October 2005 Archives

Taste of Morocco :washingtonpost.com

A Moroccan stew, as well as the conical topped vessel that it's sometimes cooked in and always served in, is called a tagine. And this is where this kitchen really shines. Whether you order lamb or chicken, the tender meat falls off the bone, and the seasoning is superb. My favorite might be the chicken tagine with green olives and preserved lemon -- the last a tangy ingredient that gives many Moroccan dishes legs. When the belly dancer asks me to join her for a once around the room, I stay with the chicken. Now that's commitment.

Taste of Morocco's new Silver Spring location gets two and a half stars and is designated an "Editor's Pick" by the editors of the Washington Post.

Sabbah's Blog � Blog Archive � Terrorism Threat in Morocco

Sabbah's Blog reports that Al-Salafiyah al-Jihadiyah has issued a call for Jihad against the Moroccan government. The SITE Institute provides a brief history and description of the movement.

The CBC has a piece from last year on Salafi Jihadism. A reprint from Le Monde Diplomatique offers a chilling insight into the incubation of Islamic extremism in Casablanca slums.

Spain/Morocco: The authorities must be held accountable for the violation of migrants' rights - news.amnesty - Amnesty International

Amnesty International has condemned the Spanish and Moroccan governments' treatment of African migrants attempting to cross the border from Morocco to Spain at Melilla and Ceuta. In addition to describing the injuries inflicted on migrants at the border crossings, Amnesty documents the practice of abandoning them in the desert.

Al Jinane (fr) reports that the Moroccan government has denounced Amnesty's criticisms. A commenter points out that Europe bears a heavy responsibility for creating the conditions that have led to the current immigration crisis. Amnesty acknowledges this responsibility, but does not condone the actions of the Spanish or Moroccan governments.

The Morocco Foundation is now located at http://www.moroccanfoundation.org.

Much to my disappointment, Tingis, a glossy full color magazine with elegant photographs, has announced that it has ceased print publication for cost reasons. The magazine will henceforth be available only on the web.

Diary of a Nomad: Pride (& Prejudice) of the Southland

"Please," I corrected the man. "Tennessee is Southern. How could you have lived in a place like NYC and say the South wasn't friendly! We are known for our hospitality!" The man thought for a moment and then said, "Maybe Tennessee just isn't friendly to immigrants."

How many Americans anywhere could match the hospitality Moroccans show Americans?

A Mosaic of Arab Culture at Home in America - New York Times

Morocco Time � Police and Taxis

A vivid story of an ordinary grand taxi ride gone bad . . . almost. One of the great things about the explosion of weblog technology is the amount of new writing coming from Morocco, of which there seems to be more and better with every passing month. Morocco Time is one my newest "must reads."

Annuaire des blogs marocains - Comme une bouteille jet�e � la mer !

An unusually thorough and interesting list of Moroccan blogs.

Laila Lalami, author of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits and of the blog MoorishGirl, is being profiled by Moroccan magazine Tel Quel. (Available on line, in French, on October 28, 2005).

A timeline of Moroccan history.

Ramadan : Moroccan Associations organise ftour ceremonies in USA :: moroccoTimes.com

Washington Moroccan Club� and Houston Moroccan Alliance organised on Sunday the first "Iftar" ceremonies in Silver Spring (Maryland) and Houston (Texas) respectively.

Twenty " Iftar"� ceremonies, organised in the Moroccan way, are expected in many other American cities, on the honour of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish guests.

I had hoped to be able to attend the ceremony in Silver Spring, but with two young children at home, it did not seem very practical this year. Inshallah, this is a tradition that will continue.

Due East of Augusta: The Same Running Plot With Some New Characters

Peace Corps Volunteer R. Andy describes the cross-cultural challenges of donning shorts and going running in Morocco.

Morocco Said to Abandon Hundreds of Migrants in Desert - New York Times

ALGIERS, Oct 14 (AFP) - The separatist Polisario Front movement said Friday it has located hundreds of African migrants abandoned in the Western Sahara desert by Moroccan security forces driving them out of the country.

"Since Wednesday, we have located four groups of clandestine emigrants cast into the desert on orders from the Moroccan government in several parts of the liberated zones of the Sahrawi Republic," the movement's leadership stated.

The UN refugee agency and a UN peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara on Thursday said they were worried and seeking west Africans left to fend without water and food in the territory, disputed between Morocco and Polisario, at the start of the week.

The source may be dubious, but the story is horrific.

A French Accent

In Sweet Surrender's kitchen, co-owner and co-pastry chef Riyad Bouizar smoothes mocha butter cream on a chocolate cake before sliding it into the display case out front. There it joins a host of colorful French cakes and pastries offered by the small, five-month-old bakery and pastry shop in Arlington's Pentagon Row.

Two Moroccan cousins run a patisserie in the Washington suburbs.

Morocco Time � Review of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits�

This review of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits not only offers an interesting perspective on Laila Lalami's book, but also keen observations on the limitations of expatriate outsiders, however interested or sympathetic.

Morocco Finds Graves of 50 Killed in '70's - New York Times

RABAT, Morocco, Oct. 8 (Reuters) - An official Moroccan human rights group announced Saturday that it had discovered the graves of 50 political prisoners who died at secret detention camps in the 1970's.

What's With Those Spanish Enclaves in North Africa? - And what's so special about Parsley Island? By Daniel Engber

Slate describes the history of the Spanish enclaves, Spain's illogical insistence on maintaining them, and the immigration headache they cause the European Union.

The Bellingham Herald | news | | Risking their lives: Lalami explores the plight of Moroccan refugees

A short interview with Laila Lalami about her new book Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits. She discusses the risks people take to make it across the Straits of Gibraltar in search of a better life, and the effect on Morocco of large scale migration from countries farther South. In the second part of the interview, Lalami discusses how she became an immigrant in the United States, and the discipline that her writing requires.

I have belatedly discovered that Tel Quel magazine published in February an article (fr) describing the nascent Moroccan blogging phenomenon as a sign of the liberalization of Moroccan society, but also lamenting the lack of such internationally known blogging figures as Salam Pax, who blogged the Gulf War. Rachid Jankari, who is featured in the article, has a colloquy (fr) critiquing it, as well as extensive commentary on Moroccan blogging in general.