Voix et voies d’islam africains. Enjeux et pratiques de la formation aux métiers du culte au Maroc

Abstract

Morocco recently distinguished itself in Africa and towards Europe as a key-actor in the transmission of religious knowledge dedicated to the professions of Imams and preachers. Since 2015, Mohammed VI’s “Institute for the Formation of Imams and Preachers” has been offering a curriculum for the training in religious professions of local, regional, and international candidates, targeting the profession of cult leadership focused on the organization of worship and preaching practices within mosques and during religious services. This is a demonstration of how one public policy tool expresses a discourse that is both alternative and rooted in centuries-old religious practices. This experience is convenient to an African context in flux, a context marked by a surge in radicalized discourses and practices, and even violence within contemporary religious contexts. The institute aims to formulate within its teaching format an integral care for learners, and an appropriate “all-terrain” religious knowledge promoting an exportable know-how. It is thus a hub for modeling a transmission experience of religious knowledge presented as reliable and viable and which accompanies a relevant religious leadership of proximity. The primary focus is on continental practices and subsequently, on international practices. This paper observes these issues and practices from the inside, through the eyes of Malian and Senegalese students.

Keywords

• Morocco
• Imams
• religious diplomacy
• mobility
• training
• religious profession