MOROCCO AROUSES PAN AFRICANISM

By Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi.

For the Sultanate of Morocco to remain the only African country in World Cup semi finals going on in Qatar, has greatly  contributed to Pan Africanism.

Even when some Moroccans expressed themselves as Arabs and Muslims other than Africans, the African people remained committee to Banu Hashim kingdom in extreme North Africa.

But Morocco was smart enough to apologize to Africans and declared that it is an integrated part of Africa.

Morocco is derived from an Arabic word: Al Maghrib which means: The West. During the Khalifate of Umayyads based in Damuscuss and Abbassids based in Baghdad, Al Maghrib included Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania.

It even crossed Gibraltar a narrow part of Mediterranean Sea and conquered Iberian peninsula; Spain and Portugal where a combination of Arabs and Africans (Moors) ruled the peninsula for 500 years.

The Portuguese voyages of discovery and conquests led by Denis Dias who stopped at Cape Verde in West Africa, Batholomew Dias and stopped at Cape of Storm now Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and Vasco da Gama who conquered Natal, Mombasa, Malindi on East African Coastbin 1498, and Calcutta in India, was partly to revenge for Muslim conquest.

Morocco has a strong minority of indigenous Barbers  (farmers) Blacks just like in Algeria where Barber is now a second national language next to Arabic. In Islamic Republic of  Mauritania, the Barbers are the majority but under minority leadership of Arabs.

The Banu Hashim dynasty in Morocco and Jordan, and formerly in Iraq and Al Hijaz now Saudi Arabia, are said to belong to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). Banu Hashim family, and is one of the progressive Arab monarchies that are in a process of reforming from absolute to constitutional. It is the same with the Sultanate of Qatar and Kuwait, where there are, at least, parliamentary elections and where the king no longer doubles as prime minister like in Saudi Arabia.

But while most Morocco under Sultan Almansur (The Victorious) which conquered the West African  Songhay empire and introduced fire arms in the region in the 15th century, became infamous   for quiting  Organisation for Africa Unity in 1987, in protest against its recognition of Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic it Western Sahara under POLISARIO liberation group it wanted to do the same on Mauritania. Even when it returned to African Union recently, that was not publicised.

Yet, in sports it remained active in Africa Cup of Nations under CAF.

When Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana proposed for a United States of Africa , he was supported by only two African state leaders; Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea and Milton Obote of Uganda. Mist supporters of Nkrumah were Arabs; Gamal Abdou Nassir of Egypt, Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria and King Sidi of Morocco.

The next champion for a United States of Africa was Col. Muammar El Qaddaffi of Libya who told an Arab League summit in Amman, and a second Afro-Arab Youth Festival  in Munyonyo, that the Arabs , in Arabian peninsula, without a continent better be protected in Africa. He asked them to join AU the way he told Blacks’ states in Carribean.

African integration should be a compulsory subject in schools in Africa among AU member states including Morocco, so that Africans identify themselves regardless of colour.

The national , regional and continental unity and solidarity Africans demonstrate in sports including World Cup, should be done all the time in all spheres and there should be a ministry for Patriotism and Sports in African countries.