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Rabat – Many Moroccans have taken to social media to denounce FIFA’s cultural appropriation of Morocco’s heritage during the 2022 Qatar World Cup draw ceremony.
During the ceremony, the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) opted to decorate the stage in Qatar with a massive gate decorated with a Moroccan mosaic, triggering a wave of outrage among some Moroccan social media users.
The FIFA stage boasted a golden yellow gate with mosaic identical to the one found in the royal palace in Fes.
“Morocco’s unique heritage and craftsmanship made it representational of the Islamic heritage, but we as Moroccans feel that we should acclaim the artists. Morocco’s heritage is autonomous like Iran and Turkey,” a Moroccan social media user wrote on Twitter.
عراقة #المغرب و الاتقان الذي يتميز به حرفيوه عبر #التاريخ ، جعل الكل يرى فيه أحسن ممثل للتراث الإسلامي …
لكن نحن كمغاربة نرى أنه من الواجب الحفاظ على الأمانة العلمية و نسب الأشياء ألى أهلها ، أن #المغرب أمة قائمة الذات ، شانها شأن #تركيا و #إيران#تراث_مغربي_وليس_قطري— ذ. محمد بن عبدالله (@AbouamineMoha) April 1, 2022
Others took to Twitter to offer a brief overview of the cultural and historical significance of the gate.
“Dar El Mekhzen is the royal palace located in Fes Jdid, Fes. The palace belongs to Morocco’s ruling family, the Alaouin dynasty and it was considered to be Qatari heritage,” one commenter explained in a tweet.
دار المخزن هو القصر الملكي التابع للسلالة العلوية في مدينة فاس بالمغرب و قد تمت سرقته من طرف قطر و اعتباره تراث قطري ..
هذا #تراث_مغربي_وليس_قطري ?? pic.twitter.com/vArehGaQU7
— إحسان ⛤ (@BenIhsanne) April 1, 2022
It is not the first time that FIFA has used Moroccan heritage to promote the World Cup in Qatar. To announce the draw ceremony for the 2022 world cup, FIFA used a photograph from Morocco’s Mohammed V mosque in Rabat.
Following a wave of criticism, FIFA retracted the picture from its Instagram account.
Moroccans are notably accusing FIFA of confounding the cultural and historical heritage of the two countries, with some calling for boycotting the institution through the hashtag #boycottfifa.
Despite belonging to the group of Arab countries, Morocco and Qatar each have a distinctive cultural and historical heritage.
Dar Al-Makhzan, which was designated in (1981) as a UNESCO world heritage site, dates back to the Marinid era in the 1320s. The palace’s fortress houses a museum and the 14th-century Madrasa of Fes el-Jdid.
Read Also: The Beautiful & the Unflattering in Cultural Appropriation
