Are Shias rising in the western part of the Arab world? The case of Morocco

摘要

This article raises the question of whether Shias in the western part of the Arab world have also established political movements. For this, Morocco provides an interesting case as the country has inherited Shiite customs in the religious and cultural domain from the Idrisid dynasty and the monarchy still derives its legitimacy from a succession principle introduced by the Idrisids. However, the international community and probably most Moroccans seem to be unaware of this legacy as well as the existence of a marginalised Shiite community in dissimulation (Taqiyya). A theoretical approach, which is based on the current mainstream of international relations literature, is used to analyse the history of Shias in Morocco, forms of political, economic, and cultural discrimination as well as current Shiite elite politics in order to explain why no genuine political movement has emerged, so far, and to determine the likelihood of the formation of a Shiite political movement and resulting internal conflict. The article should thus be considered a theory-guided first step to open the doors for further enquiries into the subject.