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vii Acknowledgments It is the gift of cultural anthropology to demand a researcher’s commitment of body, heart, and mind. I am grateful to the many institutions and individuals in Morocco and the United States who supported my research and this book. Moroccan acquaintances, colleagues, and dear friends in Rabat and Fez set the gold standard for hospitality and collaboration. I am especially grateful to the extended family of Hajja Fatima and Hajj Abdelqader in Fez medina with whom I lived, and to their loving children (among them Sanae, Mounia, and Fatiha) and grandchildren who welcomed me in and sheltered and fed me, from my first fieldwork stint to my last. Sanae’s help in establishing contacts in and beyond the medina significantly advanced my research with women trance specialists and participants and, later, with participants in the Green March. Sanae and her family’s generosity extended far beyond this, however, to moments of flexibility and forgiveness of which I’m sure I remain ignorant. We are family. Also in Fez, I met my brother and friend, Mohammed, and his loving family. In calling me to Islam with nothing less than his ordinary example, and in renaming me Ibrahim, Mohammed offered me gifts beyond any return. As a modest substitute, I offer my love of Fez and a promise, inshaʾ Allah, to return as often as I can. The research for this book relied on numerous interlocuters in Fez as well as Rabat, across different ritual spaces, traditions, and social positions. I thank those who welcomed me despite my habit of crossing these boundaries: the experts who took time and care to teach me the details, context, and significance of the practices, and the clients, participants, and outright critics who shared their own experiences and observations of religious and daily life in Fez. I especially thank Madame Houria al-Wazzani and Dr. Antoine Fleury, who introduced me to the work of Mohamed Hassan al-Wazzani and kindly included me in several family celebrations. I also thank Aisha, author of “Hajjayat Dada Gnawiyya” in Chapter 6, both for permission to reproduce and translate her work and for sharing her private experiences with the unseen that inform her public activism. In Rabat, I enjoyed the institutional support of the Société Nationale de Radiodiffusion et Télévision, the Centre Cinématographique Marocain, the Ministry of Communication , the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Moroccan American Center for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE), and the Center for Cross Cultural Learning (CCCL). I am grateful to the directors and staff who permitted my entry and facilitated my research at each place, especially Mr. Daoud Casewit at MACECE and Dr. Abdelhay Moudden at CCCL. Abdelhay’s work as scholar and novelist, our far-ranging discussions , and his generous friendship prompted my interest in “the People” and the Green March as central figures and events of Moroccan modernity. At the Centre Jacques Berque in Rabat, I have recently enjoyed discussions of Sufism and politics with Aziz viii | Acknowledgments Hlaoua, Nazarena Lanza, Cédric Baylocq, and Marouane Laouina. My friend and colleague , Yelins Mahttat, also CCCL, improved my translation of “Hajjayat Dada.” Others in Rabat, including Ann Hawley, John Swepston, Mohammed Zahir, Abdellah and Halim Ait Ougharram, and the Ait Ougharram family, provided friendship, insight, humor, and often a place to stay as well. This book was conceived of in New York City in conversation with members of Columbia University’s Department of Anthropology. Brink Messick patiently taught me the crafts of research design and grant writing, shared his love of Morocco, and provided gentle guidance both during fieldwork and after. Elaine Combs-Schilling’s helpful criticisms of my thinking and moral support always came when most needed. I benefitted greatly from the advice and teaching of John Pemberton, Val Daniel, Marilyn Ivy, Lawrence Rosen, Kathy Ewing, and Vincent Crapanzano. Kathy and Vincent deserve special thanks for their contributions to an earlier draft of the book. Crossing and joining paths with fellow anthropology students Amira Mittermaier, Todd Ochoa, Deirdre de la Cruz, Juan Obarrio, Yukiko Koga, and Jenny Sime always improved my work and spirits. Above all at Columbia, I owe a debt of gratitude to Roz Morris, whom I affectionately call my “(tor)mentor.” While Roz’s contributions to anthropologies of media and religion are well known, these are equaled by her generous interventions as a teacher, reader, and colleague. Her capacities to listen and respond to ideas (and to elicit more rigorous engagement with them) have...

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