Table Of ContentGuns, Culture and Moors
The history of the Moroccan troops in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) is the
story of an encounter between two culturally and ethnically different people, and
the attempts by both sides, Moroccan and Spanish, to take control of this contact.
This book shows to what extent colonials could participate in negotiating limits
and taboos rather than being only on the receiving end of them. The examination
of this encounter, in its military, religious, as well as sexual aspects, sheds new
light on colonial relations, and on how unique or typical the Spanish colonial case
is in comparison to other European ones.
Ali Al Tumais a JSPS fellow at the United Nations University in Tokyo, and was
a faculty member at Leiden University.
Routledge/Cañada Blanch Studies on Contemporary Spain
Edited by Paul Preston and Sebastian Balfour,
Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies,
London School of Economics, UK
11 Gunpowder and Incense
The Catholic Church and the Spanish Civil War
Hilari Raguer, translated by Gerald Howson
12 Nazi Germany and Francoist Spain
Christian Leitz
13 Churchill and Spain
The Survival of the Franco Regime, 1940–45
Richard Wigg
14 The Foundations of Civil War
Revolution, Social Conflict and Reaction in Liberal Spain, 1916–1923
Francisco J. Romero Salvadó
15 Ethnicity and Violence
The Case of Radical Basque Nationalism
Diego Muro
16 Medicine and Warfare
Spain 1936–1939
Nicholas Coni
17 The Francoist Military Trials
Terror and Complicity, 1939–1945
Peter Anderson
18 The Politics and Memory of Democratic Transition
The Spanish Model
Edited by Diego Muro and Gregorio Alonso
19 Mass Killings and Violence in Spain, 1936–1952
Grappling with the Past
Edited by Peter Anderson and Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco
20 Claiming the City and Contesting the State
Squatting, Community Formation and Democratization in Spain (1955–1986)
Inbal Ofer
21 Guns, Culture and Moors
Racial Perceptions, Cultural Impact and the Moroccan Participation in the Spanish
Civil War (1936–1939)
Ali Al Tuma
22 State and Revolution
Anarchism in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939
Danny Evans
Guns, Culture and Moors
Racial Perceptions, Cultural Impact
and the Moroccan Participation in the
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
Ali Al Tuma
First published 2018
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Ali Al Tuma
The right of Ali Al Tuma to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
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or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
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registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 9781138298132 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781315098814 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon
This research was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under
project number: 017.007.143.
Contents
List of illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Glossary xi
Introduction 1
PART I
Combat and life in the army 27
1 A military overview of the Spanish Civil War and the
role of the Moroccan troops 29
2 The Moroccans on the battlefield 40
3 The Moroccan and his army 80
PART II
Women and religion: the Moroccans and Spanish
society 107
4 Victims, wives and concubines: relations between
Moroccan troops and Spanish women 109
5 Moros y Cristianos: religious aspects of the participation
of Moroccan soldiers in the war 140
PART III
The Moroccan as enemy, the Moroccan as ‘brother’ 179
6 The Republic and the Moroccans 181
7 To be Spanish, to be Moroccan 203
vi Contents
Conclusions 223
Appendices 231
Sources 247
Index 257
Illustrations
Tables
2.1 Numbers and percentages of native and European troops in
the Regularesof Melilla 41
2.2 Numbers and percentages of native and European troops in
the Tiradores de Ifni 41
Maps
A.1 Spanish Morocco 231
A.2 The progress of the Spanish Civil War 232
Figures
A.3 The headquarters of Radio Sevilla 233
A.4 The author at the Muslim cemetery of Granada 234
A.5 Letter by a Moroccan soldier 235
A.6 Moroccan cavalry in a victory parade 236
A.7 The photograph, published by Keystone in November 1936, shows
‘a Russian tank captured by Moroccans at Torrejón’ 237
A.8 Nationalist General Varela wearing the Moroccan chillaba 238
A.9 and A.10 The uniforms of the Regulares 239
A.11 The emblem of the Regularesof Ceuta 240
A.12 The emblem of the 13thDivision 240
A.13 The decree, in 1942, conferring the Spanish nationality on a
Moroccan veteran of the Civil War. 241
A.14 and A.15 The first two Spanish Civil War veterans interviewed by
the author 242
A.16 The author with two Spanish Civil War veterans 243
A.17 Abdesselam Mohammed Al Amrani (left) and Mohammed ben
Al Ayyashi Al Zerki, two Spanish Civil War veterans 243
A.18 Masoud Ballah, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War 244
A.19 Poster of the 100thanniversary of the foundation of the Regulares 245
A.20 Regularesduring the celebrations of the 100thanniversary of the
foundation of their regiment 246
Acknowledgements
Many have made it possible for me to embark on this long research journey.
I thank NWO for giving me this valuable opportunity by financing this study,
through its Mosaic project. My supervisors and friends Henk te Velde and Eric
Storm filled this work with their useful insights and suggestions, and helped me
patiently find the way whenever I stumbled on blocks on the road. Another
mentor, Peer Vries, originally inspired me to research the role of the Moroccans
in the Spanish Civil War, and to his advice and valuable suggestions I owe much.
I can never express enough gratitude to Shannon E. Fleming who spent so much
time and effort in reviewing my work and suggesting improvements both in style
and content.
The help of many others was crucial. In Morocco I am much indebted to
Mustapha El Merroun who facilitated the contact with the Association of Former
Combatants and Victims of War but who was also generous with the oral history
material that he spent years collecting. I also thank the people in the Association
of Former Combatants and Victims of War who helped me interview wartime
veterans, from its head in Rabat, Al Amin Rqibat whom I met in 2011, to the
various directors of its branches in Tetuan, Chefchaouen, Zumi, Alcazarquivir,
Asilah and Nador, specially Ahmad Al Iraqi, Abdesselam Al Haddad and Al
Misbahi. Also of immense help was the historical section of the Regulares
regiment in Ceuta, and particularly Sergeant Rosado. To all the staff in the
different Spanish, Moroccan, French and Dutch archives and libraries, my gratitude
for the overwhelming help, advice and support I received.
I am also grateful to: Sebastian Balfour, Marlou Schrover, Ben Schoenmaker,
Gert Oostindie and Umar Ryad for their insights and helpful feedback. Other people
who helped realize, enrich or improve this work include: Rudibert Kunz, Jonathan
Browne, Annelieke Vries-Baaijens, Geoffrey Jensen and Soufyan Ballah.
My parents and brother have been, since I can remember, a constant source of
support and they will continue to be so. Finally, to my wife for her encouragement,
patience and love, I say: you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.
