The Middle East Institute is proud to host Moroccan scholar and author Dr. Mohsine El Ahmadi. Dr. El Ahmadi has written extensively on Islamist movements in Morocco and will examine the government’s efforts to fight radical Islamist movements in the wake of the Casablanca bombings of 2003.
Since then, the Moroccan government has undertaken a vigorous effort to reform the country’s religious institutions and thinking by seeking to occupy a space once dominated by radical Islamist movements. It has sought to gain full control of religious activities throughout Morocco as well as to reintroduce Sufi religiosity in politics. Dr. El Ahmadi will give a general overview of the religious and political debate between the state and Islamist movements in Morocco while examining the efficiency of such policies in the mid- and long-term.
BIO:
Dr Mohsine El Ahmadi is professor of sociology at Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech (Morocco) and Fulbright/Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University’s Prince AlWaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding where he leads research on religion and power in the Maghreb. He is also a research fellow at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales of Paris and a consultant for various Moroccan and international institutions. He has published several books and articles on Islamist movements and religious freedom in Morocco, including Islam and Modernity in Post-Colonial Morocco, and has contributed to many academic and sociological reviews worldwide.