The Sultan’s Conduct: A Break with Tradition

The years following 1901 were years of great turmoil and disenchantment for the people of Morocco, and at the eye of the storm was the man Sultan Abdelaziz, a ruler whose behavior ran counter to the traditional image of a monarch. Abdelaziz nonconventional behavior, under the influence of his fascination with European ways and foreign officials' counsel, weakened the traditional authority of the makhzan and sowed distrust among his subjects. While not the sole cause of the political instability of Morocco and rural unrest, his conduct became a focus of the mounting crisis.

The Sultan’s Conduct: A Break with Tradition

The Sultan in Power

The centrality of the Sultan's position within Moroccan society can explain why this period was marked by waves of anger and disgust that swept through the land. More than just a political figure, the Sultan possessed the authority of a paramount dispenser of baraka as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, and he was by far the single greatest source of patronage and advantage for all. His authority was both religious and political, for it was believed that the prosperity of the realm depended on his Baraka. Any deviation from expected behavior was taken as a sign that the Sultan had lost his divine favor and undermined his legitimacy in the eyes of his people. In this context, Abdelaziz's behavior, so far from the stereotypical image of a Sultan, was a scandal and helped undermine the legitimacy of his government. However, much deeper were the causes of political and social upheaval in Morocco in those years: loss of territories, inner power struggles, and mounting foreign interference.

The Central Role of the Sultan in Moroccan Governance

In pre-colonial Morocco, the role of the Sultan was deeply intertwined with religious and cultural traditions. As the paramount sharif, he symbolized the spiritual unity of the realm and was supposed to uphold the ways of Islam in his private and public life. This religious dimension was central to his legitimacy, as his baraka was believed to be necessary for the prosperity and stability of the state. It would also be important for the public to perceive the Sultan as a strong ruler: one for whom perception was an especially key element in a society where, more often than not, power rested upon such perception. This was particularly true in the continuing push-and pull-struggle with the tribes that paid tax into the treasury. Any little mistake could give rise to rumors that could potentially break the thin balance of power. For Abdelaziz, these expectations became a crushing weight. His every move was under scrutiny, and those moves had massive repercussions. Any hint of weakness or non-conformity to traditional standards was blown out of proportion to nurture suspicion and opposition. When Abdelaziz ascended to the throne, Morocco was already in a very critical position. The loss of the oasis of Touat to France in 1900 had undermined the Sultan's reputation, particularly among the tribes of the frontier. These tribes, which depended on the Sultan to protect their interests, began to doubt his willingness or ability to defend them. This distrust was shared by elements of the urban elite who were already suspicious of Abdelaziz's qualifications. Many felt that his predecessor, Moulay Muhammad, had been unjustly deprived of the throne through machinations of Si Ahmad ibn Musa, the regent who had ruled during Abdelaziz's minority. That unjust feeling toward Moulay Muhammad created undercurrents of resentment, further eroding the base of support for the new sultan. Against this backdrop, Abdelaziz's idiosyncratic behavior after 1901 could only further inflame the situation. 

Sultan's Behavior: A Departure from Tradition

Influenced by British advisor Qaid Maclean and the royal favorite Al-Munabbhi, Abdelaziz became fascinated with European mores and amusements. Young and impressionable, the Sultan took to these influences, adopting behaviors that were regarded as frivolous and unbecoming of a Sultan. Reports of Abdelaziz riding a bicycle, eating with Europeans, being photographed in European clothes, and engaging in all sorts of extravagant public displays soon leaked out of the palace and spread far and wide. To modern eyes, these activities may appear very innocent, but to many in that very conservative society, they were serious crimes. This behavior on the part of the Sultan was seen as a rejection of traditional values and embracing of foreign ways, rumors thus started circulating that he had been bewitched, Majnun or had gone mad, Mahbul. Public displays such as the great fireworks in Marrakech's famous Jemaa el-Fna square only reinforced such perceptions and gave rise to wide discontent.

The Move to Fez: Attempted Course Correction

In December 1901, the court was transferred from Marrakech to Fez. The step seems to have been taken at the insistence of the conservative members of the makhzan, who hoped the ulama of Fez would counterbalance the reformist and foreign elements dominating Abdelaziz's court in Marrakech. En route to Fez, the court halted at Rabat, where Abdelaziz received the ministers of Great Britain, France, and Germany. Even these diplomatic interviews were criticized. The Sultan had abandoned the ancient ceremonial procedures whereby foreign visitors were supposed to prostrate themselves and remain standing throughout their audience. Seating his guests as equals, Abdelaziz unwittingly undermined his prestige in the eyes of his people. Other innovations, such as making qaid-s swear oaths on the Quran when they came to Rabat, also brought unfavorable comment. These changes, although they were supposed to modernize administration, appeared as a break with tradition and further fanned suspicions of foreign interference.

Life in Fez: Magnified Criticism

Once in Fez, Abdelaziz's activities came under even closer censure. Fez was a seat of Islamic learning and orthodoxy, and its important men of religion were quick to speak out against any act that seemed to them a slap at Moroccan mores. But the move to Fez did not really change Abdelaziz; he continued to surround himself with his coterie of European adventurers, speculators, and commercial agents, and his extravagance on amusements and knick-knacks struck his people as wasteful and unbecoming. To offset the mounting criticism, Abdelaziz tried to buy the support of the ulama by ordering legal opinions (fatwas) supporting his reforms. In Marrakech, these opinions had been forthcoming from his personal advisor, Al-Faqih Mufaddal Al-Susi, until the latter's death in July 1902. In Fez, however, the ulama were less willing to come out in support of the Sultan's efforts, and their attacks only joined the growing opposition.

Broader Political Unrest

But, indeed, there were many reasons for the erosion of Abdelaziz's legitimacy, though his behavior was a major one. Morocco faced deeper systemic problems of losing its territory to European powers, widespread corruption, and economic hardship. Rural unrest had been building for years, fueled by resentment over taxation, the encroachment of foreign influence, and the makhzan's inability to maintain order. Tribes that had long paid taxes began to withhold their contributions, emboldened by the perception that Abdelaziz was a weak and ineffective ruler. At the same time, however, Abdelaziz's government introduced reforms—the taxation system known as the tartib—which were met with violent resistance. Religious leaders proclaimed that the tartib was contrary to Islam; tribal leaders chafed at being robbed of ancient privileges; large areas of the countryside revolted against the Makhzan government.

The Crisis of Leadership

The crisis of 1902-1903 was a watershed in the reign of Abdelaziz. His failure to come to grips with the real causes of the disturbances and his increasingly alienating behavior left the makhzan greatly weakened. This meant that the failure of the Sultan in sticking to traditional values, and especially in defending the realm from foreign encroachment, was a deep one for the people of Morocco. In a society in which it was believed that the Sultan's personal conduct reflected divine grace, Abdelaziz's behavior brought into question his right to rule at all. The consequences of this crisis would reverberate for the next two years, which provided the ground for more instability that finally resulted in the imposition of the French Protectorate in 1912

Conclusion

Sultan Abdelaziz's reign provides a fascinating case study of the interaction of tradition, reform, and public perception in an age of tremendous change. While his fascination with European mores and break with established norms alienated many of his subjects, his problems were grounded in far deeper structural issues. The loss of territory, the increasing foreign influence, and the rampant rural unrest were all manifestations of a deeper crisis from which no ruler could have easily extricated himself. However, the behavior of Abdelaziz seemed to deny the very values by which his rule had traditionally been legitimized, thus magnifying such challenges and hastening the decline of the makhzan. In the final analysis, Abdelaziz's reign might be seen as an exemplar of the risks of paying no attention to cultural and religious traditions in the drive to modernize. It shows that reform must be balanced by respect for tradition—one whose lesson is still worth noting for today's leader navigating the complexities of statecraft.