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Rabat – Moroccan historian Abdallah Laroui says that Morocco’s intellectual elite hold responsibility for holding back social, political and economic progress in the kingdom.
“My position in this issue has brought me much criticism,” Laroui said inn interview with Emirate Channel Abudhabi. “Rather than always blaming the officials, who have constraints [on public speech], I blame the intellectuals like me, who are free because they have a pen and papers to write whatever they want.”Laroui stressed the need for nuance when assessing the socio-economic condition of the kingdom.
“Contrary to what some people say, I view that we have progressed in some economic social and fields… However, we have regressed in other fields.”Laroui, who was recently named “Cultural Personality of the Year” in the 2016-2017 Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, scolded Moroccan intellectuals for not playing an adequate role in guiding the kingdom.
In his appearance on the show, he emphasized the need for an educational and intellectual approach based around contemporary issues.
“Modern culture that needs us and need our work. We should not live based on what our ancestors have written,” Laroui said.
The author of many canonical Moroccan history texts added that this should be combined with the incorporation of the Moroccan Arabic dialect into schools. “The use of [colloquial Arabic dialects] from the second grade to the sixth is possible throughout the whole Arab world,” noting that it is necessary to learn foreign languages in high school years.
