Islamism and the language of democracy in Morocco

In this project I examine how socially conservative, politically active Muslims (who I refer to as islamiyun) in Morocco articulate and enact democracy. Based on nearly two years of fieldwork and conversations with over 100 interlocutors, I argue that there are two modes of invoking and embodying "democracy" amongst Moroccan islamiyun, both of which are ultimately grounded in the Muslim tradition. On the one hand, Moroccan islamiyun are invested in and committed to a series of institutions that they identify with democracy, including free and fair elections, investing legislative power in elected officials, freedoms of speech, expression, the press, and so on (chapter 3). On the other hand, islamiyun talk about democracy in decidedly substantive terms: in addition to institutions, democracy is, for example, fighting unemployment and illiteracy---bread, in a word (chapter 4). I argue that these two articulations of democracy come together because Moroccan islamiyun invariably connect democracy to the Muslim tradition, often under the rubric of shura [consultation], but also employing the language of karama [dignity/honor], sovereigntyIn this project I examine how socially conservative, politically active Muslims (who I refer to as islamiyun ) in Morocco articulate and enact democracy. Based on nearly two years of fieldwork and conversations with over 100 interlocutors, I argue that there are two modes of invoking and embodying "democracy" amongst Moroccan islamiyun, both of which are ultimately grounded in the Muslim tradition. On the one hand, Moroccan islamiyun are invested in and committed to a series of institutions that they identify with democracy, including free and fair elections, investing legislative power in elected officials, freedoms of speech, expression, the press, and so on (chapter 3). On the other hand, islamiyun talk about democracy in decidedly substantive terms: in addition to institutions, democracy is, for example, fighting unemployment and illiteracy---bread, in a word (chapter 4). I argue that these two articulations of democracy come together because Moroccan islamiyun invariably connect democracy to the Muslim tradition, often under the rubric of shura [consultation], but also employing the language of karama [dignity/honor], sovereignty, and h&dotbelow;urriyah [freedom] (chapter 5). The final chapter explores how my interlocutors enact dimuqrat&dotbelow;iyya: first I outline how "democracy" informs the internal structures of two major groups of Moroccan islamiyun. I then turn to how my interlocutors embodied and thought about democracy with regards to three salient issues in contemporary Moroccan politics---women's rights reform in 2004, a 2009 protest that featured liberal Moroccans eating in public during Ramadan, and the banning of a newspaper and imprisonment of a reporter for "insulting" the King in 2011-12 (chapter 6). , and h&dotbelow;urriyah [freedom] (chapter 5). The final chapter explores how my interlocutors enact dimuqrat&dotbelow;iyya: first I outline how "democracy" informs the internal structures of two major groups of Moroccan islamiyun. I then turn to how my interlocutors embodied and thought about democracy with regards to three salient issues in contemporary Moroccan politics---women's rights reform in 2004, a 2009 protest that featured liberal Moroccans eating in public during Ramadan, and the banning of a newspaper and imprisonment of a reporter for "insulting" the King in 2011-12 (chapter 6).