Greater Morocco

Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan nationalist political leaders protesting against Spanish, Portuguese, Algerian and French rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan sultan. Current usage most frequently occurs in a critical context accusing Morocco, largely in discussing the disputed Western Sahara, of irredentist claims on neighbouring territories.

The main competing ideologies of the Greater Morocco ideology have been Sahrawi nationalism, Mauritanian irridentism, Spanish nationalism, Berber separatism and Pan-Arabism.

Irredentists, official and unofficial Moroccan claims on territories viewed by Moroccans as having been under some form of Moroccan sovereignty (most frequently with respect to the Spanish exclaves), are rhetorically tied back to an accused expansionism. However, Moroccan government claims make no current reference to the greater Morocco concept.

In 1963, following the Independence of Algeria, Morocco attacked a strip of its south-western regions (Tindouf Province and Béchar Province), claiming that parts of them were previously under Moroccan sovereignty. After a month of fighting and some hundreds of casualties, the conflict stalemated (see Sand War).

In the early stages of decolonisation certain elected Moroccan politicians, in particular some members of the Istiqlal party, like Allal al-Fassi, the sole advocate of "total liberation" who refused to enter France even to meet with his Monarch or long-standing nationalist colleagues, were in favor of claiming wider territories historically associated in some way with the Moroccan Sultan. This was initially not supported by the Sultan (later King) of Morocco. Al-Fassi's ambitions gained more support in parliament in the beginning of the sixties, leading to a delay in the recognition of Mauritania (independent in 1960, not recognised by Morocco until 1969).

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