Salah Chafik
Title: Zawāyā as Institutions of Alternative Public Service Provision in Contemporary Morocco
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Drechsler
Opponent: Prof. Dr. Michiel de Vries
Defense: 22 January 2020
Abstract: Non-Western, specifically Islamic, Public Administration offers a theoretical challenge to the notion of a global Western PA. This thesis provides an empirical study supporting the theory of Islamic PA in the context of Morocco by analyzing institutions known as zawāyā that are otherwise treated as mystical paths and retreats in the academic literature. By documenting various domains of public service provision through ethnographic research methods, this study details and argues that zawāyā qualify as instances of working Islamic PA in Morocco; PA that is markedly different from the global mainstream. Particular attention is drawn to their values and processes, which this thesis demonstrates are rooted in Islam yet address core public service provision activities clasically understood to be under the purview of the state.
Keywords: zawāyā, alternative service provision, Moroccan Public Administration, Islamic Public Administration, Non-Western Public Administration, Islamic Governance, Sufism.
