In 1894; on the eve of the French conquest of Morocco; a young Muslim mystic named Muhammad al-Kattani decided to abandon his life of asceticism to preach Islamic revival and jihad against the French. Ten years later; al-Kattani mobilized a socially diverse coalition of Moroccans who called for resistance against French colonization. In 1909; he met a violent death at the hands of the same Moroccan anti-colonialists he had empowered through his activism. Today; the government of Morocco regards al-Kattani’s story as subversive; and he has virtually disappeared from the narratives of the early Moroccan anti-colonialism and nationalism. Despite this silencing; al-Kattani’s remarkable personal transformation and sacrifice is at the heart of the events that; although ultimately failing to prevent French rule; gave birth to Moroccan nationalism and to modern concepts of Moroccan political power and authority. Forgotten Saints draws on a diverse collection of previously unknown primary sources to narrate the vivid story of al-Kattani and his virtual disappearance from accounts of modern Moroccan history.
#582300 in Books Belknap Press 2008-04-30 2008-03-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.60 x 1.00 x 5.92l; 1.16 #File Name: 0674027590384 pages
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Rebecca Scott is a Genius!By RDDIn Degrees of Freedom: Louisiana and Cuba after Slavery; Rebecca Scott writes that at the most basic level; violence played a key role in the transition from slavery to freedom in Louisiana through the Civil War. While Louisiana was under Union occupation; the presence of black soldiers played a key role in encouraging freedpeople to agitate for their rights. Later; freedpeople insisted on their public rights in order to assert themselves after years in which white authorities denied them. Even in the face of armed resistance and massacres; like that at the Colfax Courthouse; African Americans remained committed to asserting their basic rights in a free Louisiana. Finally; the elections of 1874 and 1876 demonstrated the deeply partisan nature of Louisiana politics through intimidation and opportunism.Scott writes; “In central Cuba; the interplay of free; enslaved; and smei-enslaved (including indentured Chinese workers) was almost continuous.†Slaves were in constant contact with “Chinese contract laborers who worked at the same tasks but under different rules.†Later; during the Ten Years’ War; the Spanish military treated free blacks and indentured Chinese equally; as a force for labor or a “runaway†group to be captured and put to work. Later; the 1887 census included the Chinese as persons of color. By the very presence; Chinese laborers offered an alternative to slave labor and the roles available to free blacks. Following emancipation; Chinese Cubans could act as electors in the new post-slavery society; demonstrating their assimilation.Scott writes; “The key legacy in both Cuba and Louisiana was a contest over the right to respect and resources; which increasingly encompassed a contest over the boundaries of citizenship…Louisiana is distinguished from Cuba by the ways in which the scope of this contest came to be successively narrowed.†In Louisiana; “the effects of constitutional disenfranchisement were at once practical; symbolic; and punitive; and they were deigned to undercut alliances along and across class lines – permanently.†African Americans’ political gains resulted from a war that divided the white citizens of Louisiana and the nation; so their disenfranchisement helped to reunify whites in the North and South. In Cuba; the dominant national narrative of a raceless society worked to undermine attempts to unify along racial lines. While this limited Cubans of color from forming their own alliances; as in the case of the Independent Party of Color; “voting and officeholding by men of color were now commonplace†after 1898. Scott writes; “The official ideology of the rebels portrayed racism as a legacy of slavery and colonialism; destined to be eliminated in a democratic Cuban republic.â€1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The best kind of historyBy NaseberryThe subject is of interest to me; combining as it does both historical and legal issues in a nexus of great immediacy; i.e. the extent to which human beings could dispose of themselves and their bodies or be considered chattel. There was a wealth of information which was new to me. This is a book of discovery for the reader; the result of excellent research; and the text itself is lively and engaging; making it an extremely interesting book to read. A work of scholarship which can be easily read by the non-specialist is always a winner.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great Transnational StudyBy Sid DowellScott lays out a well organized argument and supports her thesis with substantial documentation. Perhaps a bit of overkill on the documentation and stories in some areas but overall she makes a strong argument and provides illuminating insights to a transnational/comparative history topic that reveals a great deal about the dichotomy in attitudes regarding slavery in post Civil War American and in Cuba.
