Abdel-Bari Zamzami
Abdel-Bari Zamzami | |
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Abdel Bari Zamzami Ben Seddik (Arabic: عبد الباري الزمزمي بن الصديق, also spelled Abdelbari Zemzami; 1943 – 10 February 2016) was a Moroccan cleric of the moderate way[1] and was among the most controversial religious figures in the Maghreb.[2] He was the president of the Moroccan association of contemporary cataclysmic jurisprudence research and studies and a member of the Moroccan Religious Scholars.[3] Zamzami was also one of the founders of the International Union of Muslim Scholars and a member of the Moroccan Parliament.[4] Zamzami was the sole Member of Parliament affiliated with the party of reform and virtue and was seen as an enemy to secularists and communists in Morocco.[5] Zamzami was shunned and criticized by members of his party after he issued a series of controversial fatwas.[6]
History and religious career
Abdul-Bari Zamzami was born in Tangiers, Morocco, in 1943 [7] and started his career under the wing of his late father, Sheikh Mohamed Zamzami [8] at the Big Mosque of Tangiers; the late Mohamed Zamzami called for a return to the sunna and fought against the Sufi ways [9] present in Morocco. Abdul-Bari Zamzami moved to Casablanca in 1975 [10] or 1976 [11] where he started delivering Friday sermons at the Yusufi Mosque, the Muhammadi Mosque, and “Ould Lhamra” in the old medina. During the 1980s, Zamzami became popular thanks to his religious speeches for which he used the Moroccan Darija dialect.[12] He also created a newspaper, Al-Sunna, which publication stopped a few months after its first edition.[13] Zamzami's sermons caused him to be suspended from preaching in 1978, 1979, 2000, and 2001 [14] allegedly due to his mixing of the political and the religious. In 2001, Zamzami was one of the founders of the Moroccan association of contemporary jurisprudence research and studies, of which he was the president. The association aims at fighting "currents" that try to eradicate sharia law from the constitution.[15] He died of cancer on 10 February 2016 at the age of 73.[16][17]
Political career
In 2007, Zamzami won a seat in parliament thanks to his popularity in the neighborhood where he preaches in Casablanca. He later lost his seat in the 2011 elections [18] although he is still listed as a parliament member on the government's website.[19] Following his retirement in 2011, Zamzami decided to dedicate himself to issuing Fatwas [20] and obtained a public transportation permit to operate a for-profit vehicle [21] Zamzami advocated against the creation of religious-based political parties, despite belonging to one himself;[22] his reasoning was that Islam-based parties would be an insult to the populations of predominantly Muslim countries, as it would denote that only their adherents follow the Muslim creed. Further, Zamzami announced his support for the government's monitoring of mosques and religious sermons as a tool to protect countries from extremism.[23]
Public criticism
Abdul-Bari Zamzami was banned from preaching at the mosque on several occasions due to controversial views he has discussed with the public.[24] Following his retirement, Zamzami obtained a permit to operate public transportation from the Ministry of transport and tourism, for which he was amply criticized by the population.[25] Indeed, Moroccan media criticized the former parliamentarian, who inadvertently forgot that "thousands of citizens struggle and cannot obtain such permits" despite being more in need for a source of income than he is.[26] Zamzami responded that since he has been banned from giving sermons at mosques for approximately ten years, and because of his retirement, he found himself in need of a source of income and had to request such a permit.[27] (Receiving public transportation permits in Morocco is somewhat exclusive and is usually a source of income many can only dream of, as conferring such permits is usually not based on any set criteria aside from connections or other corrupt methods such as bribery) Further criticism of Zamzami came from the Amazigh community after he allegedly announced that Amazigh language and identity is an abomination and that calls [to make Amazigh an official language in Morocco] are heretic according to the Muslim faith.[28]
Controversial fatwas
References
- ↑ Hewar Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ La Vie Eco Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ [1] Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Islamopedia Online
- ↑ "Moroccan Parliament". Archived from the original on 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ "Profile". Archived from the original on 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ Reform and Virtue criticism
- ↑ "Islamopedia Online". Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ Mohamed Zamzami Archived 2012-04-07 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Mohamed Zamzami Archived 2012-04-07 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ La Vie Eco Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Islamopedia Online". Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ La Vie Eco Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Al Sunna Newspaper Archived 2012-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Ban from sermons Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ La Vie Eco Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Moroccan Islamic Scholar Abdelbari Zamzami Dies". 2016-02-10. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- ↑ Le cheikh Abdelbari Zamzami est mort Archived 2016-04-19 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- ↑ La Vie Eco Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Moroccan Parliament". Archived from the original on 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ retirement Archived 2012-07-18 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Al Haouz Archived 2012-05-06 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Asharq Al-Awsat
- ↑ Asharq Al-Awsat
- ↑ La Vie Eco Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Al Haouz". Archived from the original on 2012-05-06. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ "Hesspress". Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ "Zamzami's Response". Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ Amazighophobia[permanent dead link]