Mohammed V of Morocco

Mohammed Al-Khamis bin Yusef bin Hassan al-Alawi (محمد الخامس بن يوسف بن الحسن بن محمد بن عبد الرحمن بن هشام بن محمد بن عبد الله بن إسماعيل بن الشريف بن علي العلوي), better known simply Mohammed V (محمد الخامس) (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961), was the last Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957, and first King of Morocco from 1957 to 1961.

A member of the 'Alawi dynasty, he played an instrumental role in securing the independence of Morocco from France and Spain.

Sidi Mohammed bin Yusef was born on 10 August 1909 in Fes, and was his father's third son.

In March 1912, the Treaty of Fes was signed, turning Morocco into a French protectorate after a French invasion from the west and the east, resulting in an eventual capture of the capital, Fes.

While Mohammed's father Yusef bin Hassan spent most of his time in the new capital, Rabat, Mohammed spent most of his time in the Royal Palace in Fes, where he received education in the traditional Moroccan way, Arabic religious lessons.

However, Mohammed also learned the French language, which he did not master, as it was necessary to communicate with French authorities.

Mohammed V was one of the sons of Sultan Yusef, who was enthroned by the French in September 1912 and his wife Yaqut.

He married Hanila bint Mamoun in 1925 and in 1928, he married Abla bint Tahar, the latter gave birth to Hassan II in 1929.

Finally he married Bahia bint Antar.

Mohammed was enthroned as sultan upon the death of his father Yusef bin Hassan in 1927.

Early in his reign, his approval of the Berber Dahir drew widespread backlash and spurred an upsurge of Moroccan nationalism and opposition to continued French rule.

Initially more amenable to colonial authorities, Mohammed grew increasingly supportive of the nationalist movement later on.

On 18 November 1927, a "young and timid" 17-year-old Muhammad bin Yusef was enthroned after the death of his father and the departure of Hubert Lyautey.

At the time of Mohammed's enthronement, the French colonial authorities were "pushing for a more assertive 'native policy.'" On 16 May 1930, Sultan Muhammad V signed the Berber Dahir, which changed the legal system in parts of Morocco where Berber languages were primarily spoken (Bled es-Siba), while the legal system in the rest of the country (Bled al-Makhzen) remained the way it had been before the French invasion.

Although the sultan was under no duress, he was only 20 years old.

This dhahir "electrified the nation"; it was sharply criticized by Moroccan nationalists and catalyzed the.

Sultan Muhammad V participated in the Anfa Conference hosted in Casablanca during World War II.

This grew from protests regarding the Berber Dahir of 16 May 1930.

He was critical of early movements for reform in French colonial administration in Morocco before becoming a supporter of independence later on.

His central position in the Proclamation of Independence of Morocco further boosted his image as a national symbol.

During World War II he supported the Allies, participated in the 1943 Anfa Conference and took steps to protect Moroccan Jews from Vichy persecution.

Mohammed became a central figure of the independence cause after the war.

On 22 January 1943, he met privately with the US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Prime Minister of the UK Winston Churchill.

At this dinner, Roosevelt assured the sultan that "the post-war scene and the pre-war scene would ... sharply differ, especially as they related to the colonial question."

The sultan's 14-year-old son and future king of Morocco, Hassan II, also attended and later stated that Roosevelt said, "Ten years from now your country will be independent."

"There are competing accounts of exactly what Mohammed V did or did not do for the Moroccan Jewish community" during the Holocaust.

However, "though a subject of debate, most scholars stress the benevolence of Mohammed V toward the Jews" during the Vichy era.

Mohammed reportedly refused to sign off on efforts by Vichy officials to impose anti-Jewish legislation upon Morocco and deport the country's 250,000 Jews to their deaths in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps in Europe.

The sultan's stand was "based as much on the insult the Vichy diktats posed to his claim of sovereignty over all his subjects, including the Jews, as on his humanitarian instincts."

Partial Nazi race measures were enacted in Morocco over Mohammed's objection, and Mohammed did sign, under the instructions of Vichy officials, two decrees that barred Jews from certain schools and positions.

Nevertheless, Mohammed is highly esteemed by Moroccan Jews who credit him for protecting their community from the Nazi and Vichy French government, and Mohammed V has been honored by Jewish organizations for his role in protecting his Jewish subjects during the Holocaust.

Some historians maintain that Mohammed's anti-Nazi role has been exaggerated; historian Michel Abitol writes that while Mohammed V was compelled by Vichy officials to sign the anti-Jewish dahirs, "he was more passive than Moncef Bay (ruler of Tunisia during the Second World War) in that he did not take any side and did not engage in any public act that could be interpreted as a rejection of Vichy's policy."

Sultan Muhammad V was a central figure in the independence movement in Morocco, or as it is also called: the Revolution of the King and the People (ثورة الملك والشعب).

In 1947, he delivered a historic speech in Tangier, in which he made an open appeal for Moroccan independence and emphasized the country's ties with the rest of the Arab world.

His relationship with the French became increasingly strained afterwards as colonial rule grew more repressive.

On 9 and 10 April 1947, he delivered two momentous speeches respectively at the Mendoubia and Grand Mosque of Tangier, together known as the Tangier Speech, appealing for the independence of Morocco without calling out specific colonial powers.

In 1953, French authorities deposed Mohammed, exiled him to Corsica (later transferring him to Madagascar) and installed his first cousin once removed Mohammed Ben Aarafa as sultan.

The deposition sparked active opposition to the French protectorate and two years later, faced with rising violence in Morocco, the French government allowed Mohammed's return.

In 1956, he successfully negotiated with France and Spain for Moroccan independence, and in the following year he assumed the title of king.

Mohammed died in 1961 at the age of 51 and was succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Hassan II.