Commanding the faithful: the Kingdom of Morocco’s relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran

ABSTRACT

This study analyses the Kingdom of Morocco’s relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, focusing on Morocco’s decision to sever ties with Iran in 2009. It sheds light on the dynamics that drive Morocco’s foreign policy and highlights the importance of domestic political considerations in shaping foreign policy and the close connections in the view of the Moroccan regime between Islam and security. The assessment is driven by a critical and source-driven analysis of Moroccan policies and perspectives. It is based on evidence obtained during fieldwork conducted in Morocco, including in-person interviews with top Moroccan foreign-policy makers; on analysis of English, Arabic, and Persian primary sources, including news reports, official statements, and U.S. diplomatic cables; and on insights derived from the historical, empirical, and theoretical literature on subjects pertaining to foreign policy, Islam, and regime legitimacy. That examination reveals, and this study argues, that Morocco’s decision to rupture relations with Iran in 2009 and its foreign policy regarding Iran more broadly were driven by two key concerns: (1) Morocco’s position in relation to the prevailing strategic dynamics of the Middle East, particularly apprehension over Iran’s growing role in the region, the mobilisation of Arab monarchies into a coalition to counter Iranian influence, and the implications of a close alliance with the United States; and (2) the paramount goal of Morocco’s domestic policy, that of maintaining monarchical authority and legitimacy, and the king’s reliance on a particular interpretation of Islam and his role as Commander of the Faithful in pursuit thereof.

KEYWORDS:

• Morocco
• Iran
• foreign policy
• Islam
• Middle East

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to the Arabic Language Institute in Fes, all those who were interviewed for this study, and Bruce Maddy-Weitzman for his feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 An important exception is Fernández-Molina (2016).

2 One scholar (Zartman 1985, 97) has claimed that Islam is ‘absen[t]’ from and ‘unnecessary’ to both the conduct and understanding of Moroccan foreign policy. A notable exception in this regard is Hmimnat 2020.

3 MFAC is now known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriets.

4 Also spelled Kacem Mohamed Tajeddine and Qassim Mohammed Taj al-Din.

5 See Cherkaoui 2018; Elatouabi 2018; Errazzouki 2018; Ghanmi 2018; Igrouane 2017; Jacobs 2019; Kasraoui 2018a; Koudelka and Sandby-Thomas 2018; Masiky 2018; Morocco World News 2017; 2018b; Mouzahem 2018; Zaireg 2018.

6 Article 41 of the 2011 Morocco Constitution. For English translations see ‘Draft Text of the Constitution Adopted at the Referendum of 1 July 2011,’ trans. Jefri J. Ruchti, in World Constitutions Illustrated, ed. Jefri J. Ruchti (Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein, 2011). The 1996 constitution includes very similar language.

7 See also Buskens 2010; Eickelman 1986; El-Katiri 2013; Howe 2005; Munson 1986; Sater 2007; Zeghal 2008; Zemni 2011; Zweiri and König 2008.

8 Author Interviews with Mohamed Maliki, the Director for Asian and Oceanic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco (2015b), and with Mbarka Bouaida, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, conducted in person at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Rabat in July 2015c.

9 For Maghraoui (2009, 196), the breaking of relations with Iran, ‘[r]egardless of the objective basis and level[] of seriousness’ of the matter, ‘speak[s] very significantly to the importance that the Moroccan state accords to managing and having control over the religious field and the moral order in the country.’

10 Author Interview with Ali Filali, Member of Istiqlal Party, in Fes, June 2015d.

11 Author Interview with Nizar Messari, Associate Professor of International Affairs and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco, conducted in person at Al Akhawayn University in June 2015a.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: [Faculty Research Grant, Access and Diversity Grant]; the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa and the Moroccan-American Cultural Center: [Moroccan Studies Research Grant].