THE "BERBER" DAHIR: The Colonial Straw that Broke the Camel's Back
Divide, et impera.
Divide and rule. Simple phrase that the Romans perfected and that the French... well, carried into Morocco all thorough the protectorate, but especially in 1930, with a seemingly harmless piece of paper : the "Berber" Dahir.
To this day, this chapter of Moroccan history is often misunderstood.
For context, in the 1930s, Morocco had been under a "double-headed" protectorate splitting its administrative body between colonial France and Spain since 1912. I wish I could give you a full rundown as an introduction to this topic, but for practical reasons, we’re not going to here – for now.
What's key to understand here is that the French strategy to effectively govern Morocco often involved manipulating social divisions, since as you may or may not know the country has historically been home to a variety of communities. In short, the historical owners of the land were the Imazighen ("Berbers"), which remained predominant for centuries. Imazighen DNA is predominant in Moroccans today – but ever since the Arab invasions in the 7th century, with the Muslim conquest, the ethnic background of North Africa was diversified, and most importantly, an Arabic influence sank its claws into the land, with mediums like religion and the language.
Fast forward to the early 19th century : both Arab-claimed and Amazigh ("Berber") communities with distinct traditions and languages that would still often respond to each other. The French saw an opportunity to exploit these differences. These differences existed effectively: some Amazigh tribes particularly in the High Atlas and Rif Mountains had a long history of resistance against the Makhzen, the central authority of the sultan as we'll cover in future projects. And as a result, they had developed their own customary laws ("azref"), either rather than or on top of the Islamic "Chari'a" law which was followed more closely by Arabic-speaking urban populations that were fully administrated by the Makhzen.
This led colonial France to believe that Amazigh Moroccans were less influenced by Islam and, therefore, might be more open to French influence and to Western ideas. The thought was that if they could separate the Imazighen from the Arab Muslim majority, they could weaken Morocco's overall resistance to colonial rule and create a more manageable society to their advantage. This was the logic of the so-called "Berber Policy" ("politique berbère"), initiated by Marshall Lyautey in 1914. This general strategy aimed to draw the Imazighen away from Arab influence and Islamic law, to isolate them, to create a cultural and territorial divide that would best serve France’s interests, as it would mean facilitated control over the Berbers.At its core, the "Berber" Dahir was a law, issued by the French colonial administration during the protectorate (1912-1956) in Morocco. Its primary goal was to treat the people they had classified as "fully Imazighen", as a separate group, subjecting them to an entirely different legal framework and subtracting them to Islamic law. Instead, they would answer to tribal laws that would be speficic to their communities, but – and here's the catch—overseen, supervised and judged by colonial courts with French judges (article 6).
In theory, it was meant to simplify governance for the colonial forces by treating Imazighen ("Berbers") as a distinct category. But in practice the law revealed harmful flaws in the French approach and understanding of Moroccan society.
What was seen by the disconnected French administration as just another decree, as a mere instrument of France’s colonial policy, ended up being the very thing that breathed life into Moroccan nationalism, the catalyst for Morocco’s struggle for independence. In the backlash it caused, it inspired the most unusual wave of unity Morocco had ever seen : people were rallying across tribal, social and regional lines, which was unseen in 20th century Morocco. But to understand why this decree had such a profound effect, you’ll have to come with me as we dig into its context, the motivations behind it, the political maneuvering involved, and its intense aftermath which would have Morocco changed. The Dahir aimed to protect the customary law (ORF or IZREF) of Berber tribes, exempting them from Islamic law (Chrâa).
The crafting of the decree
The making of the Amazigh Dahir in itself, before we even scratch the surface of its content, should already make any mind that’s educated on Moroccan society, raise their eyebrows, as it poses some very concerning issues. On January 9th, 1915, the French colonial authorities established the “Comité d’Etudes Berbères”, a committee of researches, whose task was to study the Amazigh people. And what the observers of the committee noted, was that some Amazigh groups were espite claiming that had converted to Islam and been practicing Muslims for years were still attached to pre-islamic religious practices, traditions that contradicted the “Islamic way of life” so to speak.
When they were presented with this material, French officials felt entitled to question the religious committment of Amazigh tribes, and it gave them a false sence of confidence to draw all sorts of conclusions that comforted their interests. It lead them to believe that, if Amazigh Moroccans from the rural areas, which constitued 75% of the Moroccan body at the time, could be isolated from Islamic influences, they would "have it easier" assimilating them into French culture through French legal systems, schools, etc. Leaning in even more into that confirmation bias, French officials even went as far as drawing a physical resemblance with them. To quote Giles Lafuente, the Amazigh were seen by the French as “similar to Aryan peasants”.
The French got their hopes up. French authors started going around advocating fro Franco-Berber schools that would teach in French while exccluding Arabic and Islaming studies from the picture altogether, serving as instruments of French colonial policy ; a vision, that they did bring to life. By 1930, 20 short-lived schools of that sort had been creating with a little over 700 students attending them.
What is even more alarming is the thought process behind how the French "decided" which Moroccans would be subject to the reform, and who wouldn’t — who counted as “Amazigh”, and who didn’t. The Dahir did not specify the criteria of classification, nor did it outwardly say what, in the French perspective, constituted "Berber" tribes or even the nature of their laws. This classification was solely based on how obedient tribes were to the military authority.
One of the driving force behind the crafting of the "Berber" Dahir was French Resident General Lucien Saint, who had succeeded to Théodore Steeg. Now, the thing with this guy is he was particularly attached to the “Berber Policy” initiated by Marshall Lyautey a couple years prior. Saint was Ô so convinced that Amazigh tribes could be gradually drawn into French culture, so you best believe he wasn’t going to hold back on pursuing it. In 1930, he presented the Dahir to Sultan Mohammed V himself, who was then just a 20-year-old ruler kept in the dark by his advisors and not allowed to do or say much at all. The Sultan, who was more a symbolic figure under the Protectorate than an executive leader, signed the decree without understanding the full scope of its implications.
The "Berber" Dahir stipulated that Amazigh communities would be exempt from Islamic (Chari'a) law. Instead, they would be subject to "customary law" in civil matters – again, without ever defining the specifics, what this meant in practice. This lack of clarity, this vagueness created a legal loophole that the French could exploit to widen the artificial gap between "Amazigh" and "Arab" they had installed, to destabilize a land that was and to further colonial agenda.
Another implication of the Dahir raised deep concerns : in cases where Amazigh customary law was deemed insufficient or unclear (a notion the Dahir, yet again, failed to define, creating yet another loophole), French criminal law would apply. This was a sharp departure from Morocco's traditional legal system, which was firmly rooted in Islamic principles, even in the rural areas, leading tribal leaders to rise in protest as well. Because, by removing the Imazighen from the jurisdiction of Islamic law, the French Dahir planted a wedge within Moroccan society, and made the Imazighen themselves more vulnerable to
The Impact of the Dahir: Religious and National Implications
The Moroccan public's response was quick to manifest, and it did with the utmost intensity. That intensity can be explained by the timing of the decree : its publication coincided with the "centennial" year of the French invasion of Algeria (1830) a reminder of how colonialism had reshaped North Africa. At the same time, a major Eucharistic Congress was held in Carthage, Tunisia, that year which attracted thousands of Catholics and emphasizing Christian unity. These 2 events put together, on top of the Dahir, singled out in the minds of Moroccan resistance leaders the European attempt to divide and convert North African Muslim societies, with a lot of contrast. Thus, the Dahir exceeded its and was seen as an existential threat to the identity of the land.
Adding to these fears, Historians have not failed to point out the role French Catholic missionaries played, particularly Archbishop Vieille of Rabat, in feeding the resistance. These missionaries were openly advocating for the conversion of Imazighen Moroccans to Christianity. In 2 very influential publications : "la Revue d’histoire des Missions" and "le Maroc Catholique" that type of missionary work was promoted.
The director of the "Bureau of Indigenous Affaires", from Rabat : Paul Marty, actively promoted the distribution of Arabic translations of "The life of Jesus" in rural areas. Here's what he wrote, a couple years prior to the Dahir, in his study "politique berbère du Protectorat" published in the "Bulletin du Comité de l'Afrique Française (BCAF) in july 1924 :
He were are, facing these "Berbers" whom the progress of pacification is bringing into our sphere. It is our job to awaken their minds and touch their hearts. It is our duty and the very justification for the occupation. [...] It is with emotion that, having returned to this African land, we bring once again, after 15 centuries of absence, to the Berber people who gave us Tertullian, Apuleius, Saint Augustine and many others, the strong organized and clear disciplines of Latin civilization.
In his book "Le Maroc de demain" (1925), Marty openly details colonial France's intentions with the creation of "Franco-Berber" schools, going as follows :
[...] these "Berber" schools will be as much institutions, organs of French policy and tools of propaganda as they are educational centers.
Some French officials even appointed Kabyle Algerians who had converted to Christianity to certain within Amazigh councils, which only further alarmed Moroccans as it raised suspicion toward the extent of what had France had in mind for Morocco.
Moroccan Activism
As it turns out, the outrage surrounding the decree quickly transmuted into organized resistance. Especially among young Moroccans. In the city of Salé a group of young activists from influential families that were led by Abdelatif (al) Sbihi ignited the fire of the first public protests. Al Sbihi, born in Meknes, was an interpreter originally working for the French Residency. He was then appointed secretary to the Sharifian Direction of Affairs ; and it was this very proximity to the colonial Administration, that gave him an intimate access to the last draft of the Dahir before it was even published.
Mosques became the platforms of spreading of the discontent. In the solenms pronounced by the muezzins, a pattern : the "Ya latif!" prayer often recited during times of crisis, was adapted to highlight the unity amongst believers, Amazigh or not. The altered version of the prayer included the following plea:
O God, save us from the mistreatment of fate and do not separate us from our Imazighen brothers.
The "Latif" prayer spread quickly to other cities:Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech. Soon it was being recited in mosques the upper half of present-day Morocco, from Salé and Tangier to Meknes and Fez. In Fez, an especially remarkable demonstration of defiance took place : thousands of protesters began to march from the Qarawiyyin Mosque all the way to the mausoleum of Moulay Idris I.
The repression
Naturally, the French authorities were alarmed by the growing protests. They responded with violent repression. The demonstrations we just mentioned were met with force and numerous arrests were made as French officials tried to contend the wave of national awareness and dissent. The movement, however continued to grow : what had started with a couple students from influential families and local leaders expanded only to include artisans workers, shop owners,farmers and Muslim scholars.
The colonial press, particularly the French paper BCAF we already mentioned, belittled the protesters. It dismissed them as mere uneducated troublemakers. It mocked Moroccan protesters, calling them “digestive tubes,” contrasting them with anti-colonial leaders like Gandhi and Zaghloul whom it argued posed a real threat to British interests.
Outside the Echo-Chamber : the International Voice
The movement gained international momentum and picked up steam so to speak, when Shakib Arsalan, a Druze leader and former Ottoman Parliament member got involved.
Having lived in exile in Geneva, Arsalan used his network and his publications in "La Nation Arabe" to bring light and attention to Morocco’s situation. He even made a secret trip to Morocco after the Dahir to gather information and meet with Moroccan nationalists like Ahmed Balafrej, Mohammed Fassi and Abdelslam Bennouna.
Though he was eventually banned from entering Tangier, Arsalan managed to meet with activists in the northern zone in Tetouan that was still controlled by the Spanish. He worked to spread the Moroccan cause internationally by connecting it to the wider anti-colonial wave of struggles in the Arab-Muslim world, a support that helped verse, word, frame the protest against the Dahir as part of something much bigger than "just" a Moroccan issue, but a "pan-Islamic" fight. This added another layer of pressure on the French colonial administration.
The cementing of Moroccan natioanlism
By the 1930s, the seeds of Moroccan nationalism had already been planted, especially after the Rif war ; but the Dahir acted as a catalyst that allowed the national awareness to transcend regional and social divides. A moment suspended in time. This was a period when the 1st generation of Moroccan students that were educated under the Protectorate began to assert their voice. Many had been exposed to both Western and modern Arab ideas, figures like Allal al Fassi and Mohammed ben Hassan al Ouazzani who later emerged as leaders, had developed a strong sense of Morocco’s potential to pursue independence.
In 1933, these nationalist leaders formalized their movement by establishing Kutlat al Amal al Watani : the Moroccan Action Committee. The MAC was a public organization that explicitly aimed to resist colonial policies and to defend the sovereignty of Moroccans.
The reversal of the Dahir
The nationalist movement kept the pressure alive, which eventually forced the French to bow and “soften” the decree as a means to "appease". In 1934, a new Resident General was appointed: Henri Ponsot, with a different perspective on the issue. He soundly decided to amend the decree and had the Administration remove some of its most contentious aspects.
Though this "reversal" was a victory for nationalists no doubt, there was still a long way to go. While it was never intended or even foreseen as an outcome, the "Berber" Dahir inadvertly emboldened, strengthened Moroccan resolve by rekindlingg a sense of empowerment, born from the unity the country had just demonstrated. It exported the issue worldwide ; it created a space of discussion ; it allowed for different social backgrounds within the national body to communicate effectively. All in all, it opened a path to a large-scale organized and effective struggle for independence.
Many like to base the "Berber" Dahir of May 16, 1930 being one of the most important moment of Morocco's modern history, on the aftermath it caused, the effects its had of kickstarting the process of independence. And while that perspective is entirely valid, I would argue that what truly made this colonial law defining was how perfectly it encapsulated the French colonial administration's complacency. Its cold detachment from the realities of the ground. It reveals so much about the inherent flaws in foreign endeavors to conceptualize, craft and impose a system on a centuries old and far more intricate society than colonizers could ever understand.
SOURCES:
L’élaboration du Dahit Berbère, by Joseph Luccioni
Encyclopedie Berbère, by G. Lafuente
Archives from the ”Afrique Française” paper, 1924
Histoire du Maroc, by M. Abitbol
