Maslaha in the Maghreb: The Role of Traditional Institutions in Shaping the Commonwealth

Announced by CERIS, University of Pittsburgh

This talk will present ethnographic fieldwork from Morocco on purpose-driven indigenous institutions rooted in Islam. Often, the depiction of these institutions as decrepit mystical sanctuaries entirely neglects the wide array of public service domains that they autonomously operate in up to the present day, such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, and social services. These activities reflect their (self-understood) role in helping create a space where human dignity can be preserved and life can thrive – not from the vantage point of Washington or Brussels, but from that of the local Islamic tradition.

Salah's research is inspired by the age-old question and notion of ‘living and doing good’ or السعادة القصوى (eudaimonia). He studies the pursuit & understanding of public value creation beyond a global Western paradigm, focusing on purpose-driven indigenous institutions rooted in Islam.

In particular, he is interested in the role of these institutions in delivering public services to, taking on challenges for, and shaping the business and wider socio-economic environment of their communities. His approach to research is interdisciplinary, combining non-Western public administration, organisational theory, commons, economic sociology & history, technology governance, and ethnographic fieldwork.

At IIPP, Salah is Co-Investigator and Project Manager for the Islamic Public Value project (2022-2025) funded by the John Templeton Foundation. He obtained his PhD from Tallinn University of Technology, and previously studied at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and various traditional Islamic seminaries in West Africa.