Yassine Abdessalam

(1928- )

   He is an Islamic activist, leader, and ideologue of the movement of Jama`at al-`Adl wal-Ihsan (Justice and Charity Association). With its estimated 30,000 members or more and its numerous and diffuse charitable, educational, and recreational associations, Al-`Adl wal-Ihsan represents the most influential and structured Islamist movement in Morocco. The movement owes much of its importance to the charisma of its founder, 77-yearold Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, a former regional inspector in the Ministry of National Education. Yassine was born into a modest farming household in the Haha area, not far from the town of Essaouira in the Sous region, and he is a native speaker of Tashalhit, a dialect of Tamazight. He was educated at Ben Youssef Institute in Marrakech and was later attributed an Idrisid genealogy and thus elevated to Sharifian, or holy rank. In 1959, he traveled to the United States and France for educational training, spending 45 days in each country. Subsequent to a "crisis of faith" in 1965, he first became a disciple of the Sufi Sheikh al-Haj `Abbas of the tariqa Boutchichya near Berkane but made a sensational entry into politics nine years later by addressing an open protest letter to King Hassan II: al-Islam awi Attoufane (Islam or the Deluge). This gesture cost him six years in custody. Placed under house arrest in Salé, he regained his freedom only in May 2000 by order of Mohammed VI and immediately made public his second address: "Memorandum: To Whom It May Concern." To the young sovereign, he said this: "Redeem your father from torment by restoring to the people the goods they are entitled to"-in other words, the royal fortune, which, according to him, is equivalent to the country's foreign debt.

   His writings are known for their scathing criticism of the monarchical institution, the official religious scholars, and the westernized elite, whom he blames for de-Islamizing and secularizing society. He also calls for a reconciliation of the state and da`wah (call) and the implementation of the prophetic model, which calls for the restoration of the caliphate. Yassine produced several books, political and economic tracts and commentaries, and spiritual letters. He also published a now-banned monthly magazine, al-Jama`ah. He authored more than 20 books and tracts. His works in French include Islamiser la modernité (1998), La révolution à l'heure de l'islam (1980), and Pour un dialogue avec les intellectuels occidentalisée (1980). His Arabic publications are Islam between the Appeal and the State (alislam bayna al-dda`wa wa ddawla, 1971), Tomorrow Islam! (1972), The Prophetic Method (al minhaj al-nnabaoui, 1982), Islam and the Challenge of Marxism-Leninism (1989), Exemplary Men (1989), Introduction to the Method (1989), Islam and the Challenge of Secular Nationalism (1989), Historical and Doctrinal Survey (1990), Muslim Reasoning between the Sovereignty of Revelation and the Domination of Secular Rationalism (1994), and A Dialogue with Honorable Democrats (1994). His spiritual and political letters include Islam or the Deluge: An Open Letter to the King of Morocco (1974), Spiritual Gems (1992), Letter of Reminder (1995), Letter to Students and to All Muslims (1995), Spiritual Poems (1996), On the Economy (1995), Guide to Believing Women (1996), Dialogue of the Past and the Future (1997), Dialogue with an Amazighi (Berber) Friend (1997), Spirituality (1998), Memorandum: To Whom It May Concern (2000), and Justice: Islamists and Power (2000).

   As an accomplished Arabist and the leading Islamist thinker, Yassine published a book in 1997 titled Dialogue with an Amazigh Friend (Hiwarun ma`a Sadiqin Amazighy), in which he objects to the political dimension of Amazigh cultural and linguistic revival. He claims that the revival of the ancient Berber script of Tifinagh and the demand for constitutional change to recognize Tamazight as an official language in Morocco were not only serving French postcolonial interests but also represented blasphemous attacks on the Qur'an and Islam.