SAINTHOOD AS A FORM OF CAPITAL: THE CASE OF MARABOUTISM IN MOROCCO

Abstract

The concept of capital is one of the key notions which are used in the field of the social sciences. Capital can manifest itself in various forms, both material and immaterial. When it comes to the latter, an example that illustrates it with great accuracy is sainthood, which is the feature that defines the status of marabouts in Morocco and the Maghreb as a whole. From the perspective of Islamic theology, the question of sainthood in Islam is controversial. However, the author of the paper assumes that it is valuable to analyse it from the point of view of the social sciences as there is no doubt that it is a social and cultural resource which has a great impact on the lifestyle and status of an individual who is considered to possess it. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to show that the concept of capital – especially social and cultural capital – can be applied to the phenomenon of sainthood in Islam and to analyse it using the example of Morocco.