ABSTRACT
Morocco is the oldest Arab country. It acquired its separate identity as early as the close of the eighth century, when it broke away from the ‘Abbasid caliphate. The rulers of Morocco thus also served as religious leaders, exercising within their limited domain the powers of the caliphs; they also bore the title of imam, or head of the local Muslim community, and, after the fourteenth century, that of commander of the believers. In view of the major contribution to the struggle for independence, it was hardly surprising that the nationalist party leaders, particularly those of Istiqlal, expected to manage the political system of sovereign Morocco; but their hopes were illusory. Perched at the northwest corner of Africa, Morocco is the only Arab state washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Steep mountain ranges zigzag across Morocco’s 171,000 square miles.
