Mohammed V of Morocco

Mohammed V of Morocco
محمد الخامس
Amir al-Mu'minin
King of Morocco
Reign 14 August 1957 – 26 February 1961
Successor Hassan II
Prime Ministers
Sultan of Morocco
Reign 30 October 1955 – 14 August 1957
Predecessor Mohammed Ben Aarafa
Reign 17 November 1927 – 20 August 1953
Predecessor Yusef
Successor Mohammed Ben Aarafa
Born (1909-08-10)10 August 1909
Fes, Morocco
Died 26 February 1961(1961-02-26) (aged 51)
Rabat, Morocco
Burial Royal Mausoleum,
Rabat, Morocco
Spouse Lalla Hanila bint Mamoun
Lalla Abla bint Tahar
Lalla Bahia bint Antar
Issue Princess Fatima Zohra
Hassan II
Princess Aicha
Princess Malika
Prince Abdallah
Princess Nuzha
Princess Amina
House Alaouite dynasty
Father Yusef
Mother Lalla Yaqut
Religion Sunni Islam
Mohammed V's tomb inside his mausoleum at Rabat, with Hassan II's tomb in the background
Sultan Mohammed V of Morocco visiting Lawrence Livermore Lab, United States, in 1957.

Mohammed V (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961) (Arabic: محمد الخامس‎) was Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953; he was recognized as Sultan again upon his return from exile in 1955, and as King from 1957 to 1961. His full name was Sidi Mohammed ben Yusef, or Son of (Sultan) Yusef, upon whose death he succeeded to the throne. He was a member of the Alaouite Dynasty.

On 20 August 1953, the French who were occupying Morocco at the time forced Mohammed V and his family into exile on Corsica. His uncle, Mohammed Ben Aarafa, was placed on the throne. Mohammed V and his family were then transferred to Madagascar in January 1954. Mohammed V returned from exile on 16 November 1955, and was again recognized as Sultan after active opposition to the French protectorate. In February 1956 he successfully negotiated with France and Spain for the independence of Morocco, and in 1957 took the title of King.

Holocaust

"There are competing accounts of exactly what Mohammed V did or did not do for the Moroccan Jewish community" during the Holocaust.[1] However, "though a subject of debate, most scholars stress the benevolence of Mohammed V toward the Jews" during the Vichy era.[2] Mohammed blocked efforts by Vichy officials to impose anti-Jewish legislation upon Morocco and deport the country's 250,000 Jews to their deaths in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps in Europe.[3] The sultan's stand was "based as much on the insult the Vichy diktats posed to his claim of sovereignty over all his subjects, including the Jews, as on his humanitarian instincts."[3] Partial Nazi race measures were enacted in Morocco over Mohammed's objection,[3] and Mohammed did sign, under the instructions of Vichy officials, two dahirs (decrees) that barred Jews from certain schools and positions.[4]

Nevertheless, Mohammed is highly esteemed by Moroccan Jews who credit him for protecting their community from the Nazi and Vichy French government,[1] and Mohammed V has been honored by Jewish organizations for his role in protecting his Jewish subjects during the Holocaust.[5] Some historians maintain that Mohammed's anti-Nazi role has been exaggerated; historian Michel Abitol writes that while Mohammed V was compelled by Vichy officials to sign the anti-Jewish dahirs, "he was more passive than Moncef Bay (ruler of Tunisia during the Second World War) in that he did not take any side and did not engage in any public act that could be interpreted as a rejection of Vichy's policy."[4]

Personal life

Mohammed V with his family in Madagascar, 1954.

Mohammed V was one of the sons of Sultan Yusef, who was enthroned by the French in September 1912 and his wife Lalla Yaqut, who was of Turkish origin.[6]

His first wife was Lalla Hanila bint Mamoun.[7] She was the mother of his first daughter Lalla Fatima Zohra.

His second wife was his first cousin Lalla Abla bint Tahar (Arabic: لالا عبلة بنت طهار‎) (born 5 September 1909 – died 1 March 1992). She was the daughter of Moulay Mohammed Tahar bin Hassan, son of Hassan I of Morocco. She married Mohammed V in 1929 and died in Rabat on 1 March 1992. She gave birth to five children: the future King Hassan II, Lalla Aicha, Lalla Malika, Moulay Abdallah and Lalla Nuzha.[8]

His third wife was Lalla Bahia bint Antar, mother of his last daughter Lalla Amina.

Death

He died on 26 February 1961 following complications of a surgery he had undergone.[9]

Legacy

The Mohammed V International Airport and Stade Mohamed V of Casablanca are named after him, as well as numerous universities and various public spaces across Morocco. There is an Avenue Mohammed V in nearly every Moroccan city and a major one in Tunis, Tunisia.

In December 2007, The Jewish Daily Forward reported on a secret diplomatic initiative by the Moroccan government to have Mohammed V admitted to the Righteous Among the Nations.[10]

Honours

[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Jessica M. Marglin, Across Legal Lines: Jews and Muslims in Modern Morocco (Yale University Press, 2016), p. 201.
  2. ↑ Orit Bashkin & Daniel J. Schroeter, "Historical themes: Muslim-Jewish relations in the modern modern Middle East and North Africa" in The Routledge Handbook of Muslim-Jewish Relations (Routledge, 2016), p. 54.
  3. 1 2 3 Susan Gilson Miller, A History of Modern Morocco (Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp. 142-43.
  4. 1 2 Abdelilah Bouasria, "The second coming of Morocco's 'Commander of the Faithful': Mohammed VI and Morocco's religious policy" in Contemporary Morocco: State, Politics and Society Under Mohammmed VI (eds. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman & Daniel Zisenwine, 2013), p. 42.
  5. ↑ "KIVUNIM Convocation Honoring the Memory of King Mohammed V of Morocco". Kivunim. December 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ Prince Moulay Hicham El Alaoui. Journal d'un Prince Banni: Demain le Maroc (Grasset ed.). 9 April 2014. ISBN 978-2-246-85166-0. allait devenir la petite-fille préférée de Hassan II, le roi s’est émerveillé sans aucune gêne des yeux bleus de la nouveau-née. « Elle tient ça de son arrière-grand-mère turque », faisait-il remarquer en rappelant les yeux azur de la mère de Mohammed V
  7. ↑ Zeyna (2014-08-13). "Feue la princesse Lalla Fatima Zahra décedée le 10 aout 2014". Skyrock (in French). Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  8. ↑ International Business Publications, Morocco Foreign Policy and Government Guide p. 84
  9. ↑ "Mohammed V of Morocco Dies at 51 After Surgery". New York Times. 26 February 1961. Retrieved 13 June 2008. King Mohammed V died today after a minor operation. He was 51 years old and had occupied the throne since 1927
  10. ↑ An Arab King Righteous Among the Nations?. The Forward, 12 December 2007
  11. ↑ Boletín Oficial del Estado
  12. ↑ "''Royal Ark''". Royalark.net. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  • David Bensoussan, Il était une fois le Maroc : témoignages du passé judéo-marocain, éd. du Lys, www.editionsdulys.com, Montréal, 2010 ( ISBN 2-922505-14-6); Second edition : www.iuniverse.com, Bloomington, IN, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4759-2608-8, 620p. ISBN 978-1-4759-2609-5 (ebook);
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Yusef		 Sultan of Morocco
1927–1953		 Succeeded by
Mohammed Ben Aarafa
Preceded by
Mohammed Ben Aarafa		 Sultan of Morocco
1955–1957		 Succeeded by
Himself
as King
Preceded by
Himself
as Sultan		 King of Morocco
1957–1961		 Succeeded by
Hassan II
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