consular representation, as well as trade, counseling, and medicine... in addition to the right of ownership and the practice of intercourse... Here, the professor pointed out the need to go beyond the traditional view that confines the history of Moroccan Jews to ready-made tribal concepts far from historical reality, such as the concept of dhimmi and linking Jews to salt mills, stressing The vast difference between the load of these concepts and the historical and social reality, which was characterized by the strange ability of Moroccan society to secure its coexistence and unity in light of the difference. Therefore, it is not strange, according to the lecturer, that the push was made later in the direction of protecting the Jews during the protection stage, and after that the embracing of the Jewish tributary within the Kingdom’s constitution in 2011 AD.
As for the second intervention, it was framed by Professor Mohamed Abihi, Professor of Contemporary and Current History at Mohammed V University in Rabat, who touched on the significance of coexistence by examining local experiences of coexistence in the history of the city of Essaouira and its tribal surroundings, where he first stood on the extension of the Jewish presence, which was not limited to the city of Essaouira alone. Rather, it included all the smaller centers and tribal spaces, which fall within the scope of the western Atlantic domain of the High Atlas. While standing at the various manifestations of this Jewish presence in the Amazigh Ahhan tribes, which was not limited only to the commercial side, as much as it included various economic activities in addition to the various religious and cultural aspects, where the lecturer inferred the existence of material evidence for the effects of this presence, which indicates the deep-rooted relations Between the Ahhan Amazighs and the Jews beforeThe establishment of the port of Essaouira by Sultan Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah (the presence of Jewish cemeteries - the Tamanar synagogue - shrines and mausoleums in Bayt Bayoud ...), and the professor considered that this coexistence is a translation of the ability of the local community to ensure the coexistence of its various components, and what confirms this is the involvement of marginal Jews Essaouira played pioneering roles in the trade of Marsa in Souss, the Moroccan Sahara and sub-Saharan Africa.
At the end of this meeting, which was known to be attended by interested people and associative activities in the region, as well as some foreigners, some recommendations were raised, such as: the need to deepen studies regarding Moroccan Jews, especially with the new horizons opened by the 2011 constitution and the existence of a political will that requires researchers to return to themselves for the purpose of research On the mechanisms of coexistence that governed the history of Morocco away from reductive ideological readings. In addition to this, the need for specialized centers and museums concerned with the cultural and religious diversity that the history of Morocco knew for the purpose of linking the past and the present, as well as the digitization of special documentary funds for the purpose of carrying out historical and social studies on the topic.
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