Historian Andrew Hussey discusses Malikism as a binding force in modern Morocco’s moderate practice of Islam — on BBC World Service’s Heart & Soul radio program.
*Click here to listen to 29 minute BBC radio program*
BBC World Service, Andrew Hussey for Heart and Soul (Tetouan, Morocco, September 7, 2013) — Historian Andrew Hussey has been travelling to North Africa for 30 years and has learnt to love the rich cultural and religious diversity of countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. And for Heart and Soul he travels to Morocco to find out about one face of Islam that particularly fascinates him — Malikism. It is a school of faith that is interwoven with mysticism and music and Andrew visits the northern parts of the country to explore its rich history and its role in modern Morocco.
He finds a faith that sits happily within a country made up of different races, languages and other faiths. And he discovers that Malikism is a binding force in the country, as the ripples of the Arab Spring continue to spread through the region.
He also finds that the followers of the Maliki rite are proud to be Moroccan and that it has a role to play in balancing the more conservative elements of Islam that have crept into Tunisia.
