The document known as the Berber Dahir is a dhahir created by the French protectorate in Morocco on May 16, 1930. This dhahir changed the legal system in parts of Morocco where Amazigh languages were primarily spoken, while the legal system in the rest of the country remained the way it had been before the French invasion. Sultan Muhammad V signed the dahir under no duress, though he was only 20 years old at the time. The new legal system in Amazigh communities would ostensibly be based on local Amazigh laws and customs rather than the authority of the sultan and Islamic Sharia, and it would written in French. The French colonial authorities sought to facilitate their takeover of the Berber tribes' property while maintaining a legal cover. The Berber Dahir reinforced a dichotomy in popular Moroccan historiography: the division of the country into Bled el-Makhzen—areas under the direct control of the Sultan and the Makhzen, or the state, —and Bled es-Siba—typically geographically isolated areas beyond the direct control of the state, where Amazigh languages are primarily spoken and where Islamic Sharia was not applied. However, this legislation explicitly characterized the former as "Arab" and the latter as "Berber." The Berber Dahir gave birth to the Moroccan nationalist movement. Protests broke out in Salé, Rabat, Fes, and Tangier, and international figures such as Shakib Arslan took it as evidence of an attempt to "de-Islamize" Morocco.
September 11, 1914
A first formulation appeared under the influence of a group of specialists of Berbers of High Atlas and Middle Atlas, such as Maurice Le Glay, a core of professors hostile to Islam and in collaboration with bishop of Rabat. The purpose of this dahir was the recognition "Berber Justice," and their independence from Islamic law. The Berbers followed their own set of laws, and had been allowed to operate independently for centuries. This dahir recognized that independence, and formalized the French policy in Morocco under the governance of the Resident-General Lyautey who signed the dahir of September 11, 1914. The fundamental characteristic of this policy consisted in preserving the traditional autonomy of Berbers, primarily in the legal field, by disassociating them from the Islamic legislation or "Chrâa", and by maintaining their common law known as or "Azref". The Resident General had sultan Yusef sign the Dahir or legislative text, which gave it the force of law. The net result was that some Berber tribes were separated from the Islamic law, and made many Berber courts subject to French jurisdiction.
May 16, 1930
The Dahir of May 16, 1930, performed a similar function to the order of September 11, 1914. There were certain clarifications under this new dahir which met with some resistance. In particular, Article 6 clarified that criminal trials were subject to French courts.
Nationalist reaction
Before arriving at the sultan, the text drafted by France was translated into Arabic. The translator, Abdellatif Sbihi, alerted nationalists from Salé. They saw it as an attempt to "divide Moroccan people", especially Article 6. On Friday, June 20, 1930, Imam Ali Haj Awad presided at the Great Mosque of Salé and read the "Latif." Robert Rezette in his book The Political Parties of Morocco wrote: the campaign against the Berber Dahir began with the recitation of "Latif" in the mosques of Sale. The Latif was a simple prayer chanted during times of calamity. At the noon service, the largest service of the week, the imam incorporated it into his sermon. On July 4, the Latif was recited under the leadership of Mohamed Lyazid, and July 5 at the mosque in Fez Quaraouiyine through Al Alam Chahbi Qorchi. It then spread to other major cities. The text of the Latif read "For our Berber brothers who are deprived of Muslim law and who can no longer live under the law and customs of their ancestors." The goal of the nationalist movement's response to the Berber Dahir was to incite unrest against the French. The Berbers had traditionally been semi-independent, following their own set of laws and customs. However, the nationalist movement saw this dahir as an attempt to Christianize the Berbers. This was unacceptable in the largely Islamic nation of Morocco.
Sultan's reaction
The Resident-General needed to quickly suppress resistance to the dahir. He exerted pressure on Sultan Muhammad V, who issued a statement on August 11, 1930. This coincided with the celebrations of the prophet's birthday, and the Sultan's statement was read in all the mosques of the country. The Sultan denounced the nationalist movement's tactics in no uncertain terms. The Sultan re-iterated his commitment to the Berber tribes, and in an attempt to combat the Latif offered an Islamic judge to any Berber tribes who wished to submit to Islamic law.
Petition against Dahir
This statement was not enough to stop the islamist nationalists as on August 28, 1930, one hundred nationalists gathered in the house of Ahmed bin Haj Mohamed Lahrech in Salé where Mufti Boubker Zniber wrote the "Petition Against the Berber Dahir" to be sent to Grand Vizier al-Muqri by a delegation from Salé. Moroccan activists mobilized to alert the international and Arab press ; then Shakib Arslan made a brief stop in Morocco to inform and educate the nationalists.
April 8, 1934
In 1934, another Dahir was issued, titled "Dahir regulating the functioning of justice in the tribes of Berber customs". This ministerial decree of April 8, 1934, returned the criminal courts of the Berber's to their own control, effectively undoing Article 6 of the Berber Dahir.
Reflections on the Berber Dahir
Peaceful demonstrations spread in some parts of the country through the appeal to the "latif," and relayed by the Petition of August 28, 1930. These constituted the first organized nationalist backlash against the occupation and led to the withdrawal of France's Berber Dahir. This important historical episode strengthened the nationalist movement and was the beginning of the independence movement. It led to a new petition on January 11, 1944, called the "Manifesto of Independence".
