?Was Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi a separatist
Many people wonder whether Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi was a separatist.
This hero who led the largest revolution in the 1920s, during which he faced two of the largest European colonial powers, namely French colonialism and Spanish colonialism. The countryside was then bombed with internationally banned chemical weapons.
But the question always remains: Was Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi a separatist or not? What is meant here is whether Abdul Karim was seeking the independence of the Rif from Morocco.
Al-Khatabi and the Rif Liberation War
The book “Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi and the Republic of the Rif”, published by Maspero in 1976, talks about a great history made by a small farmer from the Rif mountains, where Al-Khattabi was able to confront two powerful states, and established a modern state, at that stage, and carried out major reforms in the countryside. He was able to unite the Rif tribes, which had always been in civil wars since the fall of Andalusia. During this stage, Abdul Karim was able to build a modern state by creating a transportation network between the tribes of the countryside, and creating economic and social dynamism, after a long siege by Spain of the northern islands and cities, and Bilad al-Makhzen from the south.
Many people know Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi only as a resistance to Spanish colonialism, through the “guerrilla war” battles he fought against the Spaniards in various areas of the large countryside, from a military point of view, but what they do not know is that Muhammad bin Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi was a statesman and politician who was able to unite the tribes. The warring countryside, and founded an Amazigh republic, similar to the experience of the Turkish revolution, where Abdel Karim was influenced by the experience of Mustafa Kemal through his work in editing the newspaper “Telegrama Rif”, which was published in Melilla, and which reported the events of the Turkish revolution, which carried the principle of separation of religion from the state. In addition to the fact that Moulay Mohand is a judge in Melilla and a teacher of the Amazigh language there.
He was imprisoned in 1915 because of his sympathy for Germany during World War I. The imprisonment came at the behest of the French authorities, whose political influence extended as far as the Spanish protectorate in northern Morocco, and who accused Muhammad bin Abdel Karim of spying with Germany. Al-Khattabi was imprisoned in Rostrogordo prison in Melilla, and he tried to escape many times, to no avail, and his legs were broken in one of these attempts. He remained in prison for 11 months before he was released and returned to practice the judicial profession in Melilla.
At this stage, Al-Khattabi developed an awareness and feeling of the social and political oppression that colonialism was generating among Moroccans, and he began to establish relations with opponents of the colonial presence in Morocco, in the Spanish and French regions, and then returned to the Rif, where he included his tribe with the rest of the Rif tribes (Tamsman, Ait And Lechk, Ait Touzin...) to confront Spanish colonialism.
The aim of reviewing this history is to respond to neighboring Algeria, which recently sought to exploit this major episode in the history of the Rif, in order to incite the Rif people to secede and stir up riots in their country, Morocco.
What a historical irony! A century ago, the colonial authorities in Algeria sought the help of the grandson of Emir Abdelkader Aljazairi in order to incite the rural Ekzanine tribe, which was under French influence at the time, against Abdel Karim Al Khattabi. However, their plan failed, and Al Khattabi succeeded in uniting the rural tribes and building a tribal complex. Rifi, thus establishing a modern state that was a source of inspiration for various liberation movements around the world, including the Algerian revolutionaries who founded the National Movement in 1927, immediately after the surrender of Abdel Karim, led by Messali El Haj.
Knowledge in the face of fear and ignorance
Since its founding in 2001, the newspaper “The Amazigh World” has been publishing historical files and organizing seminars on the history of the countryside and the resistance to Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi. Together with a number of historians and an elite group of rural intellectuals in Rabat, it founded a group for research on Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi, and was thus able to dispel Ignorance, fear, and dissemination of extensive knowledge about rural resistance.
Until the official recognition of the history of the Rif Republic came from the Royal Institute for Research in the History of Morocco for the first time in its encyclopedia “The History of Morocco,” in which it stated: “Mohamed bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi took advantage of the success of the resistance and gave it a new dimension when he realized that his movement should not stop.” When expelling the colonizer, it must adopt reforms among the rural tribes. This also requires the conditions for confrontation and achieving victories based on unifying the tribes in order to subject them to one central authority, according to his opinion. In his opinion, this will only be achieved by containing tribal tensions and eliminating some of the obstacles that were the source of conflicts. Internal, such as revenge and counter-revenge operations, with the organization of relations at the internal and external levels, and the control of financial, judicial and administrative transactions. Despite the sympathy that his resistance received, Al-Khattabi was fully aware that achieving these goals would not be possible except by establishing institutions and agencies capable of filling the vacuum created by the collapse of the central Makhzen authority, on the one hand, and the weakness of the colonial authority as a result of its military defeats, on the other hand, and in addition to Al-Khattabi established a centralized administration that included a group of institutions necessary to organize and manage the affairs of the tribes. He appointed ministers, commanders, war commanders, judges, and so on.
In addition to this, King Mohammed VI intervened to authorize the international symposium organized by the Amazigh newspaper Al-Alam in partnership with the Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi Foundation on July 28 and 29, 2004 in Al Hoceima, on “Mohamed bin Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi’s Asylum in Egypt: National and International Dimensions and Implications,” and his contribution. In holding its work, after the local authorities refused to allow it to be held.
As for the Spanish historian and researcher, who specializes in the history of the Rif War, Maria Rosa de Madariaga, she stated in an interview with Zaman magazine, issue March 15, 2015, that Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi was never a separatist, and she said in her answer to journalist Marwan Al-Jazouli’s question: How? Do you explain that Al-Khattabi created a republic and did not declare himself a sultan like others? Why also a republic in the countryside, and was he a representative of a national consensus in the countryside? She said: “I found documents in the archive confirming that Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi tried more than once to send letters to the Sultan calling on him to participate in the resistance against the occupation. It appears that these documents never reached their destination, as they were intercepted by the French authorities. There are also late writings indicating that Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi expressed his dissatisfaction with the royal institution. In my opinion, Abdel Karim believed that the success of his movement depended on the support he could receive from all of Morocco. The term republic was used, in all likelihood, by an American journalist. If Abdul Karim adopted him, he would undoubtedly have wanted to put pressure on the Sultan. At no point did his speech include a secessionist dimension.”
Therefore, the goal of establishing the Rif Republic was to reunite and unify the Rif people in order to move forward in liberating the rest of the Moroccan lands, which is what actually happened when Al-Khattabi entered into a regular war on the southern border. The largest battles that Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi fought were those that he faced. In France in 1924, although General Lyautey had predicted since the Battle of Anwal the extent of the threat that Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi posed to the colonial presence in the region as a whole, he thought of establishing borders in order to besiege the rural revolution and prevent its extension to the southern region, so he established forts and military garrisons. Along the strip linking Taourirt, Saka, and Taza to Fez, despite this, all of these castles and fortresses did not withstand the rural tide, which did not stop until 25 kilometers from the city of Fez, where Abdel Karim did not want to enter the city due to the requirements of running the city. Among the knowledgeable elites, at the time, Marshal Petain mobilized about 44 generals and more than 500,000 soldiers, including Moroccan, Algerian, and African conscripts, which France did not mobilize even in its largest battles during the First and Second World Wars.
The Liberation Army and its role in the independence of Morocco and Algeria
The Greater Kazanaya tribe, along with the tribes of the Nador region, under the leadership of Abbas Lamsaidi, formed the first nucleus of the Liberation Army, and had a decisive role in Morocco’s independence from French colonialism, in addition to its contribution to the Algerian liberation movement.
The African resistance fighter, Khudair Al-Hamouti, who marked the history of the Liberation Army in North Africa, played a fundamental role in financing the revolutionaries in the eastern neighbor, with money and weapons, after he placed at their disposal his ships and connections that he had in Spain and Gibraltar, to serve the resistance against the occupation, in addition to that he He worked to open his home to the liberation leaders.
As for the issue of Abbas assassinating my aides, it has become clear, because the period that has passed since the event, in addition to a number of discussions and studies that concerned the subject, is sufficient to clarify that he was assassinated on French orders because of his support for the Algerian resistance, and his confirmation that he would not lay down arms until the Maghreb countries gained their independence. .
Despite this, the efforts of the Liberation Army did not stop there. Rather, they contributed to the creation of the idea of the Liberation Army in southern Morocco to confront the conspiracies of the Spanish occupation in the Moroccan Sahara, and revived the hopes of many resistance fighters and volunteers who insisted on not laying down arms before achieving the dream of territorial unity and complete sovereignty for Morocco over the country. His lands.
After independence, Mohammed V inaugurated his relations with the region that sheltered the resistance and sparked liberation with a visit to the cities of Taza and Nador on July 14 and 15, 1956, as a sign of appreciation and thanks to the inhabitants of the region and to the work of the Liberation Army. They inspected the locations of its field commanders and its specific operations, then called for the establishment of the Royal Armed Forces, which He hastened the dismantling of the cells and formations of the Liberation Army in the countryside and the north, and many of its members joined the National Army.
The Riffians also contributed to the Sand War in 1963, when Moroccan forces sought to reclaim the regions of Hassi El Bayda and Tinjoub, which had previously been attacked by the Algerian army. In return, the Algerian forces pushed west towards the borders of the city of Viqueque. Combat operations lasted a few days before the ceasefire in February 1964.
In addition to their strong involvement in the Green March to liberate the Moroccan Sahara, and their leadership of the Moroccan army against the Polisario Front. All of this indicates that the rural people are unitary, and always at the forefront in defense of the homeland.
Since its defeat in the Sand War, Algeria has sought to undermine Morocco, through its support for the Polisario Front and its funding of the federalists in Morocco and their coup attempts with General Oufkir, recently arriving to embrace a small minority of rural separatists in the diaspora, who greatly harmed the image of the Rif movement, and caused the arrest of its leaders on charges. Separation.
Al-Khattabi and the Amazigh identity of Morocco
Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi established a strong political project based on the Amazigh identity, as the latter was fond of the Amazigh language and was its first teacher. He always defended it and was proud of it in all his media statements, even when in 1922 he wrote to the League of Nations to recognize his state. He said, “Our country is part of Africa, yet it is a clearly separate part from the interior, and our language also clearly differs from other languages, Moroccan, African, or other,” which indicates that Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi was relying on the language issue. In order to determine the identity of his country.
But now, after the Amazigh language has become official in the Moroccan constitution, this dream has come true for Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi, who was seeking the existence of a state in North Africa in which Amazigh would be the official language. This has been achieved in two countries, namely Morocco and Algeria, where they can be considered two Amazigh countries, as well. Chapter Five of the Moroccan Constitution refers to this when it affirmed that the Amazigh language is a common asset for all Moroccans without exception, in addition to approving the Amazigh New Year as a national holiday in both Morocco and Algeria, in an explicit reference to the Amazigh identity of both countries.
Muhammad bin Abdul Karim, the architect of the war of liberation, was more than just an Islamic mujahid, as was the case with the mujahideen who preceded him, as is clear in his message, where he said that the Rifians are ready and able to prolong the fight against the armed Spaniard who intends to take away their rights, and at the same time Time, they opened their doors to receive the Spaniards, without weapons, including merchants, craftsmen, workers, and farmers. Had it not been for the will and decision of Muhammad bin Abdul Karim, the Rif tribes would have committed greater crimes against the Spaniards. Because Ben Abdel Karim never agreed to the massacres of the Spanish soldiers who surrendered in Jebel El Aroui by the Ayth Bou Yahya tribes. He also managed to spare the Spaniards from another massacre in Melilla, by sending six hundred fighters led by his brother Ahmed El Khattabi to Jebel Coroco to prevent them from crossing the Beni Ansar border. And the protection of civilians in Melilla.
The conclusion from Al-Khattabi’s positions and statements is that the man and his liberation movement: a renewed intellectual project, and a special vision for the countryside, Morocco, and the world, and the goal of his liberation project is to rearrange the reality of humiliation in the face of colonialism, and to think according to the givens of the times and at a specific historical moment, in establishing a new humanitarian approach, based on Dialogue, communication and interaction, in service of the right of peoples to freedom, dignity and coexistence.
King Mohammed VI and the development project in the countryside
It must first be acknowledged that the central state was not in a good relationship with the Rif, especially after the events of 1958-59 and during the rule of the late King Hassan II. The relationship was tense between the king of the country and the inhabitants of the Rif region, accompanied by an atmosphere of fear and anticipation, which led to marginalization. The region was deprived of any development project. Instead, young people were encouraged to migrate towards Europe, which led to the settlement of generations of rural people in many European countries.
But as soon as King Mohammed VI ascended the throne, he began a new page in the history of the Rif region. It was the first region he visited directly after assuming power, and he attached great importance to it in terms of development, as he emphasized in his speech that he delivered in Al Hoceima following the 2004 earthquake, and said: “We will stand Personally, whether through continuous follow-up or standing on the spot, to ensure the successful completion of the urgent program and the adoption of the medium- and long-term plan that will ensure that the rural region, to which we pay close attention, becomes a pole for urban and rural development in the north, integrated into the national economic fabric.
He also stressed that “this plan, which should be submitted to our careful consideration as soon as possible, must include projects that are precise in their objectives, means of financing, deadlines for completion and evaluation, to enable the region to have the basic water, electrical and road equipment necessary to break its isolation and connect it to the national grid via the Fez-Al Hoceima axis and accelerate the completion of the project.” Mediterranean highway orbit.
He emphasized this in his message addressed to the participants in the international symposium organized by the National Council for Human Rights in 2011, in the city of Al Hoceima, on the topic: “Cultural Heritage of the Rif: What is a masterpiece?” He said: “We are pleased to address you at the opening of this international symposium. About “Cultural Heritage in the Rif: What Masterpiece?” To which we granted our high patronage to be held in the city of Al Hoceima. “Because of the great importance it attaches to protecting the cultural and historical wealth and heritage of the Rif region and the city of Al Hoceima, which are beloved to us, and whose brave people enjoy our highest care and our most generous sympathy.” He added that organizing this symposium gives it an important human rights dimension, establishing the pioneering role played by the National Council for Human Rights, which has been elevated to a constitutional institution, within the framework of the national democratic choice and the universal reference, “which we have adopted to protect and advance human rights.” In our country”; He added, “Here we emphasize the need to pay the necessary attention to preserving the collective memory of Moroccans, as it is a basic building block on the path to completing the building of a democratic society, whose pillars we are all working to consolidate and preserve its gains, in parallel with strengthening the reconciliation of Moroccans with their history, and overcoming the impurities of the past, in order to protect ourselves.” For their present, and to continue their engagement, with determination and steadfastness, in comprehensive democratic reform and development workshops.”
Therefore, a simple comparison of the countryside between yesterday and today is enough to show us the extent of development and economic take-off that this region has achieved through the provision of infrastructure such as roads, railways, and ports, in addition to economic projects, hospitals, and educational and university institutions.
Equity and Reconciliation Commission: Recommendations suspended
Despite the great importance of the recommendations made by the Equity and Reconciliation Commission to redress the damage and protect the memory of the countryside, the institution overseeing the implementation of these recommendations, led by the rural human rights activist Amina Bouayyash, did not fulfill its duty and did not achieve any of these recommendations, which are as follows:
· Including the study of that stage as a priority in the work program of the Institute of the History of Morocco recommended for its establishment;
· Follow up contacts with the family of Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi in order to study the conditions for returning his remains to the countryside according to the wishes of the family and relatives;
· Establishment of the Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi Research Center;
· Considering Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi’s house a historical landmark;
· Restoring Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi’s house and using it as a historical center to introduce Abdel Karim’s personality and as a socio-cultural center;
· Establishing university institutions in the countryside;
· Creating economic projects in the region...
These are the same demands for which the rural people went out to protest in the Rif Movement marches, and in order to remember the promises made by the Equity and Reconciliation Commission.
As the rural anthropologist researcher, Dr. Mohamed Chatatou, points out in an article entitled “The Rif is Rebellious, but Not Separatist,” that despite the great services the Rif region provides to the nation, it has been marginalized by Rabat. To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to urgently take the following steps:
· Comprehensive dialogue with all components of the countryside;
· Release the movement detainees;
· Adopting a rural economic plan modeled on the Marshall Plan;
· Moving industries to the countryside to create job opportunities for youth;
· Establishing an intellectual group composed of researchers and intellectuals from the Rif region to provide the necessary studies about the region (sociology, anthropology, culture, economics, tribal identity, etc.).
These are the demands of the Rifites, very clear, and they have never demanded secession from Morocco, as is the case with Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi, who never demanded the secession of the Rif from Morocco, throughout
His life in Cairo, from his arrival in 1947 until his death on February 6, 1963, was more than that, as he spent all this time supporting resistance and unity in confronting the Spanish and French colonialism in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
' The Tamazgha Charter ' in order to build a strong Maghreb union
As a contribution to this Maghreb unitary dream, we put forward an initiative that we called the “Tamazgha Charter” for a cross-border democratic and social confederation, based on the right to self-government of the regions,” which includes the vision of the Amazigh World Assembly for a tight federal system in North Africa, and this political document includes the project. The North African Community, which was adopted by the “International Amazigh Assembly” at the founding general meeting in Brussels in December 2011, which was approved at the Seventh Conference of the Amazighs of the World in Tiznit in December 2013, and was also re-discussed at the Ifrane Conference in late November 2015, and the importance of Greater policy of self-administrative management of the regions, known as participatory democracy, by adopting self-rule in all Tamazgha regions, while respecting the political borders of each country, following the approach of the European Union, which guarantees its citizens freedom of movement and work in all countries of the Union.
Unlike the European Union, which derives its strength from 27 countries, which constitute a large economic and human force, the North African countries, most of which are saturated with Arab nationalism, are tightening their grip on the imaginary political borders established by colonialism, in a geometric manner, in complete exclusion of tribal givens and common human relations between the peoples of the countries. North Africa, and even more than that, the neighboring state of Algeria came to support the establishment of an Arab Baathist entity on the land of North Africa in southern Morocco, knowing that this Baathist mentality of Arab nationalism created many obstacles to development in the region at all levels, neither human nor cultural nor economic, and so on. The European Union continued to grow and develop more and more, in contrast to the backwardness and decline of North African countries, and the entry of their children into civil wars, as is the case in Libya.
This economic and social disparity between the two shores of the Mediterranean has led many North Africans to emigrate in search of better living conditions, despite the enormous wealth that the countries of this region have, which, if their exploitation is rationalized, can achieve a real economic take-off. Not only at the level of North Africa, but at the level of the entire African continent.
However, this cannot be achieved under these central, Jacobite, regimes that govern the countries of North Africa. Indeed, in order to achieve this, each region must be endowed with its own autonomy, and the best example of this is the model of German political regionalism, as the late King Hassan II had indicated. Germany has witnessed great progress at the level of participatory democracy and the actual involvement of citizens in managing their affairs, as well as the example of the Spanish state, which until recently was in a situation no better than Morocco, but thanks to the democracy defended by the Spanish citizens, and their extraction of a democratic constitution that guarantees the authorities the management of... Taking matters into its own hands, and forming regional governments, this neighboring country has achieved a major development leap in all fields.
The Tamazgha Charter is based on the dream of Muhammad bin Abdel Karim Al-Khattabi, which aims to liberate and unify all the Maghreb countries, and is based on the historical experience of the Amazigh communities and their collective legacy, which is based on the universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and indivisible solidarity, and is also based on the principle of effective and true participatory democracy. And on the principle of devoting and respecting the rule of law.
Finally, we are reminded of a quote by the Dutch historian Paulo Dumas, which says: “How can a bureaucrat in Rabat know the problems of a farmer in the Rif mountains?” Thus, there is no alternative to self-government in order to achieve real development in the countryside, and the historian adds regarding accepting support from external parties, that The rural and Kabyle population of Algeria should think carefully about the matter; “Because they are just a single-use tool that can be disposed of when engaging in a geopolitical competition of the highest level.”
The Dutch historian also warned, according to what was reported by the young rural researcher, Yassin Akouh, through his study on this matter, in the words: “The separatist movements in both countries are considered high treason against which the government uses all means, and foreign support can be an additional pretext to thwart the movement and reach the level of sentencing its leaders with heavy sentences.”
In conclusion, I call on all sons and daughters of the countryside to be influenced by the thought of Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Khattabi, to display the spirit of citizenship and openness to neighboring countries, to abandon ideas that do not serve our homeland and our common history, and to contribute instead to the development of their region, and to attract investment projects that would achieve a comprehensive economic take-off. This includes providing job opportunities for our youth.
Rashid Rakha
President of the World Amazigh Assembly