“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted,” Surat Al-Hujurat, verse 13, Holy Quran.
Washington, District of Columbia— I have a feeling that talking about this rather sensitive topic will raise hell and will indeed upset many who actually deeply believe that their bloodline goes back to the Prophet of Islam Mohammed (PBUH). However, I strongly believe that it is about time that we talk about this phenomenon, which only congregate our ignorance and backwardness.
Growing in a conservative and religious environment, many social aspects of life in Morocco did not make sense to my head, and my brain could and will never be able to digest how the vast majority of Moroccans, regardless their social status, believe that they have all a sacred lineage to the Holy House. They believe that their bloodline takes all the way back to the Prophet. This includes the rich and the poor, the educated and the illiterate; they all claim some type of holiness and show it off when opportunities occur and permit.
In a previous analysis, I talked about how Islam has been widely and abusively used throughout Moroccan history to gain power and wealth. This has been proven and recorded in history books. Each ruling dynasty used the banner of religion to overthrow the declining and fading dynasty.
When Islam was introduced to humanity, it introduced a doctrine, which promotes a social equality and called for abolishing of social differences. Islam praises those who do good deeds and abide by the Divine rules set by the Deity and His Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). There is no single verse in the Holy Koran that praises a person due to his blood lineage, or vilify someone for his kin. What differentiate Muslims supposed to be their piety, and not the purity of their blood. To God, we are all at the same level; our deeds and piety what matters to Him the most. No single human being will be dealt with on Judgement Day based on his or her last names, or who their ancestors were.
Many around the world and more especially in Arab countries claim to have a Holy lineage and can trace the family’s bloodline all the way back to the Prophet (PBUH) for fame and to market heresies and deviations. It is a trade that earns these people a lot of money, and many sought in it wealth and social stature. It makes one wonder, however, how that could happen and be true. Millions and millions claim the same thing! Fair enough, they must be all related and cousins then. If so, how comes cousins and members of the same bloodline and same household kill each other and expiate one another? There must be something not quite right here so to speak.
If there are no references in the Holy Koran mentioning the superiority of those who are related to the Prophet over any other human being, then on what religious grounds those who claim Holy Lineage base their allegations? The lack of providing disproof and enough evidence to back their claim will for sure raise some eyebrows.
What is shocking is that I personally checked what many families have provided to claim their relation to the Prophet, and I came across a shocking discovery. Each family has different ancestors all the way back to the Prophet’s grandson Al-Hassan son of Ali. This discovery led me to two conclusions. Either Al-Hassan had hundreds if not thousands of children who gave birth to all those ancestors, or those claiming to be his descendants are just making up those stories so they can achieve whatever objectives and goals they have in mind.
It seems that religion becomes a profitable business and a shortcut to wealth, along with abusing the name of the Prophet and his family.
Everywhere in Morocco, one cannot miss a holy shrine, a sacred site, a divine religious sect and they all use the emblem of the Holy Lineage, although it is almost impossible to relate one group to the other. Yet, they all claim that they are the straight descendants of the Prophet. How? Nobody knows really!
Even the government seems to encourage such a mythology of the “Holy Lineage” by offering large grants to those groups, and encourages organizing festivals and fantasias to commemorate whatever tragedy or event happened to their “holy” ancestor! As pathetic as this sounds, but it is the bitter reality of the society within which we all grew up, and we grew up believing that any person claims possessing a purified blood through the family’s link to the Prophet of Islam is someone who holds incomparable powers and capable of bringing miracles back to Earth. Wisdom is something covers them all from head to toe, and they all believe that it is their God’ given rights to have all doors open for them. Moreover, saying not to them is never an option, under their “Divine” rules. Good God; even Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), who they claim to be his descendants, did not abuse or take advantage of any matter in life. Even the Prophet has never made claims that he is better than any other human being. So how those so-called “Shorafa” got their magical powers and feel that they are surrounded by this super magical aura?
I was pleased to read recently that the Moroccan government issued an order to the authorities to confiscate any card showing the bearer’s membership to any of those so-called “Shorafa” or “Zawaya”. It was the right thing to do, although the decision is little too late, but does this government’s decree will solve the issue of these people with “holy” blood? I think the problem is much deeper and more complex than many might think. It is rooted in the hearts and minds of the vast majority of Moroccans. They do not want to discuss any issue that has anything to do with the sacred family of the Prophet, especially that the ruling family in the country is a descendant of the Prophet as well. This makes tackling the subject very tricky and not many would go public and discuss the negative impacts of this social phenomenon on the present and the future structure of the Moroccan society at large.
I strongly believe that it is about time that the government and the civil society do something about this mania of sacred lineage. Nobody’s blood is purer than any other person’s is, nobody is above another, and it is a real shame to have this social flaw in our society on the 21st Century. People should realize by now that the sole reason those so-called “Shorafa” are using this myth to congregate ignorance so they can manipulate the crowds and keep them always slaves and hostages to a hard-to-prove statement.
Millions of Dollars are spent each year as grants and donations from the government to those “sacred” shrines, millions that could have been used to develop the country and improve the weak infrastructure, especially in remote areas of the country.
However, the question that really baffles me when it comes to this issue is: Where are those who represent and claim to be in charge of preserving Islam and the Maliki sect in Morocco? They do not know that there is not a single reference in our religion that divides people based upon their backgrounds! Moreover, why they turn the blind eye on this phenomenon, which is spreading now and more than ever before? I strongly believe that they partners in crime as well, and it is a huge game played by those who are hungry for power and wealth, and it appears to me that our clergies and scholars have sold their souls to Mephistopheles, and they did so a very long time ago.
I will conclude by this reference from our Prophet Mohammed (PBUH):
“He who (falsely) attributes his fatherhood to anyone besides his real father, knowing that he is not his father, will be forbidden to enter Jannah.”
I think this Prophet’s Hadith sums it all up..
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Dr.Mourad Beni-ich is a Political, Intelligence & Strategic Analyst based in Washington, DC. Mr.Beni-ich holds a BA in Law, a BA in Political Sciences, a MA in Security and Intelligence Analyses, a MA in Global Terrorism and a PhD in International Politics. His studies were pursued in England and the U.S. Mr.Beni-ich began his career as a lawyer working for the British Home Office (The Ministry of Interior) as well as The British Foreign Office. Mr.Beni-ich gave many lectures in the United States regarding the current affairs in the MENA region, both in universities and organizations. Mr. Beni-ich is currently based in Washington, DC where he lobbies for the Moroccan affairs and coordinates with many U.S. officials and Think-Tanks to promote Morocco’s interests, both in the United States and Morocco. You can follow him on Twitter at: @MonarchKnight[/symple_box]
