Editing Morocco (section)

=== Literature ===
{{main|Moroccan literature}}
[[File:ChraibiDriss.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Driss Chraïbi]]]]
[[Moroccan literature]] is written mostly in Arabic, Berber, Hebrew and French. Particularly under the [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravid]] and [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohad]] empires, Moroccan literature was closely related to the [[literature of al-Andalus]], and shared important poetic and literary forms such as ''[[zajal]]'', the ''[[muwashshah]]'' and the ''[[maqama]]''. Islamic literature, such as [[Tafsir|Quranic exegeses]] and other religious works such as [[Qadi Ayyad]]'s [[Al-Shifa bi Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa|''Al-Shifa'']], were influential. The [[University of al-Qarawiyyin]] in Fes was an important literary centre attracting scholars from abroad, including [[Maimonides]], [[Ibn al-Khatib]], and [[Ibn Khaldun]].

Under the [[Almohad]] dynasty Morocco experienced a period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the [[Kutubiyya Mosque]] in Marrakesh, which accommodated no fewer than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book [[bazaar]] in history. The Almohad Caliph [[Yusuf I, Almohad Caliph|Abu Yakub]] had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the [[Casbah]] and turned into a [[public library]].

Modern Moroccan literature began in the 1930s. Two main factors gave Morocco a pulse toward witnessing the birth of modern literature. Morocco, as a [[French Morocco|French]] and [[Spanish Morocco|Spanish protectorate]] left Moroccan intellectuals the opportunity to exchange and to produce literary works freely with the contact of other [[Arabic literature]] and Europe. Three generations of writers especially shaped 20th century Moroccan literature.<ref>Mohammed Benjelloun Touimi, Abdelkbir Khatibi and Mohamed Kably, ''Ecrivains marocains, du protectorat à 1965'', 1974  éditions Sindbad, Paris and Hassan El Ouazzani, ''La littérature marocaine contemporaine de 1929 à 1999'' (2002, ed. Union des écrivains du Maroc and Dar Attaqafa)</ref> The first was the generation that lived and wrote during the [[French protectorate of Morocco|Protectorate]] (1912–1956), its most important representative being [[Mohammed Ben Brahim]] (1897–1955). The second generation played an important role in the transition to independence, with writers like [[Abdelkrim Ghallab]] (1919–2006), [[Allal al-Fassi]] (1910–1974) and [[Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi]] (1900–1963). The third generation is that of writers of the sixties. Moroccan literature had writers such as [[Mohamed Choukri]], [[Driss Chraïbi]], [[Mohamed Zafzaf]] and [[Driss El Khouri]].

During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was a refuge and artistic centre and attracted writers as [[Paul Bowles]], [[Tennessee Williams]] and [[William S. Burroughs]]. Moroccan literature flourished with novelists such as [[Mohamed Zafzaf]] and [[Mohamed Choukri]], who wrote in Arabic, and [[Driss Chraïbi]] and [[Tahar Ben Jelloun]] who wrote in French. Other important Moroccan authors include: [[Abdellatif Laabi]], [[Abdelkrim Ghallab]], [[Fouad Laroui]], [[Mohammed Berrada]] and [[Leila Abouzeid]]. Orature (oral literature) is also an integral part of Moroccan culture, be it in Moroccan Arabic or Berber.