Mohammed Zerktouni

Muhammad Zarqtuni (, ) (1927-June 18, 1954) was a Moroccan nationalist born in Casablanca, Morocco. He was active in the Moroccan Nationalist Movement and is considered a symbol of Moroccan resistance to French colonialism.

Early life Muhammad Zarqtuni was born in the Medina of Casablanca in 1927. His mother was Khudooj Bint Reis of Fes and his father was the muqqadim of the Hamdushiya Zawiya, where Muhammad Zarqtuni learned to read and write. He soon enrolled at the Abdellaoui School, a school for learning hadith within the network of schools independent of the French system, administered by Moroccan nationalists in the early 1940s. Targeting French interests, he planted a bomb in the market at 10:00 am, and the explosion caused the death of 19 people.

He escaped the shots fired at him after the operation, but was captured by the forces of the French Protectorate shortly thereafter. On June 18, 1954, while imprisoned, he committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide tablet. Possessing critical and sensitive information, Zarqtuni did not want to risk giving up any secrets under torture that might betray his country. He is widely regarded as a national hero in Morocco, and as an icon of the resistance movement. One of Casablanca's main thoroughfares, Boulevard Zerqtouni, is named after him.

Family Muhammad Zarqtuni married Saadia Alami, also a nationalist and resistance fighter. She was born in Fes in 1936. Khaddouj Zarqtuni was the sister of Muhammad and she also participated in the resistance in Casablanca.