Mohammed V of Morocco

Mohammed al-Khamis bin Yusef bin Hassan al-Alawi,Template:Efn better known simply as Mohammed VTemplate:Efn (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961), was the last Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957, and first King of Morocco from 1957 to 1961. A member of the 'Alawi dynasty, he played an instrumental role in securing the independence of Morocco from the French and Spanish Protectorates.

Mohammed was enthroned as sultan upon the death of his father Yusef bin Hassan in 1927. Early in his reign, his approval of the Berber Dahir drew widespread backlash and spurred an upsurge of Moroccan nationalism and opposition to continued French rule. Initially more amenable to colonial authorities, Mohammed grew increasingly supportive of the nationalist movement later on. During World War II he supported the Allies, participated in the 1943 Anfa Conference and took steps to protect Moroccan Jews from Vichy persecution.

Mohammed became a central figure of the independence cause after the war. In 1947, he delivered a historic speech in Tangier, in which he made an open appeal for Moroccan independence and emphasized the country's ties with the rest of the Arab world. His relationship with the French became increasingly strained afterwards as colonial rule grew more repressive. In 1953, French authorities deposed Mohammed, exiled him to Corsica (later transferring him to Madagascar) and installed his first cousin once removed Mohammed Ben Aarafa as sultan. The deposition sparked active opposition to the French protectorate and two years later, faced with rising violence in Morocco, the French government allowed Mohammed's return. In 1956, he successfully negotiated with France and Spain for Moroccan independence, and in the following year he assumed the title of king. Mohammed died in 1961 at the age of 51 and was succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Hassan II.

Biography

Early life and education (1909–1927)

Sidi Mohammed bin Yusef was born on 10 August 1909 in Fes to Sultan Yusef of Morocco and Lalla Yacout, and was his father's third and youngest son.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":22">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> In March 1912, the Treaty of Fes was signed, turning Morocco into a French protectorate after a French invasion from the west and the east, resulting in an eventual capture of the capital, Fes.Template:Citation needed

Sidi Mohammed began his education in Fes, inside the palace grounds of his home, qasr al-amami (front palace). There he learned to read and write and received his first lessons in the Quran.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>

When his father established Rabat as the capital of the kingdom and of the administration, he transferred Sidi Mohammed there, with most of his brothers. There, he continued his studies with private teachers. In Rabat, he continued to study Arabic and the Quran until he became a hafiz.<ref name=":2" /> He also studied French<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> under Mohammed Mammeri, who gave him special attention. After he became Sultan, Mammeri remained in his service for a long time as head of protocol.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref>

Sidi Mohammed then continued his education in a public school in Rabat.<ref name=":2" />

Beginning of his reign (1927–1939)

The young sultan sitting with the former French résident général, Hubert Lyautey, in 1930.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mohammed V was one of the sons of Sultan Yusef, who was enthroned by the French in September 1912 and his wife Yaqut.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> On 18 November 1927, a "young and timid" 17-year-old Muhammad bin Yusef was enthroned after the death of his father and the departure of Hubert Lyautey.<ref name=":02"/>

He married Hanila bint Mamoun in 1925 and in 1928, he married Abla bint Tahar, the latter gave birth to Hassan II in 1929. Finally he married Bahia bint Antar.

During World War II (1939–1945)

At the time of Mohammed's enthronement, the French colonial authorities were "pushing for a more assertive 'native policy.'"<ref name=:02/> On 16 May 1930, Sultan Muhammad V signed the Berber Dahir, which changed the legal system in parts of Morocco where Berber languages were primarily spoken (Bled es-Siba), while the legal system in the rest of the country (Bled al-Makhzen) remained the way it had been before the French invasion.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although the sultan was under no duress, he was only 20 years old.<ref name=":02"/> This dhahir "electrified the nation"; it was sharply criticized by Moroccan nationalists and catalyzed the Moroccan Nationalist Movement.<ref name=":02" />

Sultan Muhammad V participated in the Anfa Conference hosted in Casablanca during World War II.<ref name=":02"/> On 22 January 1943, he met privately with the US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Prime Minister of the UK Winston Churchill.<ref name=":02"/> At this dinner, Roosevelt assured the sultan that "the post-war scene and the pre-war scene would ... sharply differ, especially as they related to the colonial question." The sultan's 14-year-old son and future king of Morocco, Hassan II, also attended and later stated that Roosevelt said, "Ten years from now your country will be independent."<ref name=":02"/>

"There are competing accounts of exactly what Mohammed V did or did not do for the Moroccan Jewish community" during the Holocaust.<ref name="Marglin">Jessica M. Marglin. (2016). Across Legal Lines: Jews and Muslims in Modern Morocco (Yale University Press), p. 201.</ref> However, "though a subject of debate, most scholars stress the benevolence of Mohammed V toward the Jews" during the Vichy era.<ref>Orit Bashkin & Daniel J. Schroeter. (2016). "Historical themes: Muslim-Jewish relations in the modern modern Middle East and North Africa" in The Routledge Handbook of Muslim-Jewish Relations (Routledge), p. 54.</ref> Mohammed reportedly refused to sign off on efforts by Vichy officials to impose anti-Jewish legislation upon Morocco and deport the country's 250,000 Jews to their deaths in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps in Europe. The sultan's stand was "based as much on the insult the Vichy diktats posed to his claim of sovereignty over all his subjects, including the Jews, as on his humanitarian instincts." Partial Nazi race measures were enacted in Morocco over Mohammed's objection,<ref name="Miller">Susan Gilson Miller. (2013). A History of Modern Morocco (Cambridge University Press), pp. 142-143.</ref> and Mohammed did sign, under the instructions of Vichy officials, two decrees that barred Jews from certain schools and positions.<ref name="Bouasria">Abdelilah Bouasria. (2013). "The second coming of Morocco's 'Commander of the Faithful': Mohammed VI and Morocco's religious policy" in Contemporary Morocco: State, Politics and Society Under Mohammmed VI (eds. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman & Daniel Zisenwine), p. 42.</ref>

Nevertheless, Mohammed is highly esteemed by Moroccan Jews who credit him for protecting their community from the Nazi and Vichy French government,<ref name="Marglin"/> and Mohammed V has been honored by Jewish organizations for his role in protecting his Jewish subjects during the Holocaust.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some historians maintain that Mohammed's anti-Nazi role has been exaggerated; historian Michel Abitol writes that while Mohammed V was compelled by Vichy officials to sign the anti-Jewish dahirs, "he was more passive than Moncef Bay (ruler of Tunisia during the Second World War) in that he did not take any side and did not engage in any public act that could be interpreted as a rejection of Vichy's policy."<ref name="Bouasria"/>

Struggle for independence (1945–1953)

Sultan Mohammed seated with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during the 1943 Casablanca Conference; his son Hassan is pictured standing behind him.

Sultan Mohammad was a central figure in the independence movement in Morocco, also known as the Revolution of the King and the People (Template:Lang). This Moroccan Nationalist Movement grew from protests regarding the Berber Dahir of 16 May 1930. He was critical of early movements for reform in French colonial administration in Morocco before becoming a supporter of independence later on.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

His central position in the Proclamation of Independence of Morocco further boosted his image as a national symbol. On 9 and 10 April 1947, he delivered two momentous speeches respectively at the Mendoubia and Grand Mosque of Tangier, together known as the Tangier Speech, appealing for the independence of Morocco without calling out specific colonial powers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1947, the rapid progress of the nationalist movement prompted Sidi Mohammed to demand independence for the first time during the Tangier speech, where he also called for the union of the Arabs and Morocco's membership of the Arab League which was founded in 1945, in which he praised, emphasized the close ties between Morocco and the rest of the Arab world. This rapprochement between the monarchy and the nationalist movement, whose projects differ, can be explained, according to historian Bernard Cubertafond, by the fact that "each side needs the other: the national movement sees the growing popularity of the king and his prudent but gradual emancipation from a protector who, in fact, left the treaty of 1912 to come to direct administration; the king cannot, except to discredit himself, cut himself off from a nationalist movement bringing together the living forces of his country and the elite of his youth, and he needs this power of protest to impose changes on France”.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>

From then on, relations became strained with the French authorities, in particular with the new Resident General, General Alphonse Juin, who applied severe measures and pressured the sultan to disavow the Istiqlal and distance himself from nationalist claims. The break with France was consummated in 1951 and Mohammed formed a pact with the nationalists in Tangier to fight for independence. The appointment of a new Resident General, General Augustin Guillaume, accentuated the dissension between Mohammed and France. Further demonstrations in Morocco culminated in riots in 1952, notably in Casablanca, and Mohammed addressed the United Nations to publicize the Moroccan cause with the support of the United States.<ref name=":1" />

Deposition and exile (1953–1955)

On 20 August 1953 (the eve of Eid al-Adha), the French colonial authorities forced Mohammed V, an important national symbol in the growing Moroccan independence movement, into exile in Corsica along with his family. His first cousin once removed, Mohammed Ben Aarafa, called the "French sultan," was made a puppet monarch and placed on the throne. In response, Muhammad Zarqtuni bombed Casablanca's Central Market on Christmas Eve of that year.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Mohammed and his family were then transferred to Madagascar in January 1954. Mohammed returned from exile on 16 November 1955, and was again recognized as Sultan after active opposition to the French protectorate. His triumphant return was for many the sign of the end of the colonial era.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The situation became so tense that in 1955, the Moroccan nationalists, who enjoyed support in Libya, Algeria (with the FLN) and Egypt forced the French government to negotiate and recall the sultan. In February 1956 he successfully negotiated with France and Spain for the independence of Morocco.

After independence (1956–1961)

On the cover of Time, 22 April 1957

Mohammed supported the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) in the struggle for Algerian Independence and offered to facilitate the participation of FLN leaders in a conference with Habib Bourguiba in Tunis.<ref name=":032">Template:Cite web</ref> On October 22, 1956, French forces hijacked a Moroccan airplane carrying leaders of the FLN during the ongoing Algerian War.<ref name=":032" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":142">Template:Cite web</ref> The plane, which was carrying Ahmed Ben Bella, Hocine Aït Ahmed, and Mohamed Boudiaf, was destined to leave from Palma de Mallorca for Tunis, but French forces redirected the flight to occupied Algiers, where the FLN leaders were arrested.<ref name=":032" /> In 1957, he took the title of King of Morocco, to symbolise the unity of the country despite the divisions between Arabs and Berbers. In terms of domestic policy, upon his return he allowed the first congress of the Istiqlal, which formed various governments under his reign. He authorized the creation of trade unions, but the unrest and the strikes lead him to take full power in the last years of his reign.<ref name=":1" /> His state visit to the United States later that year "strengthened his position as the kingdom's sole legitimate representative". This way he managed to replace the members of the nationalist movement on the global stage and turned his trip into a great publicity success. This visit marked a strategic effort to align Morocco closely with the US, showcasing the monarchy's importance on the global stage. He used various techniques to project the royal authority, such as personally thanking the nationalist movement's former supporters in the name of the Moroccan people.<ref name="Globalizing Morocco : transnational">Template:Cite book</ref> Mohammed V also acted as patron to the International Meetings, conferences on contemporary issues and interfaith dialogue hosted at the Benedictine monastery of Toumliline that attracted scholars and intellectuals from all over the world.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During his reign, the Moroccan Liberation Army waged war against Spain and France, and successfully captured most of Ifni as well as Cape Juby and parts of Spanish Sahara. With the treaty of Angra de Cintra, Morocco annexed Cape Juby and the surroundings of Ifni, while the rest of the remaining colony was ceded by Spain in 1969.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Illness and death (1961)

In the final years of his life, Mohammed suffered from an ear illness for which doctors advised him to undergo a tonsillectomy in August 1959.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 26 February 1961, Mohammed underwent a second banal surgery on the nasal septum in relation to his illness, conducted by a surgeon from Lausanne. Shortly after the operation was completed, Mohammed suffered a fatal cardiac arrest resulting from complications of the surgery.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His death was announced on national radio by his son, crown prince Moulay Hassan, who succeeded him as King Hassan II.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref>

Nasab

Mohammed V's nasab is Mohammed bin Yusef bin Hassan bin Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Hisham bin Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ismail bin Sharif bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Youssef bin Ali bin Al Hassan bin Muhammad bin Al Hassan bin Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abi Al Qasim bin Muhammad bin Al-Hassan bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Arafa bin Al-Hassan bin Abi Bakr bin Ali bin Al-Hasan bin Ahmed bin Ismail bin Al-Qasim bin Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya bin Abdullah al-Kamil bin Hassan al-Muthanna bin Hasan bin Ali bin Abi Talib bin Abd al-Muttalib bin Hashim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

Tomb of Mohammed V inside his mausoleum

The Mohammed V International Airport, Stade Mohammed V and Mohammed V Square in Casablanca, the Mohammed V Avenue, Mohammed V University and Mohammadia School of Engineering in Rabat, and the Mohammed V Mosque in Tangier are among numerous buildings, locales and institutions named after him. There's a mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat. There is an Avenue Mohammed V in nearly every Moroccan city and a major one in Tunis, Tunisia, and in Algiers, Algeria. The Mohammed V Palace in Conakry, Guinea, is named in his honour.

In December 2007, The Jewish Daily Forward reported on a secret diplomatic initiative by the Moroccan government to have Mohammed V admitted to the Righteous Among the Nations.<ref>An Arab King Righteous Among the Nations?. The Forward, 12 December 2007</ref>

Personal life

Mohammed V with daughters Princesses Malika, Aïcha and Nuzha, and son Moulay Abdellah, Template:Circa 1950

His first wife was Hanila bint Mamoun. They married in 1925.<ref>Triple royal wedding in Morocco</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was the mother of his first daughter Fatima Zohra.

His second wife was his first cousin Abla bint Tahar. She was the daughter of Mohammed Tahar bin Hassan, son of Hassan I of Morocco. She married Mohammed V in 1928 and died in Rabat on 1 March 1992. She gave birth to five children: the future King Hassan II, Aisha, Malika, Abdallah and Nuzha.<ref>International Business Publications, Morocco Foreign Policy and Government Guide p. 84</ref>

His third wife was Bahia bint Antar, with whom he had a daughter Amina.

Honours

• Order of Blood of the Tunisian Republic Template:Flagicon
• Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic Template:Flagicon (1927)Template:Citation needed
• Collar of the Order of Charles III of the Kingdom of Spain Template:Flagicon (1929)<ref>Guía oficial de España, p. 211</ref>
• Companion of the Order of Liberation of the French Republic Template:Flagicon (1945)Template:Citation needed
• Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit of the United States Template:Flagicon (1945)
• Grand Collar of the Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows of Francoist Spain Template:Flagicon (3 April 1956)<ref>Boletín Oficial del Estado</ref>
• Grand Collar of the Order of Idris I of the Kingdom of Libya Template:Flagicon (1956)
• Collar of the Order of the Hashemites of the Kingdom of Iraq Template:Flagicon (1956)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Umayyad of Syria Template:Flagicon (1960)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of Lebanon Template:Flagicon Special Class (1960)
• Collar of the Order of the Nile of the Republic of Egypt Template:Flagicon (1960)
• Collar of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali of Jordan Template:Flagicon (1960)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia Template:Flagicon (1960)

Honorary degrees

• 1957: Doctor of Laws, George Washington University<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• History of Morocco
• List of Kings of Morocco

Bibliography

• David Bensoussan, Il était une fois le Maroc : témoignages du passé judéo-marocain, éd. du Lys, www.editionsdulys.ca, Montréal, 2010 (Template:ISBN); Second edition: www.iuniverse.com, Bloomington, IN, 2012, Template:ISBN, 620p. Template:ISBN (ebook);

External links

• History of Morocco Template:In lang (archived 4 December 2008)