Morocco’s Makhzen Plays “Tijaniya” Card To Re-position On African Continent

The Moroccan Makhzen regime has embarked on a search for alternatives to activate its diplomatic presence on the African continent, after its recent scathing setbacks. It did not find a way in this regard, but to play the chord of the Tijaniya caliphate that extends across the African continent.

The General Caliph of the Tijaniya Order in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prince Al-Senoussi Lamido Aminu, is in the Kingdom of Morocco on a visit that began on Saturday, aiming to “close the relationship and strengthen ties between the two countries,” according to the official Moroccan News Agency.

By the way, the Moroccan official media took advantage of this visit to talk about Morocco as the cradle of the Tidjaniya method, trying to rob an ancient Algerian religious heritage, given that the founder of this method is Sheikh Ahmed Tijani, who was born in the city of Ain Madi in the province of Laghouat.

The Tijaniya Caliphate is considered the most widespread Sufi order in the dark continent and even abroad, and it has gained great influence in African countries, especially Western ones, and is able to influence political decision-making in countries such as Senegal and some of its neighbors.

Relations between Algeria and Nigeria are witnessing ancient stability, and Nigeria is considered one of the African countries that support Algerian positions in many files, such as the Western Sahara issue, and the issue of the expulsion of the Zionist entity from the institutions of the African Union. It also links it to Algeria with a giant and ambitious economic project in the offing namely Algerian-Nigerian gaspipe, which links the two countries to Europe, passing through Niger.

Since the announcement of this project, the Moroccan makhzen system has not ceased to confuse it, by promoting a similar project, but it is still fake, linking Morocco with Nigeria through many West African countries, especially after Algeria’s decision not to renew the contract of the Maghreb-European gas pipeline, which connects Algeria in Spain via Moroccan soil.

What is the background to this visit? Is it related to the diplomatic conflict between Algeria and Morocco, which was clearly evident in the recent summit of the African Union, which was held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, against the backdrop of the Moroccan Makhzen regime’s support for Israel’s membership of the union as an observer?

In this regard, the former diplomat, Noureddine Djoudi, who worked for a long time on the African continent, believes that the Kingdom of Morocco is known for trying to exploit some symbols of the Tijaniya way in order to influence some African countries in their favor, based on a myth that the founder of this method is Moroccan in an attempt to jump on the facts.

The diplomat, who is an expert in African affairs, confirms that he talked with many Senegalese diplomats who follow the Tijaniya Order, and recorded their surprise when he assures them that the founder of the Tidjaniya Order is Algerian, and that he is from the region from which this diplomat (Laghouat) hails, because many Africans believe that the founder of the Tijaniya Order Tidjani is Moroccan, not Algerian, and this, in the opinion of the former Algerian ambassador to Nigeria and South Africa.

In the opinion of Noureddine Djoudi, Nigeria is a large country in the African continent and such practices cannot affect it. On the other hand, he urged the Algerians to communicate continuously with the Tijaniya Order in countries such as Niger, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin, and bring them to the city of Ain Madi, where the family of the Sheikh of the Order lies, although he died and was buried in Fez, Morocco, but that does not make him Moroccan, as he said.

The late Algerian President Houari Boumediene used to organize forums about the Tidjaniya Order, according to the diplomat, attended by all its followers from the African and European continents, the United States and Turkey.

Mr. Djoudi called on the sons of the Tijaniya Order in Algeria, especially the sons of Ain Madi, to highlight Algeria as the cradle of this religious method, and to participate in religious events in the dark continent with the support of the state, and the same is true for the Algerian diplomacy, which must take this matter seriously as well.