Maghrib in Past & Present | Podcasts
Education
Episode 66: Tuning in to Morocco’s “Recitational Revival”
According to some religious leaders and other intellectuals, Morocco is in the midst of a 'recitational revival' (sahwa tajwidiyya). Though its scope and effectiveness are not yet clear, the intention is a re-emphasis on two core Islamic disciplines that relate to recitation of the Qur’an: first, tajwid, a system of rules that govern pronunciation and rhythm of the Qur’anic text in recitation performance; and the variance of those rules across seven, coherent, recitals or 'readings' (qira’at) that are equally sound. Within this revival, Moroccan’s historical preference for riwayat warsh, a lesser-practiced variant of one of the seven qira’at has become almost a point of national pride, and thus the Moroccan state has devoted many resources not only to specialist study of the qira’at, but also popularization of tajwid through mass media.
Engaging fieldwork at a variety of institutions, including new and pre-existing schools and state radio, in this Podcast, Ian VanderMeulen, doctoral candidate in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University, maps an institutional framework of this revival and describes some of its core elements. In particular, he compares and contrasts the work going on at two institutions of qira’at study, the state-funded Ma‘had Muhammad Assadiss lil-dirasat wal-qira’at al-Qur’aniyya in Rabat, and the private Madrasat Ibn al-Qadi lil-qira’at in Sale. Taking inspiration from the growing field of 'sound studies,' and grounding his fieldwork in historical research on tajwid, the qira’at, and the history of sound recording, Ian suggests that the sahwa tajwidiiyya is less a 'revival' of previous practices of recitation per se, but a refashioning of such practices and their pedagogies through the application of new technologies, from modern classroom whiteboards to digital studio recording.
A performing musician, Ian holds bachelor’s degrees in music and religious studies from Oberlin College and an M.A. from The Graduate Center, City University of New York. His research in France and Morocco has been funded by NYU’s Graduate Research Initiative and the American Institute for Maghrib Studies.
This podcast was recorded at the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM) on February 7, 2019.
Posted by Hayet Lansari, Librarian, Outreach Coordinator, Content Curator (CEMA).
Entretien avec Farah Khelil au sujet de son projet Effet de Serre.
Thoughts on State-Building, Decolonization, Gender, and Tunisia: Insights from the Global 1960s
Modern Art and Architecture in Morocco in the Aftershock of the 1960 Agadir Earthquake
From Palestine to North Africa and Back: Transnational Solidarity in the Arts in the 1970s
رمي النفيات بالوسط الحضري: اغتراب في المجال ام عوز في التحضر؟
La pollution atmosphérique, un risque majeur en Algérie
Hygiène publique et citoyenneté : un lien indissociable
Durabilité et résilience urbaines face aux risques majeurs: outils et méthodes
En hommage à feu Omar Carlier (Décédé le 22 octobre 2021): Fabriquer une élite intellectuelle en situation coloniale. Le cas de l’hypokhâgne d’Alger 1929-1961
Museums, Cultural Infrastructures, and Multiple Publics in Morocco
Queens Of Words: Moroccan Women Zajal Poets
Roots And Traces Of Contemporary Cultural Life In Tangier
Writing on Kingdom Walls: Practices, Narratives and Visual Politics of Graffiti and Street Art in Jordan and Morocco
L’école de médecine de Kairouan dans l’histoire de la médecine arabe médiévale : repères historiographiques
Protecting Morocco´s Rarest Forests
Oran et ses expressions culturelles
Digitalisation des manuscrits arabes. Cas d’études : Les manuscrits traitant de la religion musulmane
Al-Harf as a site of Negotiating Modernism and Unity
Curating Modern Art from North Africa and West Asia: Methodological Conundrums and Contentions of Language
Berrechid 81. Retour sur une expérience collective à la lisière de l'art et de la psychiatrie
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Regenerative Skills
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast