November 2006 Archives

Plane Prayers - washingtonpost.com

The Washington Post is critical of U.S. Airways for its decision to force six imams from boarding an aircraft last week after they unrolled prayer rugs and said their prayers before boarding the aircraft. The Post concludes, correctly, that "America can't become a country so locked by fear that those who unfurl a prayer rug automatically become suspects."

The Post also notes that there are reports of other suspicious behavior by the imams that may have justified expelling them from the aircraft. In cases such as this, I believe the pilot ought to have near absolute discretion to decide who boards his airplane. However, if the imams were denied passage not because of suspicious behavior but because they prayed, or were Arabs, or were Muslims, then they should sue the airline blind. Discretion, yes; discrimination, no.

Thanks to Crossroads Arabia. See also BlackProf.com.

As Monarchy Falters, Islamism Rises - Jamai Aboubakr - PostGlobal

Aboubakr Jamai, publisher of Le Journal Hebdomadaire, has an analysis of forthcoming Moroccan legislative elections in the Washington Post. Jamai points out that while the Islamic Party of Justice and Development commands the allegiance of only a small number of voters committed to a party, it is the overwhelming choice undecided voters.

When first asked about the party they would vote for, Moroccans chose the socialist party with 13% in support. The Islamist PJD party ranked third with 9%. But more than 55% of the citizens polled claimed to be undecided. When those 55% were asked to make up their mind one way or the other, more than 66% chose the Islamist party. That gives the PJD a tremendous lead over the other parties.

Secular parties have proven to be neither honest nor efficient, according to Mr. Jamai, with the result that they are increasingly being squeezed between the all powerful monarchy and the surging Islamists. Real reform will only come with more freedom and accountability in the government.

Update: For French speakers, Larbi has a very interesting commentary on the Economist Intelligence Unit's assessment that Morocco is one of the more stringent dictatorships in the world. Larbi points out that, for good or ill, the fact that Islam is the state religion and the activities of other religions are circumscribed makes the country less "democratic" from the Western point of view of the Economist.

Association of Moroccan Professionals in America

I came across AMPA while I was reading about Moroccan events in the Washington, D.C., a number of which AMPA sponsors.

Yale Daily News - Anti-Muslim posters shatter cultural illusions

Yale junior Altaf Saadi reacts to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad on the Yale Campus.

But the feelings of safety and comfort evaded me on the morning of Nov. 15, when, walking out of class, I was greeted by a hurried collage of blatantly racist, bigoted caricatures of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It seemed, in those two seconds in which my mind went from the conjugation of the subjunctive in Espanol to the absolute shock of realizing that the tidal wave of anti-Muslim sentiment had hit home, that I was alone in a campus of thousands. Was this really happening? At Yale? Do I really live among and attend classes with students who think this? That a place as forward thinking as Yale would harbor such inconspicuously racist attitudes was appalling to me.

Saadi criticizes the posters not only for misrepresenting the Prophet, but also for their anonymous posting. In a refreshing reaction to the posting, the Muslim Students Association, which Saadi says stressses openness and inclusiveness on compus, is sponsoring an open forum to discuss the posters. Clearly, Saadi recognizes the fundamental truth that the answer to offensive speech is not suppresssion or censorship but more speech. And yes, I think the Daily News should have run a picture of the offending posters so that its readings could (a) see what kind of material was being posted on their campus, and (b) judge for themselves the degree of its offensiveness.

As I was reading a post about the election of Keith Ellison, America's first Muslim Congressman, the following anonymous comment at Refusenik raised a number of questions in my mind:

He's also an ardent supporter of Gay rights and gay marriage and legislation (including full rights for domestic gay partnerships)...which is fine if that's your thing...but as a Muslim?

Apparently the anonymous commenter does not think that Muslims can support, for example. gay rights. It seems to me that questions of religion, sexuality, and politics are always more complex than that.

Ellison's possible dilemma as a Muslim has long been faced by American Catholics, culminating in the election of John F. Kennedy, who was quite explicit about the fact that as President of the United States, he answered to the American people, all of them, not to the Pope. Mr. Ellison is not primarily elected for his private beliefs, but as the representative of his constituents. However, the anonymous commenter also raised questions for me about how Muslims should confront sexuality and individual rights in a modern Islamic country such as Morocco.

My knowledge of sexuality in Morocco is spotty at best. I know that I was a bit surprised at the degree of rural prostitution. I had friends who were involved in straight relationships with Moroccans and friends who were involved in gay relationships with Moroccans. I am aware that homosexual activity is a criminal offense, and it is my understanding that there is a significant problem with sex trafficking in Morocco. America's most famous expatriate novelist living in Morocco, Paul Bowles, was but one of a number of prominent gay Americans who spent time in Morocco. Tahar ben Jelloun, at least in Le Dernier Ami, is quite frank about premarital Moroccan sexual relationships. And yet there is a strict requirement that women be virgins upon marriage. But there are always rumors of ways to cheat.

One might ask whether it is necessary, or important, or decent to pry into such questions. I think that it probably is, however uncomfortable people may find it, because sexual orientation and sexual practices are too often used to marginalize, victimize, or oppress people. Whether it is women or gays who choose to express or acknowledge their sexuality, doing so puts them at peril, not just in Islamic societies such as Morocco, but also in the United States.

SeeGay Morocco — Myths and Realities (contains some offensive references to "swarthiness"); What Is Going on in Morocco? Middle East Gay Journal (July 2006); Tahar Ben Jelloun, Le Dernier Ami

eatbees blog

By the way, the Islamist-Marxist divide on university campuses in Morocco ensures that student debate there remains mired in stupidity, with the two ideologies in a perpetual shouting match.

I remember being astonished when I was told that these were the two main intellectual currents at universities almost twenty years ago.

I have only just started reading eatbees, but it seems to be to me one of the most exciting things to happen to the English language Moroccan blogosphere in a long time.

I'm on my way to Connecticut for Thanksgiving, so there will not be much action here for the next few days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Saida!

On Faith: Salman Ahmad: Grapes By Any Other Name

The Washington Post is hosting a rather interesting debate on communication among different faiths. I was particularly struck by Salman Ahmad's parable of the grapes, which he begins with the observation that "Wine is a commonly used metaphor for truth and knowledge in Muslim Sufi poetry and folklore." Ahmad continues by recounting a story in which members of different faiths and nationalities are seeking the same "wine" in different guises.

Ahmad is South Asian, from Pakistan, but Sufi mystical traditions have played an important role throughout the Islamic world, including Morocco. I have only scratched the surface, but I am persuaded that it is a tradition that would repay further study.

The following story was flagged on my Google Alert for Morocco. Intrigued, I immediately clicked on the the link, only to find that Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) had, ahem, apparently pulled the story, perhaps out of embarrassment at Morocco's low ranking. Thanks to the miracle of Google, however, the story is also available here.

Morocco ranks 123rd in UNDP HDI, report

Rabat, Nov. 15 - Morocco ranked 123rd out of 177 countries in Human Development Index (HDI), according to the 2006 Report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Human Development.

Morocco is 8th at the level of Africa and 4th among Maghreb countries, revealed, here Tuesday, the report that was officially presented at a conference by UNDP representative, Mourad Wahba.

Each year since 1990 the UNDP report publishes a Human Development Index that looks beyond GDP at a broader definition of well-being.

The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and enrolment at the primary, secondary and tertiary level) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity -PPP- and income).

Morocco lags behind Seychelles (47th rank), Libya (64th), Tunisia (87th), Algeria (102th), Cape Verde (106th), Egypt (111th) and South Africa (121st).

However, the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), launched last year by king Mohammed VI to fight poverty and social exclusion, forecasts a clear improvement of Morocco’s ranking in the years to come, reads a summary of the UNDP report. Norway tops the HDI while Niger brings up the rear.

Last modification 11/16/2006 09:17 AM.
©MAP-All right reserve

The full report is online.

THE VIEW FROM FEZ: Morocco Times closes down

The View from Fez writes an obit for the Morocco Times.

C�rdoba Adds to Its Allure - New York Times

With the establishment of a new hotel and better tourist infrastructure, the ancient capital of the Andalusian Caliphate — once the largest metropolis in Europe and the continent's intellectual center — has attracted new interest.

Clifford Geertz; Altered Foundation of Anthropology - washingtonpost.com

Clifford Geertz, an anthropologist known in part for his field work in Morocco, died October 30, 2006.