Bu Hamara

1865 - 1909

The nickname of al-Jilali ibn Idris al-Zarhuni, a Moroccan pretender to the Alawi throne.

Initially a minor official in the Alawite dynasty in Morocco, Bu Hamara (Arabic, "the man with the she-ass") was imprisoned in 1894 on charges of forgery. Between 1901 and 1903, passing himself off as a brother of the sultan Abd al-Aziz, he rallied the forces of the Ghiyata tribal confederation in the middle Atlas mountains. His activity can be understood as one in a series of rural movements opposed to heavy-handed policies by the makhzan government. Bu Hamara effectively controlled northeastern Morocco until his defeat in 1908 and execution in 1909 by the new sultan, Mulay Hafid (Abd al-Hafiz).

Bibliography

Burke, Edmund, III. Prelude to Protectorate in Morocco: Precolonial Protest and Resistance, 1860 - 1912. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976.

Pennell, C. R. Morocco since 1830: A History. New York: New York University, 2000.

— MATTHEW S. GORDON