Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, the white town perched on two hills of the Zerhoun massif, holds the tomb of the founder of Morocco — Moulay Idriss I, a descendant of the Prophet, who arrived there in 789 and founded the first Moroccan dynasty. Seven centuries later, it is still said that seven pilgrimages to Moulay Idriss equal one hajj for those who cannot go to Mecca.

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I. The moussem

The great pilgrimage takes place in August, over a full week. Several hundred thousand pilgrims flow in from all over Morocco — by bus, by car, sometimes on foot for the last kilometres. The town fills with tents, a temporary market, collective kitchens.

II. The rite

At the heart of the moussem: the visit to the zaouia where the saint rests (a zaouia forbidden to non-Muslims), the collective reading of the Quran, the hadra of the Sufi brotherhoods (Aïssawa, Hamadcha, Tijaniyya), the candle processions, the sacrifices of sheep for the poor.

III. The historical context

Moulay Idriss I had founded Fès in 789. His son Moulay Idriss II built there the Quaraouiyine (a mosque and later a university). The moussem is therefore at once religious and historical: it commemorates the founding act of Morocco as a political and spiritual entity.

∗ Sources

1. Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs — habous.gov.ma
2. ONMT — visitmorocco.com