Ouezzane

Ouezzane lies among the hills of northern Morocco, south of the western Rif. In the seventeenth century the Sufi saint Moulay Abdallah al-Sharif founded a zawiya here, making the town an important religious center. The brotherhood associated with the zawiya attracted followers from across Morocco, and its leaders acquired influence during a period of political division. The town’s position connected the mountain country with the plains to the west.