Mulai Abd al-Hafiz

Mulai Abd al-Hafiz

Mulai Abd al-Hafiz ( Arabic عبد الحفيظ بن الحسن, DMG ʿAbd al-Ḥafīẓ b. al-Ḥasan ; * February 24, 1876 ; † April 4, 1937 ) was Sultan of the Alawids in Morocco from 1908 to 1913.

Mulai Abd al-Hafiz came to power on December 8, 1908 through an uprising against his brother Sultan Abd al-Aziz (1893–1908) in Morocco. He had a lot of support among the local tribes, while the Moroccan people accused Abd al-Aziz of representing the interests of the French. Abd al-Hafiz tried to restore the reputation of the Alawid dynasty and to save Morocco's independence.

But he first had to confirm the privileges of the European powers in order to secure their recognition as rulers of Morocco. He did not succeed in pacifying his country either. Against the centralization policy, there was a great revolt of the tribes in 1911, with the rebels advancing as far as Fez . Mulai Abd al-Hafiz was able to save his rule with the help of French troops.

This open French engagement in Morocco led to the second Morocco crisis in the same year . After negotiations, Germany recognized Morocco as a French area of ​​interest. On March 30, 1912, France was able to establish its protectorate over Morocco through the Treaty of Fès . Northern Morocco had to be ceded to Spain as a protectorate , while Tangier was given international status . A year later, Mulai Abd al-Hafiz was forced to abdicate by the French protectorate. He was succeeded by his brother Mulai Yusuf (1913–1927).

literature

• Stephan Ronart, Nandy Ronart: Lexicon of the Arab World. A historical-political reference work. Artemis Verlag, Zurich et al. 1972, ISBN 3-7608-0138-2 .

Web links

• Newspaper article about Mulai Abd al-Hafiz in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .