Conditioned Bay'ah


The Conditioned Bay'ah or the Bay'ah of Fes was a bay'ah contract of the conditional support of the people of Fes for Abdelhafid as sultan of Morocco in the Hafidiya. 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.

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 April, 1907, ostensibly in retribution for the assassination of Émile Mauchamp in Marrakesh. In August, French warships bombarded Casablanca after an insurrection in response to the application of the terms of the Treaty of Algeciras. Abdelaziz was seen as lax and ineffective.
His brother, Abdelhafid, was seen as more forceful, and was his bay'ah as sultan of Morocco was offered by the southern aristocrats in Marrakesh September, 1907. Abdelhafid'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 support Abdelhafid—under conditions.

Conditions

The Conditioned Bay'ah stipulated among other things that the sultan should 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 Casablanca since August. It essentially called for Abdelhafid to back out of the 1906 Treat of Algeciras. It 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.