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Rabat – In addition to the politicization of sports, Algeria is now intensifying its cultural appropriation attempts against Morocco’s heritage, particularly with the zellige– a type of mosaic tilework.
According to Algerian media, the Algerian Ministry of Culture is preparing a “special file,” destined for UNESCO.
The file seeks to include “ Algerian zellige” in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intagine Cultural Heritage of Humanity this month.
The Algerian appropriation attempt came amid a series of hostile acts against Morocco’s heritage.
In 2022, Algeria sparked another controversy for celebrating zellige in an exhibition as its own cultural heritage.
“ [Zellige] is our heritage that we will not give up,” a video showed the governor of Oran Said Sayoud saying during the exhibition.
The mayor claimed that it is Algeria’s right to put zellige prints on its jerseys, blankets or the front of buildings.
“No one has the right to dispute it,”he added.
The claims came amid a legal case from Morocco against Adidas, when the international sportswear brand sparked uproar after issuing a jersey for the Algerian national team, claiming that the collection was inspired by the “architectural design of the iconic El Mechouar palace in Tlemcen.”
The act caused uproar and frustration among Moroccans, who called on Morocco’s government to intervene to protect Moroccan heritage and traditions against cultural appropriation.
In response, Morocco’s Ministry of Culture announced the official patenting of zellige of Fez by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
“The zellige industry dates back to the tenth century AD, when it flourished during the Marinid era [in the 13th to 15th century] in the honorable Kingdom before moving to neighboring tribes during the following centuries,” Morocco’s ministry said last year.
After the zellige controversy, Algeria’s regime shifted its focus to Morocco’s caftan. .
In a controversial application last year, Algeria attempted to include Moroccan caftan in its UNESCO file seeking to add the famous Moroccan traditional dresses into Algerian cultural heritage.
The controversial file included pictures of Moroccan caftans in the submitted dossier.
The photo shows Morocco’s “ntaa caftan,” one of Morocco’s traditional masterpieces in the country’s historic fashion.
The ntaa caftan takes its origin from the city of Fez, which is one of the few cities that is known for the production of such a type of emblematic and majestic traditional piece of clothing.
Read Also: Politicization of Sport: Algeria’s Bid to Spoil Morocco’s Diplomatic Triumphs at All Costs
