ISSUE BRIEF 05.14.19 Public Opinion on the Religious Authority of the Moroccan King Annelle Sheline, Ph.D., Zwan Postdoctoral Fellow, Rice University’s Baker Institute rationalism, and the Sufi tradition of Imam INTRODUCTION Junayd.1 According to the government Morocco has worked to establish itself as narrative, these constitute a specifically a bulwark against religious extremism Moroccan form of Islam that inoculates the in recent years: the government trains kingdom against extremism. One of the women to serve as religious guides, or most significant components of Moroccan “mourchidates,” to counteract violent Islam is the figure of the Commander of the messaging; since launching in 2015, the Faithful or “Amir al-Mu’mineen,” a status Imam Training Center has received hundreds held by the Moroccan king, who claims of imams from Europe and Africa to study descent from the Prophet Mohammad. The Moroccan Islam; in 2016, in response to figure of the Commander of the Faithful is ISIS atrocities against Yazidis, the king of unique to Morocco; no other contemporary 2 Morocco gathered esteemed Muslim leaders Muslim head of state holds a similar title. to release The Marrakesh Declaration on Morocco’s efforts to counteract the rights that Islam guarantees to non- extremist forms of Islam, and military Muslims. Such initiatives have contributed partnership with the U.S. and EU, have to Morocco’s international reputation as a cemented the kingdom’s reputation as a bastion of religious tolerance under state key ally in combatting terrorism. Yet while stewardship of religion. Mohammed VI’s role as a religious figure But to what extent do Moroccans view is frequently noted in media coverage, such state leadership in religion favorably, few studies have sought to evaluate or see head of state King Mohammed VI as whether Moroccan citizens trust their king To what extent do 3 a source of religious authority? According as an authority on religious matters. In Moroccans see head of general, the American policy establishment to a public opinion survey conducted by the state King Mohammed Baker Institute in December 2017, Moroccan lacks mechanisms to interrogate claims respondents view the king as a religious of religious leadership, although the VI as a source of leader. The findings corroborate the king’s U.S. government has engaged with religious authority? claim to the title of the “Commander of the religious figures as important community 4 Faithful,” and therefore appear to affirm stakeholders since the 1990s. his ability to use religious justifications to Observers of the Middle East and North combat religious violence. Africa tend to assume that state-led Islam King Mohammed VI and the state lacks credibility, due to its affiliation with, religious establishment assert that Morocco and support for, authoritarian regimes. In embraces a combination of three Islamic contrast, public support for independent traditions: the Maliki branch of Sunni religious actors is seen as reflected in the widespread appeal of Islamist movements. jurisprudence, the Ashʿari doctrine of RICE UNIVERSITY’S BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY // ISSUE BRIEF // 05.14.19 According to the assumption that state When asked to select which of the Islam lacks credibility, King Mohammed VI’s six Moroccan religious figures named in claim to religious authority would be viewed the survey they approved, 48 percent with skepticism. Questioning the religious of Moroccan respondents selected King leadership of the king is taboo in Morocco, Mohammed VI. The next most popular further complicating efforts to evaluate response was “I do not approve of religious whether his status as the Commander of the leaders,” at 25 percent. Approval of the other Faithful gives him the religious standing to five figures was significantly lower than challenge extremist interpretations of Islam. approval of the king, as the individual with Therefore, our public opinion survey provides the next highest approval was Prime Minister insights into the Moroccan case, and also Othmani, at only 8 percent. Less than 2 offers tools for how to evaluate the claims of percent or fewer respondents approved of the other religious leaders. other individuals. When respondents were asked to rate their level of trust in the religious authority SURVEY FINDINGS of the Moroccan religious figures, responses demonstrated that King Mohammed VI A team of researchers worked with YouGov represents the most trusted figure: 70 percent to implement an online public-opinion of respondents signaled that they “Trust” survey of respondents’ trust in and or “Completely trust” the king on religious approval of Moroccan and international matters. The individual that respondents Muslim religious figures in December 2017. trusted least was Prime Minister Othmani: 43 A survey experiment using endorsement percent of respondents selected “Do not trust” effects reinforced the validity of the survey when asked about the prime minister, while results by increasing the likelihood that 24 percent indicated that they did trust him. findings reflect respondents’ sincerely The most common response pertaining held positions. The results of this survey to the seven other religious figures named in of 2,990 Moroccans is described in detail the survey was “I do not know this person”: in a previous country report (https://bit. over half of respondents indicated that they ly/2UPep3i) published as part of a larger did not know Mohammed Abbadi of al-‘Adl study on religious authority in the Middle wa al-Ihsan, Sufi Sheikh Sidi Jamal, Salafi 70 percent East (https://bit.ly/2WfoqXT). preacher Umar al-Haddouchi, or Salafi cleric of respondents Briefly, the results overwhelmingly al-Maghraoui. The next most common indicate that King Mohammed VI enjoys the signaled that they response pertaining to these individuals, or highest religious authority of the Moroccan one out of five, was “Do not trust at all,” “Trust” or “Completely Islamic leaders named by the survey. The signaling that when respondents did know of trust” the king on results of the survey experiment, although these individuals, many mistrusted them. religious matters. not the direct survey questions, reveal Using endorsement effects, the survey that the figure with the second-highest experiment evaluated the extent to which approval among Moroccans is Abu Bakr a given individual’s name, when associated al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State. with a statement, led to greater or lesser The implications of Moroccans’ support for agreement with that statement. Moroccans al-Baghdadi are discussed below, but these were most likely to agree with a statement results strengthen the validity of the finding when it was affiliated with King Mohammed pertaining to King Mohammed VI’s religious VI’s name. The figure that generated the authority: if respondents felt concerned second highest agreement was that of IS about being penalized for their responses, leader Abu Baker al-Baghdadi. This finding they would not likely have expressed held true for all 14 questions asked for the support for al-Baghdadi. The results also survey experiment component. In both the reveal respondents’ lack of familiarity with, direct questions, and the survey experiment, or lack of trust in, the other Moroccan the clearest finding indicates that King religious figures they were asked to evaluate. Mohammed VI is viewed as a trusted source of religious authority in Morocco. 2 PUBLIC OPINION ON THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY OF THE MOROCCAN KING choices, many of which were made in the IMPLICATIONS modern era. Although these aspects of King Mohammed VI has sought to establish Moroccan Islam exist in the historical record, Moroccan Islam as an antidote to terrorism. they are also curated to project a specific However, for U.S. policymakers looking image, while other aspects of Moroccan for Muslim allies with sufficient religious religious tradition are not emphasized, such credibility to assist in delegitimizing as the acts of anti-colonial violence carried extremist interpretations of Islam, evaluating out by Sufi tariqas (brotherhoods). The the validity of claims made by figures government’s preferred version of Moroccan like the king of Morocco is imperative for Islam carries utility under contemporary cultivating an effective counter-extremism circumstances, when a tradition of religious strategy. Overall, while his status as both a tolerance constitutes a valuable commodity. religious and political leader is significant, King Mohammed VI’s legitimacy lies in the finding that King Mohammed VI enjoys his alleged authenticity, which would be high religious influence should be viewed as damaged by overt coordination with actors the result of state-led efforts to construct like the United States. an image of authority grounded in long- The finding from the survey experiment standing tradition. that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi represents Our findings challenge the assumption the figure with the second-highest that all state-affiliated religious figures religious authority after King Mohammed lack credibility. According to the survey VI is consistent with the high numbers results, King Mohammed VI possesses of Moroccan individuals who traveled to the necessary spiritual capital to credibly Syria to fight for the Islamic State. After promote Moroccan Islam, while discrediting Jordan and Tunisia, Morocco was the third- Our findings challenge interpretations of the religion that have been highest nationality represented among IS the assumption
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