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Morocco (Arabic:
المغرب), officially the Kingdom of
Morocco (Arabic: المملكة المغربية), is
a country in North Africa with a population of 33,241,259. It has a coast on the
Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean
Sea. Morocco has international borders with Algeria to the east, Spain to the
north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with two small Spanish
autonomous cities, Ceuta and Melilla), and Mauritania to the south
Morocco is the only African country that
is not currently a member of the African Union. However, it is a member of the
Arab League, Arab Maghreb Union, the Francophonie, Organization of the Islamic
Conference, Mediterranean Dialogue group, and Group of 77, and is a major
non-NATO ally of the United States.
The full Arabic name Al-Mamlaka al-Maghribiya translates to "The Western
Kingdom." Al-Maghrib (meaning "The West") is commonly used. For historical
references, medieval Arab historians and geographers used to refer to Morocco as
Al-Maghrib al Aqşá ("The Farthest West"), disambiguating it from neighboring
historical regions called al-Maghrib al Awsat ("The Middle West", Algeria) and
al-Maghrib al Adna ("The Nearest West", Tunisia).
The Latinized name "Morocco" originates from medieval Latin "Morroch,"
which referred to the name of the former Almoravid and Almohad capital,
Marrakech.The Persians straightforwardly call it "Marrakech"while the Turks call
it "Fas" which comes from the ancient Idrisid and Marinid capital, Fès.
The word "Marrakech" is presumably derived from the Berber word Mur-Akush
meaning Land of God.
On November 18, 2006, Morocco celebrated the 50th anniversary of its
independence. Morocco recovered its political independence from France on March
2, 1956 and on April 7 France officially relinquished its protectorate. Through
agreements with Spain in 1956 and 1958, Moroccan control over certain
Spanish-ruled areas was restored, though attempts to claim other Spanish
colonial possessions through military action were less successful. The
internationalized city of Tangier was reintegrated with the signing of the
Tangier Protocol on October 29, 1956 (see Tangier Crisis). Hassan II became King
of Morocco on March 3, 1961. His early years of rule would be marked by
political unrest. The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south was reintegrated to
the country in 1969. Morocco annexed Western Sahara during the 1970s after
demanding its reintegration from Spain since independence, but final resolution
on the status of the territory remains unresolved. (See History of Western
Sahara.)
Political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a
bicameral legislature in 1997. Morocco was granted Major non-NATO ally status by
the United States in June 2004 and has signed free trade agreements with the
United States and the European Union.
 Morocco is an ethnically diverse country with a rich culture and civilization.
Through Moroccan history, Morocco hosted many people coming from East
(Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Jews and Arabs), South (Sub-Saharan Africans) and
North (Romans, Vandals, Andalusians (including Moors and Jews)). All those
civilizations have had an impact on the social structure of Morocco. It
conceived various forms of beliefs, from paganism, Judaism, and Christianity to
Islam.
Each region possesses its own specificities, thus contributing to the
national culture and to the legacy of civilization. Morocco has set among its
top priorities the protection of its diverse legacy and the preservation of its
cultural heritage.
Culturally speaking, Morocco has always been successful in combining its
Berber, Jewish and Arabic cultural heritage with external influences such as the
French and the Spanish and, during the last decades, the Anglo-American
lifestyles.
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