Conditioned Bay'ah
The Conditioned Bay'ah ({{Langx|ar|البيعة المشروطة|al-Bayeat al-Mashruta|Conditional Allegiance}}; January 5, 1908) or the Bay'ah of Fes was a bay'ah contract of the conditional support of the people of Fes for Abd al-Hafid as sultan of Morocco in the Hafidiya.{{Cite book|last=ملين، نبيل معد|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1049312006|title=فكرة الدستور في المغرب وثائق ونصوص 1901-2011|date=2017|publisher=تيل كيل ميديا ؛|isbn=978-9954-28-764-4|oclc=1049312006}}{{Cite web|title=بيعة المولى عبد الحفيظ المشروطة.. أو قصة خلع ملك|url=https://www.maghress.com/attajdid/51917|access-date=2020-06-25|website=مغرس}}{{Cite book|last=Miller, Susan Gilson.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/855022840|title=A history of modern Morocco|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-62469-5|location=New York|oclc=855022840}} Led by the Sufi leader Muhammad al-Kattani, the people of Fes imposed, for the first time in Morocco, a set of conditions on the sovereign in return for their support.{{Cite web|date=2017-06-12|title=الكتاني، ثمن البيعة المشروطة|url=https://zamane.ma/ar/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d8%aa%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%8c-%d8%ab%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%b7%d8%a9/|access-date=2020-06-25|website=زمان|language=ar|archive-date=2020-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410054055/https://zamane.ma/ar/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d8%aa%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%8c-%d8%ab%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%b7%d8%a9/|url-status=dead}}
History
The period of the Treaty of Algeciras in 1906, marked by state bankruptcy, failed taxes and rebellions, was turbulent for Sultan Abdelaziz. French forces led by Hubert Lyautey took Oujda in the east, in April 1907, ostensibly in retribution for the assassination of Émile Mauchamp in Marrakesh.{{Cite book|last=Berenson|first=Edward|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7MwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA246 |title=Heroes of Empire: Five Charismatic Men and the Conquest of Africa|date=February 2012|publisher=Univ of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-27258-3|language=en}} In August, French warships bombarded Casablanca after an insurrection in response to the application of the terms of the Treaty of Algeciras.{{Cite book|last=Adam|first=André|title=Histoire de Casablanca: des origines à 1914|publisher=Ophrys|year=1968|location=Aix-en-Provence}} Abdelaziz was seen as lax and ineffective.
His brother, Abd al-Hafid, was seen as more forceful, and his bay'ah as sultan of Morocco was offered by the southern aristocrats in Marrakesh in September 1907. Abd al-Hafid's support came from the Amazigh of the south, instead of the ulama of Fes, who felt bypassed and considered the bay'ah in Marrakesh illegitimate.
Muhammad al-Kattani pushed his community in Fes to rebuke Abdelaziz and to support Abd al-Hafid under conditions, which were reportedly referred to as the "Kattani Conditions" ({{Langx|ar|الشروط الكتانية|ash-Shurūt al-Kattāniya}}).{{Cite book|last=Bazzaz|first=Sahar|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/633535232|title=Forgotten saints: history, power, and politics in the making of modern Morocco|date=2010|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-03539-3|location=|pages=130|oclc=633535232}}{{Cite web|title=مائة عام على مشروع دستور 1908..|url=https://www.maghress.com/almassae/14612|access-date=2021-02-13|website=مغرس}}
Conditions
The Conditioned Bay'ah had stipulations that included that Abd al-Hafid had to consult the Ummah in all major decisions and wage jihad for the liberation of Morocco, which was occupied by France in Oujda since April and in Casablanca since August.{{Cite book|date=2020-04-11|title=Fikrat al-dustūr fī al-Maghrib : wathāʼiq wa-nuṣūṣ (1901-2011) (Buch, 2017) [WorldCat.org]|oclc=994641823 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/994641823|access-date=2020-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411023023/https://www.worldcat.org/title/fikrat-al-dustur-fi-al-maghrib-wathaiq-wa-nusus-1901-2011/oclc/994641823|archive-date=2020-04-11}}{{Cite web|title=البيعة المشروطة لعبد الحفيظ|url=https://www.maghress.com/almassae/14437|access-date=2020-04-10}}
It essentially called for Abd al-Hafid to back out of the 1906 Treaty of Algeciras and also called for an end to the protégé system.
Impact
The support of Fes changed the course of Abdelhafid's struggle for power, as other Moroccan imperial cities followed suit. However, Abdelaziz, encouraged by the French, continued to resist until his defeat in the Battle of Marrakesh August 19, 1908.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal bar|History|Morocco}}