Book : “Moroccans: migrants and travelers”, or the history of Moroccan excellency

The Council of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad (CCME) organized, Friday, February 9, 2018 at the Casablanca Book Fair, the presentation of the book “Moroccans: Migrants and Travelers”.

The introduction was moderated by Ms. Leïla Maziane, Professor of Modern History at Hassan II University in Casablanca, Mr. Otmane Mansouri, professor of modern and contemporary history at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Rabat and M. Fouad Guessous, writer and poet.

During the meeting, Mr. Mansouri one of the professors who participated in the collective work presented this Friday, this book is the confirmation that the history of Morocco is graveled with excellence. Plurality and diversity have always been the strength of the Moroccan culture: “This diversity has allowed the kingdom to be, through the history, a platform of exchanges that have several aspects, first commercial and then human and cultual “.

The book highlights this diversity and proves that the Moroccan has always contributed to better the societies where he decides to settle.

Mr. Mansouri, scholar in Moroccan-Portuguese relations, said that the Moroccan case is striking: “when we read the history between Morocco and a country like Portugal for example, we see that the Moroccan individual fits naturally began with the trade exchanges, and quickly had human and cultural relations with Iberian countries, and this since the middle age “.

Ms. Leïla Maziane, a scholar in marine history, promoted the abundance and intensity of the exchanges that have always prevailed between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean: “These exchanges contradict the idea that the Moroccans do not have “sea legs”.

“Moroccans: Migrants and Travelers” has tried to “save from indifference” several Moroccan personalities who have marked the history of the world, said Ms. Maziane. She gave the example of Mr Mustapha Zemmouri “better known in the Americas than in his own country : he left Azemmour in the 6th century for Portugal as a slave and was later seen in Texas.”

“We are fortunate to live in a several millennia old country and to have institutions like the CCME that surprises us every time with its publications,” concluded Ms. Maziane.

Through his writings, essentially the translations of texts of the Moroccan Melhoune, Mr. Guessous insists the artistic fiber of the Moroccans of the world who were at the origin of several of these poems and texts.

He gave the example of Mr. Benali Demnati (1870-1935), a Moroccan known for his knowledge in the mystic sciences and a Turkish general came to Mecca to heal his sick daughter. After curing him, Benali Demnati was named captain of the Turkish army.

“Moroccans: Migrants and Travelers”, published by the CCME in April 2016, is “the apogee of a long work of theCCME since 2008 and which aims to promote and safeguard the memory of Moroccan migration as an essential part of the national memory “.

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