1. Mohamed Chafik, is a leading figure in the Amazigh cultural movement.
19 Facts About Mohamed Chafik
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Mohamed Chafik has worked extensively on incorporating Amazigh culture into Moroccan identity and is a leading intellectual of the Moroccan intelligentsia.
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Mohamed Chafik was born in the small village of Beni Ait Sadden, located in the Middle Atlas mountains.
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Mohamed Chafik was raised in a devout Muslim household by his wealthy agricultural family.
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Mohamed Chafik finished his secondary education at the lycee Moulay Youssef, now infamous for its temporary closure due to student protests that erupted in 1944.
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Mohamed Chafik began his career as a teacher in the mid-1950s.
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Mohamed Chafik stressed the importance of using an intersectional lens to look at the ethnic and linguistic complexities of Morocco.
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Mohamed Chafik pointed out that Morocco is not a purely Arab nation and nor is Islam solely compatible with Arab identity.
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In 1980 Mohamed Chafik co-founded l'Association culturelle amazighe.
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Mohamed Chafik advocated for this terminological change to reflect the Amazigh people's self-identification.
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Mohamed Chafik argued for creating and standardizing an Amazigh script while seeking comprise in its implementation.
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Mohamed Chafik offered that schools should teach this script along with the Latin alphabet for French and the Arabic abjad for Arabic.
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Mohamed Chafik fell somewhere in the middle of these two camps.
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Ultimately, Mohamed Chafik sided with the government but was sympathetic to their grievances.
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In November 2003 Mohamed Chafik retired from his post as director of IRCAM.
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Mohamed Chafik chose his colleague Ahmed Boukouss to fill the vacancy.
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Mohamed Chafik was the first to sign the letter and the government did in fact clarify the provision for Amazigh's official status.
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Mohamed Chafik still holds his position as a member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco.
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In 2018, on April 26, Mohamed Chafik was honored with the Prix de la Fondation de l'Academie du Royaume du Maroc at the closing of their 45 session.