First Impressions

Hope everyone is well. I have been in Rabat, Morocco for just five days now. Here are some first impressions of things I have been paying a little bit of attention to and hope to explore in more depth (in no particular order):

WOMEN This is one of the cultural differences that I had anticipated being most intrigued by prior to coming and I am extremely interested in their place and function in the local culture and how women perceive this situation themselves. I am sure I will make this a theme in thought and writings, extending that to this blog. The bottom line for my first impression of women in society here is simply that it is more complex than I had thought. I don’t know enough about this yet so I’ll just relate what I have observed on the surface: Women seem to dress in a wide range of clothing. I can detect no set pattern; those that look more black-African (Sudanese, for example), more French-white or more Arab all seem to be equally likely to dawn a hijab (head scarf) or wear stylish Western garb or a full face covering, for that matter (although in the case of the full face covering I’d say that this is only about 1 or 2 in 10 women that I’ve seen; more in the old city wear it; more Arab-Spanish looking; usually 40+ in age). These inconsistencies also transcend generation. There’s no set pattern. All women, however, do absolutely seem to be making some kind of a statement with their dress choices. But wearing a hijab could be a conservative statement or a radically independent statement; political, social or religious, it seems; or just a fashion statement, as I saw one chick wearing hot pink shoes and a matching hot pink hijab. Briefings on current events and politics this week have focused more than I had anticipated on an Islamist Awakening throughout universities in the country and this seems to have some bearing on women’s dress. Many young people are aspiring to a pan-Arab-Islamic identity that extends to all facets of life (political, social, economic alliances) strong enough to offer an alternative to the “democracy” offered by the West that is seen here as imperialistic in the Middle East and surrounding regions. A return to Islamic values and the hope for a more pan-Islamic identity also addresses the search and need for a political system that will transcend the corruption of national politics that defined the second half of the twentieth century here under King Hassan II. In this way, young, educated, often pro-feminist women often wear the hijab, it seems, as a way of identifying with all or some of the ideals of this Islamist Awakening, which can and often does include an element of nationalism.

POLITICS I had not realized the totality of the power of the monarchy until coming. But Mohammed VI, 36 years old and king since 1999, seems determined to be a people’s king and to move away from the corruption and egoism of his father, Hassan II, who made Morocco famous for its human rights abuses throughout his four decade reign. Mohammed VI has been seen kissing children in the street and visits the sick and elderly in hospitals yet rarely makes a public speech. He loves to Jet Ski and we saw the Jet Ski club he sponsored the construction of along the river in Rabat. It is nice! He has done a lot to liberalize trade with the West, especially the U.S. and some speculate he has aspirations of bringing Morocco to a place where it might eventually have a shot at membership in the EU. At the same time, he is dependent on many Islamic countries, namely the United Arab Emirates and the Saudis for much economic aid and political solidarity. He needs to please both Europe and the Middle East while modernizing without losing tradition; the popular cultural hopes of his people (which I think could be oversimplified to be: modernize without losing tradition), over 75% of whom have a satellite dish and over 90% of whom are Muslim. He is infinitely more supported and loved than his father (it could be said his father was a Machiavellian and that he is not) and Mo VI has done much to try to balance this modernity/traditional thing. In 2003, for example, he changed the family code section of the law to grant many more freedoms to women. His approach was essentially to have scholars read the religious texts and if anything was explicit, keep it as law; if it was open to interpretation, secularize/liberalize it. This was extremely popular in many cities and in educated circles and among women and in Rabat 500,000 demonstrated support by celebrating in the streets. Islamists in Casablanca, alternatively, organized a demonstration in protest of more than a million strong on the same day and denounced it. The King has a very tough job, both as Commander of the Faithful (a lineage traceable back to the Prophet) and as ultimate political authority. In a sense, his challenge and the challenge of Morocco is as I expected and largely why I came here: Morocco can be seen as a microcosmic example of the socio-political clash between “the West” and the “Arab-Muslim world;” it must reconcile modernity and tradition to be at peace with its citizens and its international partners, broadly defined. Simultaneously, this question is emerging on the world stage: how will the world reconcile the two identities that seem to be at odds; East/West, Modern/Traditional? The balancing act is certainly interesting to watch and hopefully there are lessons to be learned here for how to walk a line that fosters mutual-enhancement for both sides. We’ll see.

RELIGIOUS LIFE Religious life is not as “crazy” (noticeably permeating, fanatical, total) as I had expected but I expected madness by this definition. The call to prayer five times a day is rather neat – megaphones throughout the city ring with the very guttural Arabic prayer notes sung out. Many people clear the streets and go into Mosques. It’s rather beautiful. It would be hard to be here for long without believing in some sort of supernatural force; the people commit to a faith so completely and totally that their experience of finding truth in it would be impossible, at least for me, to deny. This truth, framed as supernatural, must then be supernatural… or something. Naming it is not as important to me but in recognizing that it exists for them, I find some truth in the existence of that force here: their rituals and worship are very powerful. Local traditions reflect the Islamic religion but I am not so familiar with the Koran or Haddith as to pick up on it always; for example how people wash their hands and when (very well and frequently but it is ritualized…). I think this sort of deeper observation will come with time and study. What little I know of the language is totally inseparable from its religious context. Nearly everything seems to end, one way or another, one form or another, with “praise be to God.” The two most common male names are Mohammed (the Prophet’s name) and Abdul-something. I recently learned that Ab means “servant” and del means “of” and then the “something” is nearly always one of the 99 names for God. For example, the director of the CCCL (institute where I am studying) is Abdelhay; Servant of the Living. I will explore the topic of religious life extensively this semester; the first impression is just that it is not as in-your-face as I had expected but more subtly total in its permeation, which is, again, total, extending to all facets of social, political, economic life.

HOT TOPICS IN MOROCCO/RABAT
-Internationally: Last month’s events in Gaza have been a hot topic here. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated support and solidarity for the people of Gaza. The King has focused on it most as a humanitarian crisis and has made no comment but did send aid and received 100 or so victims in Rabat’s military hospital. Two shops on the way to my school that sell flags are thickly adorned with layers of the Moroccan and Palestinian flags; no others in sight. I was asked to write an article on Moroccan perceptions of what has been going on in Gaza for a Macalester publication and am capitalizing on it as an opportunity to find out more. I’ll post a link and perhaps a copy of the article on this blog early next week.

-Nationally: Recent university grads have taken to the streets self-advocating for government jobs. Although government jobs don’t pay as well, the benefits and securities provided by such work is in high demand, particularly and Western economies go down, and the young and educated want to participate in public service, it seems. Demonstrations that hope to inspire more hiring of this recent-grad demographic are happening several times a month and range in size but are often overwhelming and broken up by police, who, as my prof. said, “really try to discourage them from coming back…” by beating the crap out of them. We’ll see how things plays out.

-Locally: The Bouregreg Project is a project along the Bouregreg River, which cuts through Rabat. Billboarded walls along the river hide the development of a major construction project but show in photographs what the King and developers hope will be the final result: a Riviera-esque atmosphere attracting the region’s wealthiest. Developers from Dubai head the project and the King took a major active roll in attracting this foreign investment. Public feelings about this step towards “modernity” are mixed.

PROGRAM/PERSONAL The program is great. Pretty much exactly what I wanted. The students studying with me are bright, interesting and interested. Much like those who surround me at Macalester. The host institute for my SIT (School for International Training) program is called the Center for Cross-Cultural Learning and is housed in a four-story gorgeous mid-1800’s Andalucian home in the heart of the medina (old city; alleys, etc. Google Image Search: “Rabat Medina” and you’ll get the idea!). Professors are, so far, phenomenal; all have PhDs from U.S. universities so know the American culture and language well which seems also to well position them to translate Moroccan culture and society to this audience. The primary seminar I am taking is an overview called “Culture and Society” and is team taught by two professors; a political scientist (founder of the institute, head of this program for 17 years, member of Moroccan Human Rights Commission) and a cultural studies specialist (also excellent but know him less well so far). This seminar will be composed of 21 lectures; 10 of which will be by guest specialists (embassies speaking on relations, women on women, religious authorities, etc). We also have four conferences (human rights, politics, etc) and a number of excursions to different places, ranging from the highly cultural to the more “fun” (“to show internal diversity of Morocco” which extends to stuff like riding camels for a day in the Sahara). I am journaling regularly so will include more information in blog form about what I am up to as it happens. For an overview of my program, check out: (LINK) The other major component of my program is 3 hours of intensive Arabic (Modern Standard rather than the local dialect, darija) each day, five days a week.

… well, those are some first impressions/thoughts. Be in touch if you wish.