Anti-colonial literature is not necessarily ‘combat literature’ as Fanon and nVitality and Dynamismo Déjeux have both suggested in their own writings. While it is often com- bative, there is also anti-colonial literature that emphasizes the human and the humane rather than the oppositional and contentious; it cannot be fair to label all anti-colonial literature as combative, even if one were to expand the definition of ‘combat’ to include peaceful struggles against oppression or dehumanization. This book suggests that the relationship between the West and the rest of the world has been imagined as a relationship of Self (the West) to Other (the rest of the world), ordered and bordered geographically by the whims of Europeans and creating a Center-Periphery paradigm. These invented boundaries of humanity serve to separate geographical sites, but more, they serve to enclose the Empire and exoticize other cultures. Boundaries are often spatial, but more often, they are related to relationships and co- Stewart Devin J. Elbousty, M. Youness Edited by Kirstin Ruth Bratt, lonialization. Kirstin Ruth Bratt is professor of English, English pedagogy, and devel- opmental studies at Saint Cloud State University. She is the author of the forthcoming novel Agadir, and a book of poetry These Temples are not in Ruins. Youness M. Elbousty is professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department at Yale University. He is the author of many articles on Arabic literature and teaching peda- gogy. He is the author of the forthcoming book Literary Reader. Devin J. Stewart is professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Emory in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies since 1990. His re- nVitality and Dynamismo search has focused on Shiite Islam, the Qur’an, Islamic law and legal educa- tion, the Moriscos of Spain, Arabic literature, and Arabic dialectology. He Interstitial Dialogues of Language, Politics, is the author of Islamic Legal Orthodoxy: Twelve Responses to the Sunni Legal System. and Religion in Morocco’s Literary Tradition Edited by Kirstin Ruth Bratt, Youness M. Elbousty, Devin J. Stewart leiden university press www.lup.nl 9 789087 282134 lup Bratt ea.indd 1-3 19-08-14 10:10 Vitality and Dynamism VITALITY AND DYNAMISM Interstitial Dialogues of Language, Politics, and Religion in Morocco’s Literary Tradition Edited by Kirstin Ruth Bratt Youness M. Elbousty Devin J. Stewart Leiden University Press Cover design: Geert de Koning Cover illustration: mrfiza / Shutterstock Lay-out: TAT Zetwerk, Utrecht isbn 978 90 8728 213 4 e-isbn 978 94 0060 185 7 (ePDF) e-isbn 978 94 0060 186 4 (ePub) nur 635 © Kirstin Ruth Bratt, Youness M. Elbousty, Devin J. Stewart / Leiden University Press, 2014 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book maybereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyany means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. ThisbookisdistributedinNorthAmericabytheUniversityofChicagoPress(www.press.uchicago.edu). Contents Preface · 9 Introduction. The Vitality of Tradition · 11 By Kirstin Ruth Bratt Identity in the Moroccan Context · 12 Moroccan and Foreign Contexts · 14 Notes · 15 Chapter 1. How the West Was Won: The Arab Conqueror and the Serene Amazigh in Driss Chraïbi’s La Mère du printemps · 17 By Ziad Bentahar Notes · 31 Chapter 2. Cultural Encounter in Moroccan Postcolonial Literature of English Expression · 35 By Mohamed Elkouche Introduction · 35 Orientalism and the Ideology of Otherness · 36 Encountering the Other in Postcolonial Moroccan Texts · 38 Notes · 45 Chapter 3. Intersections: Amazigh (Berber) Literary Space · 47 By Daniela Merolla Amazigh (Berber) Literary Space · 47 Tamazigh/ Amazigh/ Imazighen in the Maghreb · 49 Amazigh Literary Space in Morocco and the Netherlands: Novels and Short Stories · 50 Chleuh · 51 Tarifit · 53 Dutch · 54 6 | contents Conclusion · 55 Notes · 56 Works Cited · 66 Chapter 4. Writing in the Feminine: The Emerging Voices of Francophone Moroccan Women Writers · 73 By Touria Khannous Subversive Feminine Writing · 75 Radical Critiques of Patriarchy · 76 Oser Vivre (1999) · 76 Le Corps Derobé (1999) · 79 La Répudiée (2001) · 81 Documenting Human Rights Abuses · 84 “Poème de prison” (1978) · 85 La Prisonnière (1999) · 86 Les impunis, ou les obsessions interdites (2004) · 88 Notes · 90 Chapter 5. Tactile Labyrinths and Sacred Interiors: Spatial Practices and Political Choices in Abdelmajid Ben Jalloun’s Fí al-Tufúla and Ahmed Sefrioui’s La boîte à merveilles · 95 By Ian Campbell Labryinthine Space in Fí al-Tufúla · 96 The Sacred Interior in Fí al-Tufúla · 99 Labryinthine Space in La boîte à merveilles · 100 The Sacred Interior in La boîte à merveilles · 104 The Façade in La boîte à merveilles · 107 The Sacred Interior in Fí al-Tufúla, Again · 109 Political Spaces in Moroccan Literature · 110 Notes · 111 Chapter 6. Monstrous Offspring: Disturbing Bodies in Feminine Moroccan Francophone Literature · 115 By Naima Hachad Mythical Silence and Audible Words · 115 Space and Confinement · 117 Mother Society, My Torturer? · 122 contents | 7 Mutilation, Death and Mourning · 125 Agony and (as) Revolt · 128 Notes · 130 Chapter 7. Hegemonic Discourse in Orientalists’ Translations of Moroccan Culture · 137 By Naima El Maghnougi The Interaction of “Self” and “Other” in Cross-cultural Translations · 139 Cross-cultural Translations in Colonial/Postcolonial Conditions · 143 Inhabiting the Exotic in Paul Bowles’ Translations of Moroccan Culture · 146 Love With a Few Hairs / The Lemon: A Site for Hegemonic Representations of Moroccan Natives · 150 Conclusion · 153 Notes · 154 Chapter 8. The Countercultural, Liberal Voice of Moroccan Mohamed Choukri and Its Affinities with the American Beats · 157 By Anouar El Younssi Notes · 173 Chapter 9. Khatibi: A Sociologist in Literature · 177 By Sam Cherribi & Matthew Pesce Abstract · 177 A Rich Corpus for Sociological Inquiry · 177 Khatibi’s Self-Definition: Maghreb, Europe or Both · 178 Irreconcilable Divisions in the Maghreb · 180 Writing in French as Trace of Difference · 181 Morocco’s Unique Traits · 183 Notes · 184 Chapter 10. Emigration and Quest for Identity in Laila Lalami’s Hope & Other Dangerous Pursuits, Akbib’s ‘The Lost Generation,’ and Fandi’s Alien … Arab … and Maybe Illegal in America · 185 By Ilham Boutob Introduction · 185 Laila Lalami’s Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits · 185 Abdellatif Akbib’s “The Lost Generation” · 188 8 | contents Mohamed Fandi’s Alien … Arab … and maybe Illegal in America · 189 Notes · 192 About the Authors · 193 Preface The work, within your hands, is the first result of a plethora of conversations with many colleagues from different institutions. Those conversations began during two major conferences, the first at the University of Ibn Zorh in Agadir, Morocco and the second at the Moulay Ismail University in Errachidia, Morocco. The topics dis- cussed at both of these conferences centered around the study of Moroccan Litera- ture, viewed from a variety of differing angles and perspectives. Throughout these conversations, one major topic emerged, namely, the need to have works about Mo- roccan Literature published in English. Thus, we, the editors, took it upon ourselves to produce this current work and thus start the conversation in our field. Eachofthefeatured authorsdiscussesthemesthat aregermanetothe issuesMo- roccan novelists write about in their narratives, such as immigration, social justice, equality, political governance, lack of transparency, magic, homeland, colonization, marginality, identity, and so forth. We hope that this work will serve as a resource for both experts in the field and for students of Moroccan Literature, while simultaneously nurturing the sense of wonder and joy in learning! Finally, we would like to thank the staff at Leiden University Press for their utmost professionalism. They have worked with us closely, making every obstacle as an opportunity. Youness M. Elbousty Berlin, 05/19/14 introduction The Vitality of Tradition Kirstin Ruth Bratt Post-colonial theory recognizes that European and American scholars have tradi- tionally defined the themes that are of interest in literary criticism; in Moroccan studies, these themes have tended toward questions of migration, identity, secu- larism, and religious fanaticism – typically questions regarding Morocco in its re- lationships with colonizing nations. For these edited books, we intend to re-define the themes of interest in Moroccan studies, looking toward more local themes and movements and relationships of sub-cultures and languages within Morocco. Ques- tions in this volume regard concepts of the self, conflicting discourses, intersections of self-identity and community, and Moroccan reclamation of identity in the post- colonial sphere. In 1999, historians Miller and Bourquia predicted, in their book on Moroccan history, that we would soon witness a surge in Moroccan studies, writing, “Col- laborative efforts between scholars from the Maghrib and beyond are destined to increase as transnational research becomes the scholarly norm and joint efforts be- come more common.”1 Thus far, unfortunately, their prediction has failed to become reality, at least in the field of Moroccan literature. While poets and authors in Mo- rocco have flourished in recent years, literary theorists have yet to stay