Muhammad ibn al-'Arabi at-Torres (; approximately 1820 - September 13, 1908) was a diplomat, representative of the

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

in Tangier, and foreign minister of Morocco at the turn of the 20th century. He was present at the 1906

Algeciras Conference The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...

, which established French preëminence among European powers in Morocco.

Biography

He was ''qa'id'' of Casablanca from about 1880. He then assumed the position of

Naib Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...

or representative of the sultan in Tangier in 1883, taking over for Muhammad Bargash.Albert Cousin et Daniel Saurin, ''Le Maroc'', Paris, Librairie du Figaro, 1905, . The duties of this post involved interlocution between the Makhzen and the European diplomatic bodies in Tangier.

Envoy to the Vatican

Torres, sent by Sultan Hassan I to Pope Leo XIII, led the first Moroccan diplomatic mission to the Vatican in 1888. The position temporarily became less important from the death of Hassan I in 1894 until the death of Ba Ahmed in 1900, when his role of

grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

was more important.Albert Cousin et Daniel Saurin, ''Le Maroc'', Paris, Librairie du Figaro, 1905, p. 80-82.

Algeciras Conference

Sidi Mohammed Torres landing at Algeciras

He served as plenipotentiary representative of Sultan Abdelaziz at the Algeciras Conference of 1906, although

Muhammad al-Muqri Haj Muhammad Ben Abdessalam al-Muqri (, February 2, 1854 – September 9, 1957) was a senior Moroccan official of the late 19th and early 20th century. He was an adviser and grand vizier to several sultans of Morocco, including under French c ...

led the negotiations.''Le Radical'', 14 septembre 1908, p. 2. They encountered a number of challenges at the conference, chief among which was the matter of language, as they could not understand what was being said. They had to rely on an Algerian translator who was present in the service of France:

Abdelqader Ben Ghabrit Abdelkader Ben Ghabrit (; 1 November 1868 – 24 June 1954), commonly known as Si Kaddour Benghabrit () was an Algerian religious leader, translator and interpreter who worked for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was the first rector of ...

Release of the ''Qa'id'' of Casablanca

Torres negotiated the release and return of

Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Zaid as-Slawi Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Zaid as-Slawi () was the pasha, or ''qaid'', of Casablanca, Morocco and the representative of the Makhzen in the city at the time of the French bombardment and invasion of the city August 5-7, 1907. Biography He was origina ...

, ''qa'id'' of Casablanca at the time of the French Bombardment of Casablanca August 1907. as-Slawi had been taken to Algeria by force in the aftermath of the bombardment and invasion of Casablanca. Torres passed away in 1908, and was replaced by .

References

{{Portal bar, biography, Morocco Ambassadors of Morocco All stub articles 1908 deaths 1820 births