Soussi Al-, Mohamed Al-Mokhta -R

(1900-1963)

   A renowned thinker (`alim) of Islam, a Sufi, and a nationalist, al-Soussi was born in the village of Iligh in Dou-gadir, located in the Tafraout district. Al-Soussi, as his name indicates, was educated in the seminaries and Quranic schools of the Sufi lodges in the Sous region, then later was mentored by prominent sheikhs and scholars in mosque universities and institutes in Marrakech, Fès, and Rabat. His father was the sheikh of the renowned Sufi Zawiya Darqawiyya, and at the age of eight he memorized the Qur'an by heart. He was also influenced by Salafi religious scholars as well as secular nationalists. In 1926, he joined forces with Moroccan nationalists and was engaged in political organizing against the French Protectorate. Between 1937 and 1952, his political activism cost him several years of house arrest in his native village, and he was also exiled in Tafilalet. After independence in 1956, he became minister of Islamic affairs and later was nominated to the Consultative Council of the Royal Court and was appointed judge of the Royal Palaces until his death.

   Al-Soussi was a prolific writer, and his works reflect his scholarly journey as well as a wide range of themes, ranging from the history and ethnography of Sous and its Sufi lodges and learning centers through Islamic law and practices to national historiography. He authored about 20 publications, some of which were published posthumously, and he left behind around 30 or more manuscripts. His wellknown works include Sous al-`alima (1960), Arrisalatan al-Bouna`maniyya wa al-Shawqiyya (1960), Al-Tiryaq al-Madaoui fi Akhbar Al-Sheikh al-Haj Ali Al-Soussi al-Darqaoui (1960), Munyat al-Mutatalli`in ila min fi al-zawiyya Al-Ilighiyya mina al-Fuqara' al-Munqati`in (1961), Asfa al-Mawarid fi Tahdhibi al-rihla al-Hijaziyya li-Sheikh al-Walid (1961), Min Afwahi al-Rijal (10 vols., 1962), al-Ma`sul (20 vols., 1963), khilala Jazoula (4 vols., 1963), Al-Ilighiyat (3 vols., 1963), `Ala Qimmati al-Arba`in (1963), Bayna al-Jumud wa al-Juhud, Iligh Qadiman wa Hadithan (1966), Mu`taqal al-Sahara (1982), Hawla Ma`idati al-Ghada` (1983), Taqatu Rihan min Rawdat al-Afnan (1984), Madaris Sous al-`Atiqa: nidhamuha wa Asatidhatuha (1987), Rijalat al-`ilm al-`Arabi fi Souss (1989), and al-Majmu` a al-Fiqhiyya fi al-Fatawi al-Soussiyya (1995). He died in an accident in 1963 and was buried in the Martyrs Cemetery in Rabat.