230 34 57MB
English Pages [249] Year 2015
ESSAYS ON HERITAGE, TOURISM AND SOCIETY IN THE MENA REGION
MITTELMEERSTUDIEN
Herausgegeben von
Mihran Dabag, Dieter Haller, Nikolas Jaspert und Achim Lichtenberger
BAND 9
Dieter Haller, Achim Lichtenberger, Meike Meerpohl (Eds.)
ESSAYS ON HERITAGE, TOURISM AND SOCIETY IN THE MENA REGION Proceedings of the International Heritage Conference 2013 at Tangier, Morocco
Wilhelm Fink | Ferdinand Schöningh
~
m
I
Bundesmin,stenum fur 8,ldung und Forschung
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
Titelfoto: Ansicht von Cuicul/Djémila (Photo: Sabah Ferdi)
Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Dieses Werk sowie einzelne Teile desselben sind urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung in anderen als den gesetzlich zugelassenen Fällen ist ohne vorherige schriftliche Zustimmung des Verlags nicht zulässig. © 2015 Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn (Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh GmbH & Co. KG, Jühenplatz 1, D-33098 Paderborn) Internet: www.fink.de | www.schoeningh.de Einbandgestaltung: Evelyn Ziegler, München Printed in Germany Herstellung: Ferdinand Schöningh GmbH & Co. KG, Paderborn ISBN 978-3-7705-5744-8 (Fink) ISBN 978-3-506-76626-7 (Schöningh)
Table of Contents Preface ................................................................................................................ 7 Heritage, Tourism and Society in the Middle East and North Africa ................... 9 DIETER HALLER/ ACHL\I L!CHH•.NHERCER/ MEIKE MEERl'OHI.
HERITAGE: NATIONAL USAGE, IDENTITY AND PERCEPTIONS
Ottomania: Boy Love, Incest, and the Arab Spring............................................ 17 TAREK EL-ARISS
Les enjeux du processus de parrimonialisation au Rif.. ....................................... 41 BADIHA NAHHASS
Contribution des technologies de !'information et de la communication (TIC) a la volarisation du patrimoine culture! ................................................... 51 RACHID BENSl.lfvlANE
Cultural Heritage in Turkey: An Eminently Political Matter ............................. 67 EDHEMELDEM
Eduquer le regard
a la richesse du patrimoine .................................................... 93
5ABAH FERD!
Berberes de la fa~ade touristique et l'identite refoulee au Maroc ...................... 107 MUSTAPHA EL QADERY
Cosmopolitanism as Heritage - Remembering the Liberties ofTangier.. ......... 123 DIETER HALI.ER
LOCAL AND GLOBAL INTERACTION IN THE CONTEXT OF TOURISM, MANACEMENT AND ACCESSIBILITY
Jebel Ouenat - A World Heritage Site under the Auspices of Three Countries ........................................................................................................ 143 RUDOLPH KUPER
Pacrimoine mondial et realites locales: quelle adequation possible? ................ 163 OUIDADTEIU\AA
Whose Heritage? Petra and the Politics in the Process of Heritagization .......... 171 MEIKE MEERP0HL
Challenges of Managing Heritage Sites and Attractions in Jordan: The Case of U mm Qais.......................................................................................... 187 FAKRIEH OARABSEH
To What Extent Has Conservation Strategy Succeeded in Protecting the Natural Heritage in Egypt? .............................................................................. 201 HODA YAC0U8
Which Past is Worthy to Preserve? Case Studies from Jordan .......................... 225 ANNE RIEDEL
Heritage Sites After War: Germany 1945, Syria Now ...................................... 237 JOHN BORNEMAN
Authors ........................................................................................................... 249
PREFACE
This volume consists of a selection of papers presented and discussed at a conference "Heritage, Tourism and Political Changes in the MENA Region" held in Tangier, Morocco, in mid-February, 2013 under the aegis of the Centre for Mediterranean Studies at the Ruhr Universiry. The conference would not have been possible without the generous support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Rabat. We are especially grateful to the Foundation's Dr. Helmut Reifeld and Dr. Ellinor Zeino, who co-organized the conference, and their staff. Thanks are also due to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, which funds the Centre for Mediterranean Studies and also supported the conference. We must also acknowledge the El Minzah Hotel in Tangier, which hosted the conference. Eleni Markakidou and Anne Riedel provided sterling support in ensuring chat the conference proceeded so smoothly and finally we must thank Lara Jacobs who undertook the arduous task of doing much of the copy-editing of this volume. Dieter Haller, Achim Lichtenberger and Meike Meerpohl Bochum and Cologne, December 2014
DIETER HALLER - ACHIM LICHTENBERGER - MEIKE MEERPOHL
Heritage, Tourism and Society in the Middle East and North Africa The concept of 'heritage' displays great diversity arising out the varied diverse research traditions in various disciplines and in different countries. 1 Today the prevailing definition of cultural heritage in the western canon is not limited to ancient sites, nostalgic memories and abandoned traditions but covers historical sites, movable and immovable artefacts, practices, knowledge or objects which a group, society or institution labels as old, worth maintaining or important. Moreover, it can also include certain practices associated with a way of life, existing customs, oral history and various festivals, not to mention handcrafts, indigenous healing methods, sources of nourishment as well as languages and dialects. It is thus very closely associated with cultural landscapes, traditions and memones. Heritage is usually subjected to conservation practices, to the responsibility of protection or management issues. Experts, institutions or power structures will take over the organization of heritage and eventually might market it as a resource. In this way, it can be exploited for tourism or serve as a basis in a process of identity or ethnicity-building, provided, of course, that aspects worth preserving can be identified, determined, retained or institutionalized as such. The central point here is not to consider cultural heritage in isolation but to put the locations, the practices or objects in their socio-cultural context by undertaking the following exercises: investigating the political and economic context, analyzing the external power structures, exposing the lines of conflict and considering the cultural heritage from a local level on the one hand and to place it in a global context on the other. Thus the term "heritage" does not refer to a list of objects or practices but conveys rather a perception, a socio-cultural process or the way economic interests or politics deal with places, practices or objects that have already been deemed worthy of preservation but also with those which have not previously received so much attention and whose conservation for future generations represents a major challenge.
Cf. as introductions ro different concepts of heritage: Fairclough, Graham et al. (eds.) (2007): The Heritage Reader, London and New York; Labadi, Sophia and Long, Colin (eds.) (2010): Heritage and Globalisation, London and New York; Harrison, Rodney (2013): Heritage. Critical Approaches, London and New York.
10
Dieter Haller - Achim Lichtenberger - Meike Meerpohl
This volume focuses on various processes and problems in dealing with cultural heritage using case-studies from Mediterranean Arab countries and from Turkey and by locating these issues within a global context. These papers were originally presented at an international conference Heritage, Tourism and Political Changes in the MENA Region, which the Centre for Mediterranean Studies at the Ruhr ?nivers~ty, Bochum jointly sta~ed wit~ the Konrad Ad~nauer F~undation, Rabat m Tangier (Morocco) from 15 to 16 February 2013." The chief purpose of the conference was to offer a platform to experts from countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean to discuss cultural heritage in relation to tourism and politics with scholars from Germany and the USA as well as with politicians and representatives of civil society, and to generate contacts and exchange ideas. An important objective was to break free from the Eurocentric view of heritage by comparing experiences, ideas and solutions from a variety of countries. An ancillary aim was to present and analyze critically relevant points in the relationship between cultural heritage, politics and tourism against the backdrop of the ongoing transitions and processes in various Arab countries. The essays are divided into two sections in which diverse perspectives within a range of topics are discussed, selected examples from a number of regions presented and a cross-section of the approaches described. Thus, it does claim to cover the whole theme exhaustively. The cases in the first section examine the ways cultural heritage becomes a process at national level, the political power structures and external influences are presented and its use in identity-formation are discussed, as well as internal and external conceptions of what constitutes an object, element or practice worthy of preservation. Furthermore, the case-studies consider the importance of cultural heritage in forming or anchoring national identities and question the political interests behind the various ways in which stakeholders interpret or exploit heritage at a national level. During the conference, the question of the relationship between national perspectives and the various interests of global or trans-national stakeholders, and their potential role was discussed repeatedly. In the context of the current upheaval in the Arab world, the unavoidable question arose as to factors that influenced the selective highlighting of certain sites, regions or cultural features and how they emerge in times of political upheaval, change or shifts or how they might become apparent in the future. In his article Tarek El-Ariss uses Turkish and Greek TV series to illustrate how the role of Turkey, a country widely regarded as a political role model since the unrest in the Arab world began, is changing to include aesthetic and erotic idols and how Turkey could assume the role of mediator in the region not just politically, but also culturally. Badiha Nahass follows with an example from Morocco in which she outlines the challenges and processes involved in opening the mountainous Rif region to 2
http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_35512-1522-1-30.pdf?130925123350 (accessed 31.10.2013)
Heritage, Tourism and Society in the Middle East and North Africa
11
tourism. She describes the possibilities for local participation, discusses the social and political construction of cultural heritage as a possible resource in identitybuilding and pleads for better cooperation between the various stakeholders. Rachid Benslimane also uses Moroccan material to discuss new technologies for recording, reconstructing and preserving decorative works of art, mosaics and ornaments. He provides concrete examples of how such records can now be used in the development of other art works, cultural tourism or marketing. Examining cultural heritage in Turkey Edhem Eidem explains the relationships between political intervention, economic factors and archaeology. He warns against false interpretations and points out that cultural heritage should not just be seen as tourist attractions that might contribute to the economic development but are also an important source of information for historians and archaeologists. Sabah Ferdi takes up this aspect using an Algerian case. She shows how the riches of various epochs and numerous cultures have been drawn on and how heritage tourism is being used to raise awareness of the country's cultural diversity and riches, thereby expanding knowledge of other cultures and regions. This, in turn, is seen as an enriching experience. Algeria, a country afflicted with a bloody civil war throughout the 1990s, is only now slowly rebuilding the tourist infrastructure. The lack of tourists is both a blessing and a curse for the preservation of cultural heritage. Mustapha El Qadery highlights another aspect in his chapter showing how two culturally distinct units - Arab Muslim Moroccan and Berber - were created in Morocco through colonial tourism policies and particularly through the commoditization of certain cliches closely identified with the cities of Marrakesh and Fez. He demonstrates how this became constitutive for post-colonial Arab nationalism, which made the Moroccans the bearers of national cultural progress while the Berbers were assigned the role of the exotic, backward minority and were treated more as folkloristic figures for tourism purposes. This situation did not change until 2011 when the new Moroccan constitution guaranteed equal rights to the Berbers. The necessity of seeing cultural heritage in its social context is the subject of Dieter Hailer's paper on the port city of Tangier. He shows how the period of the International Zone (1923-1956) is recalled by generations born since 1956 and how those generations look upon it as their heritage. In so doing, he shows clearly that the process of remembering must be interpreted against the backdrop of present living conditions. The second section of this volume focuses on the relationship between local and global interests and on the opening up of cultural sites for tourism. Cultural heritage is a particularly fertile field in which to examine the negotiation processes between national and trans-national or global stakeholders. These include the sometimes irreconcilable expectations of various stakeholders or institutions, such as UNESCO, NGOs or political authorities, which often have to face the conflicting interests of local populations or residents who might live near an excavation site or call the historic old district of a city, home. Such encounters can often
12
Dieter Haller - Achim Lichtenberger - Meike Meerpohl
entail conflict-laden negotiations over ownership claims and counter-claims. In this context other phenomena may appear, such as a group's search for its roots and identity or the commodification of traditional dances for tourism and therefore also for commercial purposes. This raises the question of which aspects of their own culture native populations themselves define as important heritage worth preserving and how they see tourism as the basis for a regional economy on the one hand, and as a disruptive factor on the other. In the many cases examined in this volume, it is evident that there are powerful political interests at work in the development of tourism to local historical sites in the countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Within the various processes, tourism can often have a great impact on these localities and cause serious conflicts. Here the question arises as to how far it is possible to strike a balance between local rights and global or trans-national interests and how the interests of external and local groups, their responsibilities and their specific perceptions of cultural heritage should be handled. Thus, Rudolph Kuper argues in his contribution on the prehistoric rock drawings at "Jebel Ouenat" in the Western Desert in Egypt that the preservation of cultural assets should not be solely the responsibility of governments but that locals and tourists should contribute to their conservation. Hence, they can only be protected from decay by means of management plans that have been carefully developed and sensibly implemented. This includes the training of rangers and the raising of awareness among both the local population and the tour guides. In this context, it is particularly important to consider the conflicts that the interests of trans-national and global stakeholders in local heritage can cause in the local communities affected. Ouidad Tebaa points out that in Marrakesh, Morocco, historical buildings are gradually disappearing and being replaced by tourist facilities. Plantations of palm trees are vanishing because water consumption in the large hotels has caused the water table to sink or the trees have been removed to develop tourism infrastructure. The question here is whether the conservation of cultural heritage is a western concept and thus represents anything but change for the better for the native population. Could it even be that their way of life will be so radically transformed through external factors that problems such as unemployment, alcoholism and crime result? On this issue, Meike Meerpohl discusses Petra, the city cut into rock in Jordan, and the processes involved in heritage-making and how divisions can become more pronounced if the interests of the local population are not taken into consideration. She advocates equal consideration for all stakeholders, better cooperation and, in particular, the involvement of the local population in the mechanisms of maintenance. In the relationship between tourism and its influence on the handling of heritage, the phenomenon of "heritage tourism", the successful management at an operational level and equitable access rights for locals and tourists are also issues to be considered. Fakhrieh Darabseh takes Umm Qais (the ancient city of Gadara) in Jordan as an example to focus on the challenges and obstacles to the manage-
Heritage, Tourism and Society in the Middle East and North Africa
13
ment of historical sites. She shows how Jordan's tourist potential could be expanded and exploited more effectively if management plans are sufficiently wellconceived and far-sighted to protect the valuable historical resources and avoid conflicts in the future. Thus, fundamental aspects of the determining, preserving and maintaining heritage must be discussed and the question posed as to who decides and on what grounds which artefacts, natural phenomena and immaterial goods are to be defined as heritage and which criteria are to be used in the process. In this context, the efficacy of measures to protect heritage should also be considered. Hoda Yacoub analyses this issue and assesses the success of national strategies to protect biodiversity taking a project in the Wadi Allaqi National Park in Egypt as a case study. The fundamental question remains as to the reasons for having heritage at all and, if we do have it, how should we preserve, upkeep and protect it. Hand in hand with the preservation of cultural heritage go impermanence, decay and the question of the sustainability of cultural heritage. Not everything can or should be preserved. Very often cultural heritage is not simply just preserved, protected or left to decay and be forgotten, but behind the scenes, there are a multitude of fundamental decisions made by stakeholders or sometimes it may even be coincidence that decides the future of a site, a region or an element of a culture. Using a number of examples from Jordan Anne Riedel demonstrates how appreciation from an ecological and an aesthetic perspective can affect the sites themselves. In this context, UNESCO's criteria for World Cultural Heritage are diametrically opposed to the interests of the tourism industry. In other cases, heritage can be a victim of side effects of events that do not always have anything to do with the decision conserving conservation - for instance in the confusion caused by war or when a natural disaster strikes. Thus, John Bornemann compares Germany's handling of its war legacy with the current political situation in Syria and points out that the consequences of the war in Syria could result in the total loss of cultural heritage. He advocates the use of all available resources to regain this heritage because, in his opinion, a cultural loss is not just a loss for one country but for all mankind. On the evidence of these examples it should be clear that cultural heritage and the handling thereof can never be examined or discussed without considering the local and global commercial, socio-cultural, political, economic and ecological contexts or local interpretations, as well as other varied, often conflicting, interests. The essays in this volume seek to approach the issues from a number of different perspectives and positions, from a variety of scientific disciplines and methods. They pose the question of how to handle cultural heritage in various contexts, highlight potential points of conflict and focus on a range of processes and problems. They shed further light on the formation of national identities during the process of "heritage-making", by pointing out the influence of political interests and discuss management plans and access rights. The various stakeholders with their differing interpretations and manipulations are also examined.
14
Dieter Haller - Achim Lichtenberger - Meike Meerpohl
The purpose of the conference in Morocco, at which the papers in this volume were first presented, was to put the theme "cultural heritage" into context with tourism and society; to present it from a number of different angles and to facilitate discussions between experts. With the publication of this volume, we wish to make these issues and results, experiences and debates accessible to a wider international audience and to contribute to and stimulate further discussion.
Bibliography
Fairclough, G. et al. (eds.), 2007. Tlie Heritage Reader. Routledge: London and New York. Harrison, R., 2013. Herirage. Critical Approaches. Routledge: London and New York. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2013. Patrimoine culture!, tourisme et transformations politiques dans la region MENA - Conference inrernationale organisee !es 15 et 16 fevrier 2013 a Tanger [online]. Available at: [Accessed 31 October 2013]. Labadi, S. and Long, C. (eds.), 2010. Herirage and Globalisation. Routledge: London and New York.
HERITAGE: NATIONAL USAGE, IDENTITY AND PERCEPTIONS
TAREK EL-ARTSS
Ottomania: Boy Love, Incest, and the Arab Spring
"Being a Creek and a grandson of people originated by Asia. Minor, l've a.lways remember my late grandmother saying stories from her homda.nd, which was Canakkale. I really rhink rhac che reason rhar Turkish series are so popular among Greek people, is because they remind rhem a parr of rheir lifes, as they used ro be. And yes, Turkish sweets arc the best, I was glad to find out that Gullyoglu has a shop at the center of Athens, with the best Turkish delights ever. And we love baklava as well!!!" (Takis T - reader's comment, Anatolia News Agency, 2012)
"It is said that the root cause for divorce in the Arabian Peninsula is none other than Muhannad, the handsome romantic hero on Turkish TV series. Do you think this is rrue? Anything is possible" (translation by EI-Ariss). (AI-Bishr, 2013)
"Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 778) had fled from a handsome yourh in a bath saying thar he saw a devil wirh every woman and seventeen devils with every beardless youth" (El-Roueyheb, 2005, p. 113)
Since the mid 2000s Turkish TV series have been in great demand in the Arab world, the Balkans and the Caucasus. Ranging from melodramas set in Istanbul to period pieces reproducing a glorious Ottoman heritage, these popular shows have triggered a longing for and fascination with the Ottoman Empire and modern-day Turkey, generating violent tensions and unconscious stirrings with radical implications on the evolving political and economic landscape of the region. For instance, The Magnificent Century (Muhtesem Yuzyil, 2011), which fictionalizes the life of Suleiman the Magnificent in a social drama full of intrigues and affairs centered on the Sultan's harem, was received with a mixture of enthusiasm and apprehension in Greece. The show has been credited with encouraging Greeks to learn Turkish and visit Turkey, and there are countless fan pages dedicated to the main protagonist on the Greek blogosphere. Conversely, the show has provoked a negative backlash in conservative circles, culminating in the New Dawn fascist party's sacking of the Athens offices of the TV station that aired it. Moreover, the "nationalist Thessaloniki Bishop Anthimos urged Greeks nor to watch ( ... ) 'By watching the Turkish series we are telling them we have surren-
18
Tarek El-Ariss
1-iig. 1: Kivanc Taditug as "l\1uhannad", Noor, 1-ip.6 (;\lja,kcdonlinc, 2017).
dered"' (Dabilis and Dautaj, 2012). In a n.:foreno:: to Gree,T's Ottoman past, this condemnation both accentuates the reticence to the show but also accepts its interpel lacion. By watching these series -The Magnificent Century in particular ,.,folc still calling Istanbul "Constantinople," Greeks expn:ss an ambivalence to the Ottoman heritage, full of apprehension and curiosity. Generating powerful infaruarion and violent reactions from a viewing audience extending from Arabia to Greece, Russia to the Balkans, Turkish shows have succeeded in activating a past that both fascinates and threatens. The relationship to this past defines and haunts the modern subjectivity and nation-srace boundaries of ex-Ottorna.n subjects, who a.re now YOl'acious viewers of these series. The quotation abo,·e by the Greek man whose family hails from Asia Minor which expresses a longing for an increasingly accessible yet rhoroughly fantasized Ottoman past, captures this multi-faceted relationship mediated by TV and cultural p roduction. This could be attributed to a neo-Ottornan aesthetic unfolding on TV and producing specific political and commercial effects across the region. By neoOttoman J refer less to the Turkish expansionist policies from the I 970s and 1980s or as recently articulated by some Turkish politicians, 1 and more to a historical, cultural, and political model thar operates ar the phantasmatic level, mediating the relations that currently bind Turkey to the Arab world and Europe. Ottomania, as the title of this essay suggests, locates this neo-Ottoman framework in compulsive viewing habits, tourism, and other consumption practices that express an all-powerful fascination with the Ottoman heritage and Turkey. But in what way are these historical, cultural, and political configurations, which are tradirionally explained by sd10lars as Islamist vs. secular, European vs. Middle East-
The current Minisre-r off ore-ign Affairs, Ahmer Davuroglu, articulated an e-ngage-menr policy visa-vis che Iblkans, :\,fiddle Ease, and che C auc~sus in 5ffare;ik De1·inlik (Srraregic Dep th) (200 I).
Occomania: Boy Love, Incest, and the Arah Spring
19
Fig. 2: The cast of Tl1c ]Vfagniftcrnc Crnrn1y, hrrp://,vww.bclk.cn/wp-content/ upload,/20 \ 2/ \ 2/J Iarirn-Al-Sulran.jpg
em, complicated when examined from the vantage of a neo-Orroman historical mediascape? \X'har is the importance of fantasy and the unconscious in the formation and recoding of political and historical ideology? How can the fi ctionalization of the historical, through TV in this case, mediate and shape political and social relations in rhe region? In order to address these questions, ir is important to contexrualize this investigation both historically and politically. The revitalized Turkish political role in the Arab world, from the Caza freedom flotilla in 2010 ro rhe Syrian uprising from 2011 onward, could certainly be explained in light of geopolitical shifts in the region. T his situation, however, should be examined as Turkey rurning eastwards due at Least partly to the stalled process of accession to the EU, and besr captured by Valery Giscard d'Esraing's and Pope nenedict's declarations in 2004 that T urkey's Ottoman past places it firmly outside of Europe. These political transformations should also he aligned with a series of cLJrural developments, among them the dubbing of Turkish TV dramas into Arabic. Laying the ground for T urkey's resumption of its historical role in the region and reintroducing Ottoman aesthetics at a number of levels, these shows portray the harem life of Topkapi palace but also the beauriftJ Ottoman villas on rhe nospho111s, reminiscent of a bygone age where Arab politi cians, exiles, intellectuals, and merchants once lived. These shows, which have played a significant role in turning lstanbtJ inro the prime destination for Arab tourists, also present specific erotic models with beautiful men and women, fair and blue eyed, engaging in various kinds of amorous cncounH.Ts.Part of a larger project on the fictionalization of the Ottoman heritage, this essay attempts to trace this moment of Arab fascination with Turkey and the Ottoman past -
20
Tarek El-Ariss
h g. J: Muhannad, Noo r, lip. 3 (Aljadcc:donlinc, 2011).
Ottomania - by focusing on the TV series., Noor (2005), and analyzing the representation of the male protagonist, Ki vane T atlitug. Examined against rhe backdrop of geopolitical shifts both in Turkey and rhe Arab world, this sho,v represents a moment of both political and sexual seduction, which finds profound historical and culrural resonance in the Arab unconscious. The fair and blue-eyed Tarlicug, or Mohannad, harkens back ro rhe beautiful Turk, the ideal ofbcaury in Arabic cultural histo1y, sung in poetry from the dassical age onward. He could also be the son of Suleiman the Magnificent from his Russian concubine, Roxelana, as portrayed in the more recent show, The M agnificent Cenmry, dubbed into Arabic as Harem al-Sultan. T his kind of beauty, which is still referred to in Lebanon as jamal al-atralc (Turkish beauty) is the outcome of intermarriages and racial mixing across rhe Orroman Empire from rhe Balkans to C rimea, from Anatolia to Arabia. T he beautiful T urk, whose looks could be associated with Hollywood or \X/estern aesthetic;;, is Ottoman through and through. In this context, I argue that the object of desire for both men and women, T adirug or Muhannad, is both the son and rhe lover, the beardless youth and the romantic hero who is blamed for the divorce crisis on the Arabian peninsula as the quotation above sarcastically suggests. Examining rhe reception of rhe show in Egypt after rhe January 25'h revolution (2011 ) , T link rhe longing and desire triggered by this and other TV series to a sense of disappointment ar the apparent collapse of the project of Arab modernity and of colonial-era boundaries of Arab nation stares.
Occomania: Boy Love, Incest, and the Arah Spring
21
Fig. 4: Muhannad (:'½cmasaad, 2008).
r:rom Imperial Nostalgia to Incest: Arah Media Landscape 1990s-2000s
On a visit to Beirur in 2008, I noticed a TV vievving phenomenon that I had never seen before as someone who grew up in Beirur and visits the city quire frequently. I witnessed my mother and her friends drop rheir radio sets and rheir daily listening to Umm Kulthum's songs, especially at night, in order to foll mv the Turkish TV series dubbed into Arabic. Names like Noor and Muhannad had entered rhe conversation through this wide door, competing with the usual gossip about Beirut marriages and divorces. lt ,,ms clear to me that they identified strongly with the lives of TY characrers, collapsing che distinctions between fiction and reality, Istanbul and Beirut, rhe Orcoman pasr and the modern Arab present. T his viewing experience also complemented frequent trips to T u rkey, which had been shunned for years hy those very natives of Beirut who looked only ro Paris and London for culture and enrerrainmenr. Today, five years since I fi rst took notice of this phenomenon, Ono mania is in Full swing. T he daily consmnption of Turkish TV, the frequent trips to Turkey, and the fascination with all that is Turkish and Ottoman have revived a powerful historical arcachmem and a resurgence of Ottoman aesthetics translated in contemporary art, clothing style, interior design, and architecture. Tunisians and Lebanese, Syrians and Jordanians, are now immersed in a phancasmatic structure playing our on TV and in living rooms, as enrerrainment bur also as a srrucmre of longing and identification. Noc only an: they flocking to Turkey as tourists, hut many of them arc holding their weddings there and calling newborns after their favorite characters.
22
Tarek El-Ariss
Fig. 5: The "Muhannad Type" (Facebook, 2013).
The longing for princesses and sultans, palaces and divans, disavows a politicohistorical longing for rhe Ottoman Empire on rhe one band, and a genetic longing for the beautiful Turks, Circassians, Albanians, and all the other ethnicities that made their way to the contemporary Arah world and families through the Ottoman system and irs rrade in mercenaries and concubines, victories and defeat, migration and displacement. This longing is very d ear in Harem al-Su/ran, which centers on Sultan Suleiman's relation to Roxelana (Hiyam, in Ara hie), the beautiful Russian concubine from Crimea that the Arabs, in more recent history, ideali7.e as the model of beauty and erotic pleasure. These shows and their reception are sites of negotiation and flirtation with the historical, th e pre-modem, the unconscious, and the aesthetic ar various levels. Turkish TV and the life of palaces, villas, and multiple partners were not the first to fascinate Arabs in recent TV history. As early as rhe late 1990s and early 2000s, shows about historical personalities and Arab-Islamic heroes were crucial to the polirical context of rhat rime period. This period u1lminared in Hizbullah's war with brad in 2006, and the catapulting to stardom of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, the "intrepid warrior", dressed in traditional Muslim-Arab garb. The image of rhe strong and chivalrous N asrallah , "keeping his promise" and defending the nation, ,vas played out both in TV dramas and on the politic.ti scene. Nasrallah, the "Sayyid" (a reference to his alleged descent from rhe prophet's family as well as the ride rhar Corneille used ro extol the virtues of the noble ruler for his tragedy, Le Cid (I 636)), the hero of that period among all Arabs but also other Muslims, was rhe noble warrior, endowed wirh courage and recrirude, and claiming divine victory. T he inremvining of TV and political events, the media production of historical personalities and
Occomania: Boy Love, Incest, and the Arah Spring
23
fiig. 6: Omar Borkan Al Gala, hrrp://imgkid.com/omar-borkan-al-gala-and-hisfamil y.slnml
contemporary political figures, paved the way for the reception of Turkish series dubbed into Arabic on the one hand, and for the events of the Arab uprisings on the other. This convergence of "pre-modern" fonta,,y with a staunch critiq ue of borh secularism and Arab modernity also taking shape in cultural and incelleccual circles requires further investigation when analyzing the social and political transformations that gripped the Middle East from 2010 onward. The premodern fantasy unfolding on TV (palace lite, polygamy, swords and horses, ere.) could also be traced to 'A 'ilar al-Hajj Mitwa//i (Hajj Mitwalli's Family, 200 I ), a show set in modern-day Cairo about an Egyptian machant who has four wives, each occupying one floor in his apartment building. With its polygamous structure, this Egyptian "Big Love'' both titillated and unsettled Arab viewers. Moreover, complicating polygamy and incorporating it this timc into incestuous and pederast models set in rhe past are shows about royal families, from the Abbasids to the Khedives. The Eg}11tian series, Al-Malik Farouk (King Farouk, 2007), played up the oedipal tension bdw(x:n Egypt's last king and his mother, Nazli. This dynamic was also fundamental to the relationship between al-Amin and his mother, Zubayda, in the shm,v, Abna' al-Rashid (AI-R1shid's Sons, 2006) , about the sons of Hamn al-Rashid, the paragon of the enlightened 1,lamic rukr in the classical period. ln this show, al-Amin is openly portrayed as being surrounded by effeminate mignons while his mother struggles to find him a wife in order to ensure his claim to the throne. \Vhilc conjuring up a. glorious pa.st, both series draw on
24
Tarek El-Ariss
Fig. 7: Omar Borbn Al Cala, h ttp://cdn2.thegloss.com/wp-t:omelll/uph1ds/20l3 /0/i/Oma r-lforkan-AI-Gala-Duba i-06. pn g,
forms of poly6ramy, inc [Accessed 18 Jam1ary 2013J .
BAD IHA NAHHASS
Les enjeux du processus de patrimonialisation au Rif Resume
Sur un site archeologique medieval, Al Mazamma dans la region d'Al Hoceima, !es travaux de construction d'un complexe touristique declenchent la contestation des associations locales. A travers la mutation d'usage dont ce site fait I' ob jet, j' analyse le processus de construction sociale et politique du patrimoine dans la region.' Cette construction s' appuie sur une histoire particuliere et un particularisme identitaire local dans le but d' en faire un instrument du developpement local a travers une politique de marketing territorial. II s' agit d' analyser ces logiques patrimoniales et les modalites d' expression de ce processus de patrimonialisation ainsi que !es modalites de mobilisation que developpent !es acteurs, notamment associatifs, pour construire et/ou convertir des ressources patrimoniales en ressources marchandes actives.
Le Rif et le pouvoir central Le Rif, en termes geographiques, est la region qui s'etend le long du littoral mediterraneen de Tanger jusqu'a la frontiere avec l'Algerie, a !'est. Toutefois, ii n' en a pas toujours ete ainsi d'un point de vue historique et cette definition ne correspond pas toujours a celle de des habitants de la region. Pour certains, le Rif ne serait que « la cote orientale mediterraneenne et !es montagnes interieures, autour de la ville d'Al Hoceima. » (Aziza, 2003, p.29) Le Rif a con nu une trajectoire historique speciftque, marquee par des periodes alternam resistance et ouverture sur le reste du Marne et le monde. Le Rif fut-ii un territoire de dissidence? Traditionnellement, ii est presente comme etant un bled Siba (territoire insoumis au controle du sultan), par opposition au bled el Makhzen (territoire soumis au pouvoir du sultan). Cependant, !es relations qu' entretenait le Rif avec l'Etat central furent beaucoup plus complexes et ne Ma recherche a ere con~ue clans le cadre d'un seminaire de recherche « Acteurs economiques et mouvements sociaux », anime par Beatrice Hibou et Irene Bono.
42
lhdiha Nahhass
peuvent etre cantonnees clans cette dichotomie siba/makhzen. Il ya toujours eu au Rif la presence d'un gouverneur qui representait le sultan ainsi que des garnisons, des casbahs comme celle de Seloun ou de Snada, meme si cette presence n'etait pas toujours synonyme d'un exercice du pouvoir et d'un controle effectifs. Selan les circonstances, les tribus rifaines repondaient aux demandes du sultan en contributions materielles en hommes et en ressources, comme ce fut le c..1s !ors de la guerre de Tetouan contre l'Espagne (1859-1860) ot1. le Rif envoya des contingents. Cependant, !es tribus pouvaient se permettre de refuser de payer Jes impots en periode de secheresse ou de ne pas envoyer de contingents en periode de moissons. Ces relations entre les tribus du Rif et l'Etat variaient entre obeissance ou dissidence, en fonction certes de ce que !'on nomme la ,, puissance » ou la « faiblesse » du sultan, mais pas seulement. Generalement, l'allegeance des rribus au sultan dependait aussi, clans une grande mesure, de !'attitude de ce dernier envers Jes envahisseurs etrangers, sacham que Jes importants points de la cote rifaine furent occupes par !es Espagnols. Apres l'independance en 1956, les relations enrre le Rif et l'Etat central furent marquees par le mecontentemem, des revoltes, des revendications et des tentatives de negocier de nouveaux rapports avec l'Erat central, bases sur la volome de « vivre ensemble» tour en respecranr les specificires locales. Les reconfigurations actuelles des relations entre le Rif et l'Etat central, le processus de «reconciliation» entame avec l'lnstance Equire et Reconciliation en 2004 et la politique menee par Mohammed VT dans la region, s'appuient ainsi sur la mobilisation de ces memoires faites de logiques de violence indissociables de logiques d'integration. C est ainsi que ces dernieres decennies, le Rif connatt des revendications memorielles qui font appel a cette histoire parciculiere et a ce parcicularisme identitaire fort. Le patrimoine constitue ainsi l'une des logiques privilegiees dans cette construction identitaire locale, mais aussi un moyen d'integration dans le recit historique national.
La construction sociale et politique du« patrimoine » au Rif Pour analyser ce processus de construction sociale et politique du patrimoine, mon point d'entree est un site archeologique dans la region d'Al Hoceima, ou des travaux de construction d'un complexe touristique avaient declenche la contestation des associations locales. A rravers le cas d'Al Mazamma, j'apprehende ce temps patrimonial pour pouvoir cerner les enjeux et les strategies qui soustendent ce processus de construction et d'appropriation du patrimoine comme ressource. Une ressource non pas seulement en termes economiques, mais aussi en termes politiques, sociaux et symboliques. L'appropriation du patrimoine renvoie d'abord aux retombees economiques : tourisme, valorisation immobiliere, creation d'emploi. Mais ii est aussi une ressource en termes de capital social et
Les enjeux du processus de patrimonialisation au Rif
43
d' affirmation d'une identite, l' expression d'une affectation collective de sens. II joue egalement une fonction de legitimation, qui renvoie aux capacites d'intervention et d'influence dans la sphere publique (Gravari-Barbas, 1997) des differents acteurs participant ace processus de patrimonialisation. La patrimonialisation est aussi un processus de construction de lien social dans le temps. A partir du present, elle construit des liens de continuite avec « les hommes du passe » (Davallon, 2006). Cependant ce lien se fait dans la perspective de la projection dans le futur a travers le devoir de transmission aux generations futures. Enfin, la patrimonialisation implique, le plus souvent, un processus de (re)construction territoriale, en termes materiels et symboliques. Les objets et lieux patrimonialises conferent au territoire une « identite » qui le distingue des autres territoires, et constituent simultanement des ressources actives pour I' exploitation economique et touristique. Generalement, le processus de patrimonialisation est apprehende comme un processus institutionnel, par designation. Cette patrimonialisation par le haut se fait atravers des reglementations et se concretise par des actions concretes de classification et de protection des objets patrimonialises. Mais le processus de patrimonialisation est en meme temps une construction par le bas, par les acteurs non institutionnels avec des references identitaires locales. Il se fait, le plus souvent, sous l'angle de la mobilisation et de la conflictualite. Il faut un evenement declencheur qui remet en cause !'usage anterieur d'un heritage ou sa conservation, un changement de proprietaire, ou un projet de demolition. Cest un moment ou emergent differents points de vue quant au traitement de cet heritage et des interets contradictoires sur !'usage de I' espace. Ce fut le cas du site archeologique Al Mazamma' qui represente !es vestiges de la ville d'Al Mazamma situee sur la cote mediterraneenne a !'embouchure de l'oued Ghis a 4 km au sud-est de l'actuelle ville d' Al Hoceima. Al Mazamma fut ediftee au 9eme siecle par les Banu Salih, !es fondateurs de l'emirat de Nekkour, premier royaume islamique au Marne, qui vit le jour au debut du 8eme siecle dans la region du Rif. Prospere port du royaume de Nekkour, Al Mazamma perdit de son influence avec la destruction de l'emirat par !es Almoravides en 1080. Elle retrouva son importance, d' apres !es textes de I' epoque', avec !es Almohades (12eme siecle) qui construisirent sa muraille. Tout le long des 13eme et 14eme siecles, Al Mazamma pratiqua le commerce avec !es puissances maritimes occidentales telles que Venise et la Catalogne notamment (El Rbati, 2012). Au debut du 16eme siecle, ce port
Le site n' est pas classe ni inventorie sur la liste nationale et n' a beneficie d' aucune protection reglementaire ou demise en valeur, cf. Programme d'Amenagement Cotier du Rif central (PACMaroc)/Patrimoine culture! historique du Rif Central. Rapport final, http://www.papthecoastcentre.org/pdfs/WEB%20Patrimoine%20culturel%20hisrorique%20du%20Rif%20 Central.pdf. Cf. notamment les textes d'Al Badissi: El Maqsad, vie des saints du Rif, traduction et commentaires de G.S. Colin, Archives marocaines, 1928.
44
13adiha N ahhass
tomba en decadence avant d'etre detruit au l 7eme siede par Moulay Rachid, le fils du fondateur de l'actuelle dynastie alaouite. Pendant la guerre du Rif - la guerre de resistance contre I' occupation espagnole menee entre 1921 et 1927 -, Al Mazamma devint le khalij des Imjahdan, la baie des combattants. Elle joua ainsi un role important, vu sa position strategique en face de l'i:lot Nekkour sous occupation espagnole. Elle acquiert de ce fait une certaine « sacralite » et devint « territoire de grande valeur historique ». Au debut des annees 1960, un village vacances du Club Mediterranee1 fut construit sur le site d'Al Mazamma, sans qu'il fasse pourtant partie de la strategie touristique du Club. Les installations touristiques, meme relativement legeres, puisqu'il ne s' agissait que de huttes en bois, mais aussi la vegetation dense et !es collines de sable ont fini par occulter !es vestiges du site, a I' exception de tronc,:ons du rempart de la ville, d'une tour et d'un bastion. En 2003, le Club Mediterranee ferme son village et en 2008, dans le cadre du programme touristique « Vision Al Hoceima 2015 »', un projet d'amenagement touristique « Souani Mediterranee » est inaugure. Le projet « Souani Mediterranee » a suscite I' enthousiasme d'une partie de la population locale qui, depuis la fermeture du Club Mediterranee, etait reduite au chomage. On parle de 300 postes de travail perdus suite a la fermeture du Club, en plus de la disparition d'un marche pour les petits agriculteurs locaux chez qui le Club Mediterranee s' approvisionnait. Toutefois des voix parmi !es acteurs locaux ont commence as'elever contre ce projet. Un comite d'associations locales a ete mis en place pour suivre le pro jet SouaniMed et celui du site archeologique Al Mazamma. II se composait des associations operant dans divers domaines : memoire et histoire, tourisme, developpement rural, environnement. .. , des elus locaux, mais aussi des acteurs a titre individuel, avec un coordinateur national et un coordinateur international base en France. Les griefs du Comite concernent, en premier lieu, la conception et la ftnalite du projet qui ignore « !es droits des habitants d'Ajdir, proprietaires du terrain», (L' Appel Sftha Souani, 2009) mais aussi « !es risques ou !es incertitudes liees aux Club Mediterranee S.A. est une entreprise franc;:aise fondee en 1950 qui exploite aujourd'hui 76 villages clans 26 pays a travers le rnonde. Au Marne, la societe dispose de six villages. La CDG (Caisse du depot et gestion) est l'un des actionnaires principaux du Club Med via la FTPAR Holding et la SIM (Societe immobiliere de la Mer), une autre filiale de la CDG consacree a l'achat et a la location des installations hotelieres exploitees par le Club Med au Maroc. « Vision Al Hoceima 2015 ,, est dotee d'un budget global de 8,5 milliards de dirhams, constitue principalernent d'investissements prives et d'une contribution des organisrnes publics (Office National Marocain du Tourisme (ONMT), l'Agence pour la Promotion et le Developpement Economique et Social des Prefectures et des Provinces du Nord ... ) a hauteur de 230 millions de dirhams avec la perspective d' accueillir 300 000 touristes par an et de creer 5000 emplois directs. Ce projet comprend trois valets. En plus de 'Souani Mediterranee', ii permema egalement la creation d'une autre zone touristique integree (NZT) de « Cala Iris,, ainsi que le developpement du « pays d'accueil rouristique » (PAT) d'Al Hoceirna. Le programme« Vision 2015 ,, prevoit aussi la mise en ceuvre d'un plan d' action relatif au volet formation et d' autres interventions relatives aux domaines environnernent, transport, promotion, formation et organisation institutionnelle, clans le cadre d'un developpement durable integre.
Les enjeux du processus de patrimonialisation au Rif
45
consequences d'un tel pro jet sur I' environnement et le site archeologique » (L'Appel Sfiha Souani, 2009). Comme on l'a deja evoque, la patrimonialisation est une construction sociale. Investir le site archeologique d'Al Mazamma d'une valeur patrimoniale devient ainsi un enjeu important pour des militants qui, depuis plus de deux decennies, plaident pour la « valorisation du patrimoine local» (L'Appel Sfiha Souani, 2009). Dans son argumentation contre le projet SouaniMed, le comite d'associations ne se limite pas a la seule dimension historique et archeologique du site Al Mazamma, qui devait, selon lui, beneficier des fouilles archeologiques. Ainsi conscient des limites de cette seule dimension et des enjeux qui desormais sous-tendent le site, ii prend aussi en compte la dimension ecologique. Le comite a plaide pour faire preceder ce projet d'une etude d'impact environnementale exhaustive sur l'hydrodynamique cotiere et fluviale, la formation et la disparition des dunes, le transport des sediments, etc. Une des dimensions importantes pour le comite est la creation d'emplois et la dynamisation de I' economie locale. II critique le fait que ce pro jet a ete devie de son objectif initial: « dynamiser I' economie de la region et creer des emplois » pour devenir « un projet immobilier residentiel sur un tel site » (L'Appel Sfiha Souani, 2009). Le comite soutient que les projets immobiliers peuvent etre realises ailleurs. II n'accepte pas de « deposseder les habitants d'une terre d'une grande valeur historique pour la morceler et la vendre par un promoteur immobilier a quelques privilegies aises » (L'Appel Sfiha Souani, 2009). Ce qui renvoie a la derniere dimension du projet critiquee par le comite, celle des violations du « droit foncier des proprietaires originaux des terrains » (L'Appel Sfiha Souani, 2009). Le comite rappelle que ces terrains etaient expropries par les autorites du protectorat espagnol sur une periode de 40 ans ; « le terrain appartenait a des habitants d' Ajdir, qui, en vertu d'un accord avec les autorites coloniales espagnoles en 1942, l'ont concede pour une periode de 40 ans aces dernieres, pour planter des arbres de protection contre I' ensablement des terrains agricoles. Au debut des annees soixante, apres l'independance, les proprietaires des terrains ' ont reclame aux autorites marocaines la restitution de leur terre, mais en vain. Ensuite, ii y a eu une mainmise des Services des eaux et forets sur ce site, suivie d'un transfert de propriete vers la CGI sous motif d'un pro jet touristique createur d'emplois ... Les habitants et la commune d'Ajdir sont leses, ii n'est pas normal que la CGI fasse d' enormes benefices sur la vente de terrains qu' elle a obtenus sous pretexte d'un projet de developpement benefique a la region. Nous demandons a ce que les vrais proprietaires soient indemnises. »7 (L'Appel Sfiha Souani, 2009). En 1960 !es proprietaires de ces terres avaient envoye une lettre au gouverneur d'Al Hoceima lui demandant de recuperer leurs terres compte tenu de !'expiration de l'echeance de 40 ans. Ils n'ont jamais rec;:u de reponse. Le rapport de la Cour des Compres de 2008 a releve le non-respect du principe de l'urilite publique concernant le transfert de la propriete clans le cas de SouaniMed. La mission de la Cour des Compres a constate que certaines operations de distraction ont ere aurorisees pour la realisation de projets d'investissement ne revetant pas le caractere d'urilite publique, et ce, contrairement aux
46
13adiha N ahhass
A travers des sit-in et des campagnes de communication, le comite reussit a mediatiser l'affaire d'Al Mazamma agrande echelle: presse ecrite, TV, reseaux sociaux sur Internet ... et a mobiliser notamment les Rifains immigres en Europe. 11 reussit a arreter les travaux de construction et a entamer des negociations, qui reunissent autour d'une table le Comite, les autorites locales et la societe chargee de la realisation du projet (CGI). A l'issue de ces tractations, la CGI a finance une premiere mission de fouilles archeologiques, realisee entre fevrier et mars 201 o, en vue de delimiter l' enceinte du site archeologique. Apres cette premiere mission, des vestiges et structures sont mis au jour et sont devenus visibles. Le rempart de la ville a ete degage sur plusieurs metres au sud et au nord-ouest ainsi que quelques tronc,:ons dans la parcie nord du cote de la mer. Ce moment Al Mazamma n'est qu'une sequence du« temps patrimonial» et de la « fievre memorielle » que connait la region depuis des annees. Le debat sur la memoire au Rif a emerge, au debut des annees 1990, avec la creation d'un certain nombre d'associations locales, porteuses d'un referemiel amazigh et d'un engouement pour l'histoire et la culture locales. Leur objectif etait de « faire connai:tre l'histoire du Rif », de « valoriser son patrimoine, ses traditions et ses coutumes ». Ainsi, le plaidoyer de ces associations a porte sur des revendications relatives ala creation des mecanismes susceptibles de sauvegarder et de defendre le patrimoine et la culture locaux (la creation d'un musee du Rif, d'un lnstitut d'histoire ... ) mais aussi politiques: reecrire l'histoire de la region. La tendance sera renforcee avec la creation en 2001 de l'IRCAM (l'Institut royal de la culture amazighe) et par la diffusion des emissions en langue amazigh sur les chai:nes de radio et de television, qui vont enfin assurer au Rifain « qu'il ne commet aucun crime en s'interessant a sa culture », me confie un de mes interviewes (entretien realise avec Omar Maallam, 2012). La mise en place de l'IER en 2004 (commission de justice transitionnelle) marque un autre moment important. Desormais, on plaide « pour une reparation collective qui prend en consideration la rehabilitation de la memoire collective et la reecriture de l'histoire de la region accompagnee par un processus du developpement economique et des reformes politiques susceptibles d'apaiser !es douleurs et de mettre fin ala marginalisation de la region ».
dispositions reglementaires prevues par le Dahir du 10 octobre 1917. La Cour donne l'exemple du projer SouaniMed (Cf. decret 2.08.424 du 18 decembre 2008 relatif au transfert du terrain SFIHA des Eaux et Forets au domaine prive de l'Etat).
Les enjeux du processus de patrimonialisation au Rif
47
Les entrepreneurs du« patrimoine marchand » ou comment faire de la politique autrement Ce plaidoyer pour le patrimoine' s' est transforme petit a petit en une professionnalisation, sous forme d' expertise et de savoir-faire en concurrence ou, face a l'Etat, en un moyen de se repositionner ou de faire autrement la politique. L'investissement en patrimoine devient ainsi une dimension importante dans le travail des militants associatifs non seulement en termes identitaires, mais aussi en termes economiques, comme source d' emploi et de revenu. A travers I' organisation des ateliers, festivals de la gastronomie locale et des fi~tes de mariage', la celebration de l'Annee Amazighe (Assagouass Amaynou), etc., des associations, comme !'association Annahda pour le tourisme ou !'Association Rif pour le Developpement du Tourisme rural, cherchent a reinventer !'heritage culture! local. Un heritage dont certains aspects, tels que la gastronomie, !es celebrations des fetes de mariage, !es costumes, chants, poesie, contes, proverbes, etc., sont tombes en desuetude ou sont en voie de disparition sous I' effet de la modernite importee, le plus souvent, dans !es valises des immigres rifains !ors de leurs vacances estivales. Le processus de reinvention touche aussi des elements ethniques non inclus, jusqu'a present, dans ce qui est considere comme le patrimoine du Rif. C' est le cas de la culture juive rifaine. Aujourd'hui, il existe des initiatives qui tendent a documenter certains aspects de cette culture : des monographies des villages d' artisans juifs, notamment l' artisanat du fer, des bijoux, des armes, des cimetieres ... L'autre maniere d'investir le patrimoine par !es associations est sa promotion comme une activite generatrice de revenus. C'est le cas de !'Association Rif pour le Developpement du Tourisme rural, qui travaille en collaboration avec !'association espagnole MPDL (Movimiento por la Paz) depuis 2005 sur le developpement du tourisme rural et la sensibilisation a la preservation du patrimome culture! de l'environnement dans le pare national d'Al Hoceima."'
10
Le patrimoine est entendu ici clans une conception large, ainsi que le conc;:oit la majorite de mes interviewes. II s'agit du patrimoine materiel (une liste des sites et monuments), du patrimoine immateriel (chants, contes, langue, rites festifs ... ) et du patrimoine nature! (pare national, en premier lieu et fond marin de la region). En 2011, !'association Annahda a organise, pour la premiere fois, un mariage collectif de 11 coupies. La fete de mariage etait celebree selon !es coutumes et us locaux (chants, costumes, repas ... ). Le pare national d'Al Hoceima a ete cree en ocrobre 2004 au sud de la mer d'Alboran sur une superficie de 48 460 ha dont 19 000 ha en zone marine, a proximite de la ville d'Al Hoceima (4°N, 35°14'N). II est !'unique pare national du Maroc sur la fac;:ade mediterraneenne qui comporte une partie marine avec plusieurs !lots et rochers. Le pare englobe un ensemble de milieux de grande valeur biologique. Carrefour des cultures amazigh, andalouse et juive, marque par une succession d'influences diverses au cours du temps, le massif des Bokkoyas en plein pare heberge en outre un patrimoine architectural, historique et culture! important. Habitat rural perche et fortifie, innombrables marabouts, sites historiques eparpilles clans les vallees, en sont quelques illustrations. http://data.iucn.org/ dbtw-wpd/edocs/2012-020.pdf.
48
lhdiha Nahhass
L'Association Rif pour le Developpement du Tourisme rural, outre des activites de formation, de sensibilisacion, d'organisation de sorties, a elabore des supports comme le guide touristique et historique du pare national, entre autres. Elle est aussi responsable de quatre gites ruraux situes au sein du pare. A travers ces activites de !'Association Rif pour le Developpement du Tourisme rural et celles du Reseau des ONG de developpement reuvrant dans le pare national d'Al Hoceima (ROD PAL), le pare emerge comme un territoire sacre. Cette sacralite ne decoule pas seulement de son statue de reserve naturelle, mais du fair qu'il abrite 101 marabouts a core de certains sites historiques. Cette don nee aide a plaider en faveur de la valorisation de ce patrimoine religieux et historique, mais aussi de la protection de ce patrimoine nature!. Siles militants de RODPAL insistent sur les marabouts, c'est en premier lieu clans un souci de protection de l'environnement, « le marabout a joue plusieurs foncrions, il etait un lieu de culte, de guerison, de concerration, mais aussi un lieu sacre, par exemple son bois etait sacre, personne n'y touchait, de ce fair ii a joue aussi le role de reserve de grains ». C'est cet argument que developpe H. Messaoudi, le president de RODPAL, pour expliquer !'importance qu'il accorde ace type de parrimoine pour« sensibiliser la population» au patrimoine nature! du pare. (entretien realise ave H. Messaoudi, 2012) Le milieu rural est aussi riche en termes de traditions, de feces, d'arrisanat. La valorisation de ces produits locaux est l'un des projets sur lesquels travaille !'association BADES, en parcenariar avec des ONG espagnoles et l'Agence espagnole de Cooperation internationale pour le Developpernent (AECID). La femme rurale devient la nouvelle figure dans ce marche du patrimoine. D'apres certains de mes incerviewes, « faire valoriser le patrimoine local est avant tout une activite generatrice de revenus et un outil d'emancipation de la femme. » (entretien realise avec Mohamed El Ao uni, 2012) Depuis 2004, !'Association BADES a cree un centre de formation clans le village d'Idadouchen, connu par sa poterie fabriquee par !es femmes, " dans le but de preserver ce patrimoine artisanal et d'assurer la concinuite des femmes dans ce domaine et leur assurer un revenu ». Le centre de formation a opere, au debut, sous la direction de la femme la plus a.gee de !'association, jusqu'a son deces, « pour transmettre son savoir-faire aux plus jeunes ». Les femmes om beneficie aussi de cours d'alphabecisacion er de sensibilisation (same, education, cuisine ... ). Depuis, elles Ont cree leur propre cooperative, done la presidente avait ete l'une des premieres beneficiaires du centre de formation. « C' est elle qui gere aujourd'hui la cooperative, le compte hancaire, !es operations de vente et achac de leurs produits. Elle est devenue une femme independanre, qui voyage parrour au Maroc et ailleurs pour faire la publicite de leurs produics lors des foires ... » (entretien realise avec Mohamed El Aouani, 2012) Cette experience a ete reconduite avec d'autres femmes pour un projet de production d'un produit local, du 'terroir', qui a mene a la consuuction d'un centre de formation er d'une cooperative. La SOBARIF se consacre a la transform,ttion du cactus, ou plucot de dallahia - une espece qui n'existe que clans la region (Beni
I.cs cnjcux du proccssus de patrimonialisation au Rif
49
Boufrah et Beni Gmil), et produit des jus et des confitures. D'autres cooperatives de femmes ont vu le jour clans le but de promouvoir d'autres activites generatrices de revenus, axees sur la promotion de la memoire et le patrimoine par le tissage rifain, la broderie, les plantes aromatiques ... A travers cette feminisation de l' emreprenariat axe sur le patrimoine, !'association cherche a conserver le patrimoine, a assurer des revenus aux femmes mais aussi a desenclaver ces villages en vue de dynamiser le tourisme local et in situ. Depuis la construction du centre de formation d'ldadouchen, une voie d'acces au village a ete construite. Le centre de formation de la cooperative S0BARIF a ete bati a c6te du site de l'ancien marche hebdomadaire des femmes clans le but de le faire rena'itre. Ainsi, a travers des objets, des lieux, des produits, on voit comment ces differems acteurs produisent des patrimoines marchands et des territoires sacres. Cerce production se fair par le biais de modalites diverses : politique, economique, memorielle. Ces processus revelem aussi des vocations de professionnalisation et de nouveaux lieux de nocabilisarion, des roles de relais enrre le local, le regional er le national. Mais egalemem des situations de conflit et de concurrence entre des memoires ancagonisces, des pacrimoines et des territoires construits differemment. Cependant ces logiques contlicruelles n' excluent pas des strategies de negociarion et d'arrangement.
50
lhdiha Nahhass
Bibliographie Aziza, M., 2003. L:1 socied:1d rifena frente al pmtectorado espaiiol en Marrnecos, 19121956. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra. Dava.llon, J., 2006. Le Don du parrimoine : Une approche communicationnel/e de la patrimonialisation. Paris: Hermes Science-Lavoisier. El Aouni, M., 2012. Association BAD ES, entrerien realise le 29 aof1r 2012. El Ghelbazouri, f. er Lemallam, 0., 2009. "L 'Appel Sfllrn Sou:rni" - Dem:rnde d'enquere puhliqire urge11te concemant le pmjet touri,tique SOUANI aAjdir. Le comite de suivi du projet SFIHA-SOUANI. Gamblin, S., 2007. Tourisme international: Frat et societes locales en Fgypte: T.ouxor, un haut lieu dispute. These realisee sous la direction de Jean I.eca, Tnstitut d'P.tudes l'olitiques de Paris. Glevarec, H. ec Saez, G., 2002. Le p:icrimoine saisi par Jes associations. Paris: La Documentation fram,:aise. Gravari-Barbas, M. (de) et Guichard-Anguis, S., ed., 2003. Regards croises sur le parrimoine clans le monde a J'aube du XX.le siecle. Paris: Presses de I' U niversire de Paris-Sorbonne. Le Goff: J. (dir.), 1997. Parrimoine er passions idenriraire.s, Paris: Fayard et Editions du Pacrimoine. Minisrere de la Culture, ed., 2010. Diagnosric region;i/ de l'economie du patrimoine culture/. Fnquetes et recherches de terrain pour specifrer Jes donnees du diagnostic de l'economie du parrimoine culrurel Jans Jes regions de Guelmim-Smara, Souss-MassaDraa, '1'.1za-Al Houceima-·1:1011nare er l'Orienral. Marne: MDClr. Presses UniversiLaires de France, ed., 2007. Mc