Soonar 
Former King’s Advisor, Dr. Abbas Jirari, died on Saturday evening at the Military Hospital in Rabat, at the age of 87, after battling a long disease.
Jarari was born on February 15, 1937 in Rabat, to a family of academics as his father, Professor Abdallah Jirari, was one of the pioneers of the Moroccan cultural movement at that time.
He joined Cairo University in Egypt and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Arabic language and literature in 1961, a master’s degree in 1965, and a state doctorate in arts in 1969.
He received a second doctorate from the Sorbonne University in France, and participated in the Fulbright Program in 1981.
Abbas Jirari joined the diplomatic corps of the Moroccan embassy in Cairo in 1962, and the faculty of Mohammed V University in Fez and then in Rabat in 1966. He was elected head of the Arabic Language and Literature Department at the Faculty of Rabat in 1973.
In 1979, Late King Hassan II appointed him as a professor at the “Mawlawya School”, where he taught Islamic education and literature.
He became a member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Regional Ulema Council of Rabat in 1983.
Later on, King Hassan II appointed him to the Royal Office in January 1999, while King Mohammed VI promoted him to the position of royal advisor on March 29, 2000.
He authored dozens of books on Moroccan studies, folklore, Arab-Islamic literature, Andalusian studies and culture, such as “The Question of Palestine in Moroccan Poetry until the Ramadan War”, and “Culture amid the Battle for Change”.
He received several decorations as the “Order of the Throne” (Wissam al-Arch) in Morocco in 1980, the “Medal of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco” in 1990, and the “Grand Prize of Merit” in 1992.