Moroccan Sultan Sidi Muhammad ben Abdallah (1757–1790): interpretation of theological heritage

Abstract

The article is focused on the theological legacy of Moroccan Sultan Sidi Muhammad ben ‘Abdallah (1757–1790). The significance of his religious works is caused by the fact that since the Almohads (12th century) Sidi Muhammad was the first Moroccan sultan who consistently called for a return to the pure Islam of Prophet Muhammad. Moreover, a study of his theological heritage allows us to rethink the view of the development of Salafism in Arab-Islamic societies. For example, Russian and international researchers used to consider that Moroccan sultans had turned to Salafi ideas only after the development of the Wahhabi doctrine in Arabia. However, an analysis of the religious works of Sidi Muhammad shows that the rise of Salafi ideas in Morocco was not a result of adoption of the Wahhabi ideology which spread on the Arabian Peninsula, but formed at the stage when the Wahhabi movement was just emerging. The fundamentalist views of the Moroccan sultan were the result of internal processes that took place at that time in the Islamic Far West, and not of external influence. This conclusion broadens the limits of our perception of the renewal tendencies that emerged in the Arab-Islamic world in the second half of the 18th century.