The term "marabout" comes from the deformation of the Arabic term murabit. The murabit is a disciple who receives the religious teachings of a master of in a ribat. Their necropolises are often located on what used to be the old major caravan routes, where they represented spaces of neutrality, and political refuge, and were also commercial places. The meaning of the word ?marabout' underwent an evolution over time. Today a marabout is a figure whose remarkable qualities lead to him being regarded as an intermediary of God on earth who is worshipped by people seeking mediation with God. Even now there are dozens of them that hold a particular place in the lives of the Moroccans, even though this cult of the saints is not considered acceptable in Islam. Today, in the places devoted to the practice of Islam in Morocco, thousands of shrines exist in addition to the mosque where Muslims usually gather, and are visited regularly by people with all kinds of motivations. We will look closely at these shrines in the body of this paper.
[...] This does not mean that those who believe in the power of the marabouts are necessarily bad Muslims. Most of the time, those people practice a strict Islam, saying their diary prayers, going to the Mosque on Fridays, fasting and so on. But for them, and especially in Morocco, marabouts are a part of traditional practice of Islam and they reject the idea that they come from a mixture of Islamic and non-Islamic influences. When Eickelman led his study about maraboutic beliefs in the region of Boujad at the beginning of the 1970s, he found that these traditional beliefs were not followed and strongly disapproved by educated Muslims that associated them with ignorance, and charlatanism. [...]
[...] She adds that when she forgets to do it, the marabout comes to visit her in her dreams to remind her to do it. Another young woman, a student, explains that this ritual visit brings her inner peace, a peace of mind that helps her in her daily ordinary business. Finally, we are told about a woman in her sixties who adresses different requests to the wali, depending on what she needs at the moment. For example, she implores the marabout for her ex-husband not to get married again, for her son to find a good job, for her daughter to find a husband, this kind of very down-to- earth matters. [...]
[...] His daughter, Nadia Yassine, who took on his struggle, admits to visiting the shrines of marabouts in a quest of spirituality, in the Sufi spirit. What the Moroccan orthodox Islamists rebuke today is more the attitude of the monarchy that instrumentalize the marabouts, reinventing a new ‘opium of the people'. We saw that despite the modern critiques of archaism, or charlatanism, made by the scripturalists and the elite, the worshipping of saints today flourishes throughout the country, and brings together people from different ages and social backgrounds. [...]
[...] He is reputed for his capacity to heal people suffering from mental disease.[6] Even though the rituals of exorcism performed there are worthy of the Middle Ages, this marabout is very popular. More generally, it is common that people receiving modern medical treatments resort to the help of a marabout at the same time. People also use to consult the marabout before the creation of a business, or a difficult exam. Also, as we saw above, people can visit the marabouts just for meditation, in a spiritual approach. [...]
[...] Thirdly, the worshipping of the marabout also takes on a festive dimension through the moussem, an annual festival dedicated to each specific marabout. Some moussem today can gather hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Apart from prayers and requests of blessing, the moussem is also an opportunity to meet among friends, or relatives that live in a remote place. Some people even take advantage of these gatherings to find a husband or a wife for their children. And finally, in addition to its religious and commercial dimensions, the worshipping of marabouts also generates commercial activities. [...]
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