(Oulebsir 2004: 21). In Morocco, the new attitude towards the Muslim world
can be traced in new journals, such asArchives marocainesand theRevue du
monde musulman, which had imitators in Russia, Germany, the USA, and Italy.
The aim of theRevue du monde musulman, which started in 1906, was ‘to
develop in France more positive and extensive views of contemporary Muslim
societies, and to develop among the liberal Muslims a moral inXuence from
which our foreign policy can only proWt, whatever its objectives’ (in Burke
1984: 221). TheRevuepublished articles on most of the Islamic world and
included articles written by Muslims. Although its scope was contemporary
Islamic societies, the interest raised by this journal marks a striking change in
colonial attitudes discussed so far in the chapter.
This intellectual trend leading to a greater acceptance of Islamic studies had
repercussions beyond the chronological timeframe of this volume. In 1921, the
Institut des Hautes E ́tudes marocaines was created in France, and in Spain the
Escuelas de Estudios Arabes (Schools of Arab Studies) were set up in Madrid in
1925 and in Granada in 1932 (Burke 1984: 223; Dı ́az-Andreu 1996: 77) (about
earlier chairs see page 361). In these institutions archaeology was one of theWelds
of study. The years between 1900 and 1950 have indeed been seen as the most
fertileperiodofFrencharthistoricalscholarshipinNorthAfrica(Erzini2000:71).
CONCLUSION: RELIGION AND NATIONALISM IN
NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY
COLONIAL ARCHAEOLOGYAmong scholars of nationalism it is relatively common toWnd comments on
the religious character of nationalism. From its inception it has been argued
that nationalism emulates external religious forms. Nationalists create civic
ceremonies and patriotic symbols for which reverence should be shown.
Nationalism makes use of quasi-religious language, and has a similar need
for a wide community of followers. Nationalism is even described by some as
a secular religion (Anderson 1991: 12; Eriksen 1993: 107–8; Gellner 1983: 56;
Kapferer 1988; Llobera 1994: 221). Yet, despite their similarities, nationalism
and religion still remain two distinct ideologies which, however, are not
incompatible. Some nationalists select religion as one of the inherent features
of the nation (Hobsbawm 1990: 67–73, 124, 168–9). Several examples of this
have been discussed so far in this book. As seen in Chapter 4, theWght for
independence in Greece was supported in the West in part because of the issue
of the religion practised—it seemed inadmissible to Western Europeans that a
Christian nation which, furthermore, had been the cradle of civilization was
Russian Empire and French North Africa 275