{"id":1276,"date":"2026-07-30T21:15:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/?p=1276"},"modified":"2026-07-30T21:15:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:15:35","slug":"1276","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/2026\/07\/30\/1276\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco’s Issawa Festival Concludes in Meknes with Major Concerts and Strong Public Turnout"},"content":{"rendered":"

MEKNES, Morocco\u00a0 |\u00a0By sara saoudi<\/p>\n

The sixth edition of the Issawa: World Rhythms and Maqams Festival came to a close in Meknes after four days of cultural, artistic and intellectual programming, reaffirming its position as one of Morocco’s leading events dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the country’s rich Sufi heritage.
\nThe festival attracted thousands of visitors to the historic venues of Bab Mansour and Place El Hedim, where concerts, academic discussions, heritage exhibitions and traditional Issawa performances transformed the imperial city into a vibrant hub of cultural exchange and spiritual expression.<\/p>\n

One of the festival’s major highlights was the International Symposium on Sufism, which explored the theme “Sufism and Major National Issues: The Moroccan Sahara as a Case Study.” Scholars, researchers and public figures examined the historical role of Moroccan Sufism in promoting religious moderation, social cohesion and national unity, while emphasizing the international influence of Morocco’s spiritual model, particularly across Africa.
\nAlongside the academic program, visitors explored a series of heritage exhibitions showcasing Morocco’s historical and cultural legacy. The displays included exhibitions dedicated to the Alaouite dynasty, the ethical teachings of Sufism, Morocco’s national unity and territorial integrity, as well as a collection of historic Moroccan coins that traced the country’s rich civilizational history.<\/p>\n

Music remained at the heart of the festival, with performances bringing together internationally recognized artists and leading Moroccan musicians. Lebanese singer Wael Jassar delivered one of the festival’s most anticipated concerts, while Moroccan artists Salma Chennouani, Zakaria Ghafouli and Ibtissam Tiskat also took to the stage. Traditional Issawa brotherhoods from several Moroccan cities captivated audiences with authentic performances of sacred chants, spiritual music and rhythmic ceremonies deeply rooted in Morocco’s intangible cultural heritage.
\nThe festival concluded with a highly anticipated closing concert featuring acclaimed Moroccan singer Asma Lamnawar and pop star Zouhair Bahaoui, whose performances drew enthusiastic crowds and brought the event to a memorable finale.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Beyond its artistic dimension, the festival continued to strengthen Meknes’ reputation as a destination for cultural tourism and heritage preservation. By combining traditional spiritual practices with contemporary musical performances and intellectual dialogue, the event offered a platform for intercultural exchange while celebrating the diversity of Moroccan identity.<\/p>\n

The strong public attendance throughout the festival reflected the growing national and international interest in Morocco’s intangible cultural heritage. As the sixth edition came to an end, the Issawa: World Rhythms and Maqams Festival once again demonstrated its ability to bridge tradition and modernity, positioning Meknes as a key center for cultural diplomacy and the promotion of Morocco’s enduring spiritual legacy.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MEKNES, Morocco\u00a0 |\u00a0By sara saoudi The sixth edition of the Issawa: World Rhythms and Maqams Festival came to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-showbiz-news","category-world-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",1536,679,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",150,66,false],"medium":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",300,133,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",640,283,false],"large":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",640,283,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",1536,679,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",1536,679,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",825,365,false],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-30-at-03.47.10.jpeg",590,261,false]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Breaking<\/a> Showbiz<\/a> World<\/a>","tag_info":"World","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1276"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1284,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276\/revisions\/1284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceofrussia.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}