The Conditioned Bay'ah (; January 5, 1908) or the Bay'ah of Fes was a ''

bay'ah ''Bayʿah'' ( ar, بَيْعَة, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. ''Bayʿah'' is sometimes taken under a written pact gi ...

'' contract of the conditional support of the people of

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

for Abd al-Hafid as sultan of Morocco in the

Hafidiya The Hafidiya () was a coup d'état in Morocco between 1907 and 1908 in which Abd al-Hafid seized power from his brother Abdelaziz. Abd al-Hafid started his movement in Marrakesh in the aftermath of the Algeciras Conference, the French occupation ...

. Led by the Sufi leader

Muhammad al-Kattani Muhammad Bin Abdul-Kabir Al-Kattani (محمد بن عبد الكبير الكتاني; from 1873 - May 4, 1909), also known by his ''kunya'' Abu l-Fayḍ () or simply as Muhammad Al-Kattani, was a Moroccan Sufi ''faqih'' (scholar of Islamic la ...

, the people of Fes imposed, for the first time in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, a set of conditions on the sovereign in return for their support.

History

The period of the

Treaty of Algeciras The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...

in 1906, marked by state bankruptcy, failed taxes and rebellions, was turbulent for Sultan Abdelaziz. French forces led by

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

took Oujda in the east, in 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, Abd al-Hafid, was seen as more forceful, and his ''bay'ah'' as sultan of

was offered by the southern aristocrats in Marrakesh in September 1907. Abd al-Hafid's support came from the

Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

of the south, instead of the ''

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

'' of Fes, who felt bypassed and considered the ''bay'ah'' in Marrakesh illegitimate.

pushed his community in Fes to rebuke Abdelaziz and to support Abd al-Hafid under conditions, whicjy were reportedly referred to as ''ash-Shurūt al-Kattāniya'' ( ''the Kattānī Conditions'').

Conditions

The Conditioned Bay'ah had stipulations that included that Abd al-Hafid had to consult the ''

Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

'' in all major decisions and wage '' jihad'' for the liberation of Morocco, which was occupied by France in Oujda since April and in Casablanca since August. It essentially called for Abd al-Hafid to back out of the 1906

and 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 The Battle of Marrakesh was a central battle in the Hafidiya, in which Abd al-Hafid seized power from his brother Abd al-Aziz, fought outside Marrakesh, Morocco on August 19, 1908. A battalion led by Abd al-Aziz departed from Rabat and was ambus ...

References

{{Portal bar, History, Morocco Politics of Morocco Sufism in Morocco Documents of Morocco