The Ethnographic State: France and the Invention of Moroccan Islam

"The Ethnographic State: France and the Invention of Moroccan Islam" examines the underpinnings of the French protectorate in Morocco (1912-1956). Although the notion of a European nation “protecting” a non-European one was not new, Morocco under soldier-administrator-proconsul Hubert Lyautey (1854-1934) was to be something special. As one candidate for a top administrative post put it, yes, he had worked in a protectorate before, but not in “the protectorate.”Burke’s expert account of what France knew (and did not know) about Morocco and how this affected everything it did for 40 years is a cautionary tale. Convinced of their superiority in body, mind, and spirit and everything that constituted the advanced material and technical world of the 20th century, the French claimed to bring a new and “scientific imperialism” to Morocco. What this meant and how it was applied (and often mis-applied) to the conquest and rule of the people, places, and things of Morocco is the key element in Burke’s engaging story. As the title proclaims, France built the protectorate on its understanding of Morocco’s ethnographic realities. In their process of nation-building (or state-protecting) and as an element in the notion of “indirect rule,” Frenchmen “invented” an Islam rooted in the spiritual and political authority of the Moroccan sultan. In exploring why and how all this happened, "The Ethnographic State" probes the foundations and legacies of empires both past and present. It is a very good and very important read!

This is a hard read and to get the text fully you need to know French. Its an academic book, intellectually I found it challenging but glad I stuck it out because of the detail and insight into the diplomacy of the French occupation of Morocco.