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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Congruent Spheres of Religious Authority: National and Local Levels of Charismatic Leadership
Author:Bowen, Donna L.ISNI
Year:1988
Periodical:Maghreb Review
Volume:13
Issue:1-2
Pages:32-41
Language:English
Geographic term:Morocco
Subjects:Islam
Church and State
Politics and Government
Religion and Witchcraft
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Abstract:The opposition of rival religious groups (zawiyas) to the central government (makhzen) was a potent theme in Moroccan history. As a result, the State has made a strong effort to contain zawiyas while at the same time recognizing them as a major power in regional affairs and in Moroccan life. In-depth study of one of the largest Moroccan zawiyas, the Nasiriyya of Tamgrout, suggests that the relationship of the State and the zawiya rests on more than strict opposition between a State authority seeking to limit potential sources of religiously based dissent and a local zawiya determined to retain its autonomy. The author argues that the State/zawiya relation sustains a dialectical tension between opposition and complementariness. The latter is based in large part upon the similarity in function, structure, and basis of legitimacy held by both the State and the zawiya. Drawing legitimacy from upholding the bases of religion and securing proper guidance for their respective communities, they both draw from the same sources of authority. Thus, they are as much reinforcement for each other as they are a potential source of challenge. Ref.
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