Haj Ahmed Maâninou

Haj Ahmed Maaninou, like Abou Bakr Kadiri, maintained a weekly correspondence with the Hajji brothers while they were in the Middle East. Unfortunately due to the vicissitudes of time only two letters, one addressed to Said and the other to Abdelkrim.

Salé, April 25, 1931

My dear friend,

What is the reason behind this long interruption of our epistolary-like relations? Yet I am neither a stranger nor have I done anything to wrong you that I know of. Even if I have sinned, which could only have been inadvertent, the door to forgiveness would (surely) have remained open for me.

What might explain your silence must certainly be that you are very occupied by your studies. However that should not prevent you from finding five minutes each month to recall the good memory of your friend who, as Allah witnessed, thinks about you all the time.

My dear friend,

It is your duty to fulfill your commitment to write me at least once a month. I have waited in vain to hear from you but, alas!.. You must remember your friends left in misery and relight in them a flame of hope so they do not succumb under the weight of repression, exile, imprisonment and all kinds of punishment that is inflicted on them like a divine curse. You have chased them from your memory, or rather, you have committed a great mistake, may Allah forgive you.

You find yourself amid vivacious people, concerned about progress and who count among their innate qualities the love of life and courteousness. You do great good, dear friend, to reside so far away to quench your thirst for knowledge. As for us we have neither the means to educate ourselves nor the opportunity to enjoy being free.

Our every breath and gesture is constantly under surveillance. Laments, moans and sighs are inexplicable crimes leading one straight to the guilty dock as borne out by the verse from the great Iraqi poet:

My friend,

I have always considered you as such during times of adversity as well as ease. Far be it of me to think you have changed. I will allow doubt of our friendship only if it is by inadvertence. And so I await a letter with hidden pearls of which you know their secret to allow me to regain my self-assurance to deal with the extreme agitation of my present state.

Concerning our situation, I believe you are aware of what is happening here where nothing has changed that is worth the effort to cite. Only an increase in humiliations, misery, intrigues encountered by the innocent and muzzling that stifles all into silence.

We are totally deprived of the pleasures of life. We are not free to be educated neither here nor abroad. That is why you see my impatience for all that you can share be it just a summary.

As you know. the Middle Eastern newspapers with the exception of Egypt's "Al Ahram" have stopped reaching us. It is the only source of information that allows us to follow the proceedings of the Islamic Congress in Jerusalem. We have also received a Syrian magazine titled "Al Rabita Al Islamiya" (The Islamic Alliance).

I have no idea how long the government will continue to tolerate the entry to Morocco of these publications and whether it will soon add them to the list of banned newsprint. It is the only entity that can take such action without anyone's criticism.

My dear friend,

I wish to direct you to one of my acquaintances in Damascus name Said Habib. Originally from Algeria, he belongs to the Algerian contingent accompanying his Eminence Abdelkader El Jazairi to Syria. He currently works as staff in the Post and Telegraph Administration.

I wrote to him recently and spoke to him about you. I told him that you reside in Damascus as I have been told since as of yet I do not have your address in the Syrian capital. This explains why I sent this letter to you through your brother Abdelmajid.

I strongly recommend this person and ask that you visit him as soon as possible at the location I indicated to you. He is extremely helpful. You can learn from him about newspapers that you can send us from Damascus with no fear that they will be confiscated when they reach Morocco. He promised me to personally take charge of the mailing and asked me to provide him with a list of publications that are permitted to be mailed to Morocco and another list of banned newspapers and magazines.

He strongly recommended a newspaper from Damascus called "Al Bayane." It seems to me that it does not appear on the list of banned newspapers. Hence he could send it to us without any problem. I ask you to also send all articles and reports on the Islamic Congress as well as a selection of photos of the participants. We absolutely need this to have some notion of the activities of the Congress and its atmosphere. We thank you in advance.

Dear friend,

It pleases me to inform you that I went to Fez to visit the Karaouiyine and to meet with the Fassi branch of the National Movement. They all envy you and wish you much success in your studies. It surely did not escape your attention that the Karaouiyine University was reorganized but not in a very satisfactory manner.

In regards to our little town of Salé, our comrades are very studious and attend regularly the courses that are given there.

In contrast, the (Salé) Literary Club has not opened its doors since your departure.

All is well with your father and brothers Abderrahman and Mohammed. I ask that you share this letter with Abdelkrim which was sent to all and I wish that Allah may guide you, protect you and assist you in your studies.

Please receive the cordial greetings from all your friends.

Salé, November 17, 1932

Cordial greetings my dear friend,

I received you letter expressing your free conscience dictates that you undertake all sacrifices necessary to save our country. What a wonderful and devote man! May Allah provide more of your like and facilitate for us all the conditions to work closely and with solidarity to accomplish meaningful results to benefit the fatherland and its people.

Your successful results in your examinations have filled us with joy. We wish you much success in all your endeavors. May you remain in good health and may Allah assist you in your efforts. We have heard that your brother Abdelmajid and Abdelhadi Zniber have joined you in Damascus to register at your University, Why did they withdraw from the Islamic University?

Pass on our warm greetings to all your close friends and, in particular, to our dear friend Sheik Mohammed Adnan Al Jazairi. Remind him of the matter with Mohammed El Mayr who had sent him 100 Francs via the French post office and had asked for a number of items. He has received no negative reply or even an acknowledgement of reception. I look to you to respond quickly on this matter without forgetting of course to inform us of the news from Syria. You know well our material deficit with regards to newsprint.

I ask you to inform your brother Abdelmajid that I recently sent him at the Islamic University several editions of the "Assaada" newspaper and that I have not received any reply from him. I would like to know it he received this papers and whether I should continue to send mail to the Islamic Univeristy or to another address,

Remind him of his promise to us to provide copies of the oriental press which always gives us great pleasure. Tell to not forget matters of common interest. We have sent you in an earlier correspondence a detailed summary so you can be perfectly aware of the situation. I have also forwarded you information on the most recent publication of the monthly Arabic magazine, "Al Maghrib."