Origins There were originally two
zawiyas referred to as Dila'. The first zawiya was founded by Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Majjati al-Sanhaji (1537–1612), a branch of the Ait Idrassen confederation. This first zawiya was established towards 1566 and located near the
qsur of M'ammar, about 10 kilometres southeast of
Ait Ishaq (in today's
Khenifra Province). Under the leadership of Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, the brotherhood was able to establish itself in the Berber territory of the
Middle Atlas and
High Atlas mountain ranges. The zawiya was initially supported by the ruling
Saadi dynasty, who were themselves partisans of the Jazuliyya. • the
Sus, until
Draa River, under the control of the by Abu al-Hassan Ali ben Mohammed al-Susi Essemlali; • the plains of the northwest, from the Atlantic coast to
Taza, controlled by the marabout
al-Ayashi; • the
Republic of Salé, erected as an independent state by the
Moriscos; •
Tétouan, city-state governed by the Naqsis family; • the
Tafilalt, under the control of the
Alawites. The Zawiya of Dila' then appeared, under the impetus of Mohammed al-Hajj, since its foundation, as a movement combining spirituality and politics, mixing the ideology of holiness and
sharifism with aspirations for power by the Berbers. It took advantage of the weakness of Saadi power and the fragmentation of the country to extend its influence and control over several towns and regions in the north and center of Morocco. From 1637 onwards, the brotherhood started with the conquest of large parts of northern Morocco. By 1641, they had conquered
Meknes,
Fez and the port of
Salé; from where a rival marabout,
al-Ayashi, was expelled to the
Khlout tribe,
Apogee The Zawiya of Dila reached its peak in the middle of the 17th century, after having ordered the assassination of al-Ayashi in 1641, expanding its influence on the cities of Fez, Tétouan and
Ksar el-Kebir and on the Republic of Salé, as well as on the plains of the north-west and the corridor of Taza to the
Moulouya.
Mohammed al-Hajj, head of the zawiya, thus governed Fez since 1641 This time was particularly difficult for the
Jewish community of Fes, who through institutions such as
Tujjar as-Sultan, had important ties with the
Sharifi Saadi Makhzen. But the Dila'iya chief could still bring the town to submission by force. Muhammad Al Hajj placed a son, Abdullah, as governor of
Salé. Mohammed al-Hajj declined the appeal of the leaders of
old Fez to impose direct order in 1663 and retreated to the highland capital. The immediate family of Mohammed al-Hajj was exiled to
Tlemcen, while the rest of the Dilaiya notables took refuge in Fez. The Alawites spared the lives of his erstwhile hosts but assured the complete destruction of their political base. In 1677, Ahmad ibn Abdullah, a grandson of Mohammed al-Hajj, returned with the support of the
Turkish regime in Algeria and rallied the Idrassen and the other
Sanhaja against the tribes of the
Tadla which were in alliance with the Sultan. Three successive government expeditions were defeated by the reconstituted Dila coalition, until
Ismail ibn Sherif himself, occupied at the time with revolts in
Marrakesh and the
Tafilalt, led his troops and overcame the highland forces. The Dilaite contender remained in the region until 1680, when he disappeared mysteriously. == See also ==