Bou hmara

Bou Hmara also spelled Bou Hamara or Bouhmara : (the one who owns a female donkey) (c. 1860 – 1909), a rogui or pretender to the throne of Morocco. His real name was Jilali ben Driss Zirhouni al-Youssefi (from his birthplace of Ouled Youssef () in the Zerhoun area near Fes).

He originally held the position of secretary to Moulay Omar, brother of Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz, but after some intrigues at the royal court was imprisoned. After release, he went to Algeria, from whence he returned (riding a female donkey) to Taza in the northeast of Morocco with the idea of impersonating Moulay Mohammed, another brother of the Sultan. Moulay Mohammed was venerated by the Moroccan public as a saintly figure, but although still alive and well, he kept to the royal palace in Fes and was almost never seen in public. Under this assumed identity, Bou Hamara proclaimed himself Sultan of Morocco. This was at the end of 1902, when he was about 40 years old.

He is said to have ruled ruthlessly in Taza and the surrounding area of the Rif and Nekor. He persecuted the Jews, who had to take refuge in neighbouring areas. He is said to have executed some of his opponents by soaking the victims in petrol, then setting them alight at night.

While ensconced in Taza, he was able to repel all attempts by the Sultan's army to invade his domain. However, by 1909, he had enlarged his area of control, and could not retain the loyalty of all the many different tribes it encompassed. In addition, he had alienated some of these tribes by selling mining concessions to Spanish interests.

By then the Sultan was Moulay Abdelhafid, a more vigorous ruler than Abdelaziz. Abdelhafid first attempted to discredit Bou Hamara by taking the real Moulay Mohammed to a public mosque; but this caused a near riot and was not repeated. Fearing that Bou Hamara was expanding towards Fes, Abdelhafid sent another army against him, armed with cannon manned by French artillery instructors. During the resulting battle, the cannon were used to shell a religious shrine where Bou Hamara had taken refuge, and he was captured.

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Wikipedia