Islamic Activism and Anti-terrorism Legislation in Morocco

Abstract

The paper portrays the socio-legal transformation in a rural Moroccan area after the state got involved in the international war on terror following intense exposure to transnational Islamic activism. It describes a locality in south western Morocco before anti-terrorism legislation is put into effect. The paper shows how state implementation of the law is first felt as a threat to civil rights, yet how it is afterwards instrumentalised to serve larger interests. It addresses how this locality manages to restrict external control from both the state and actors linked to transnational Salafi Islam, the anti-terrorism legislation thus being used to reinforce local agency and social coherence through intense intertwining with governmental and global strategies.1 An earlier version of this working paper was presented at the workshop 'The Social Life of Anti-Terrorism Laws' held from May 26th to 27th, 2005 at the MPI for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale. I would like to acknowledge that I have greatly benefited from insightful comments and suggestions made by Julia Eckert and Julie Laplante.