By ahblackwell
This past week, our focus in class was on religion. Our discussions were predominantly centered around women and their position in Islam, but topics also included Sharia’ Law and some Islamic history. We had one of our most productive and interesting sessions of the semester, so far, on Thursday when about ten or so students from Mohammad V University joined us. Normally our class is so big that it is difficult to approach any kind of conclusion or main point during group discussions. We also usually hold our discussion amongst ourselves (all American students) and our professors, without including much of a true Moroccan perspective. For our discussion on Thursday, which was focused on secularism and religion in each of our own countries, we were broken into much smaller groups, each of which included several of the Moroccan students who had joined us.
My group began with general conversations about the status of religion in our countries (the U.S. and Morocco). Both groups of students, Americans and Moroccans alike, could agree that their countries are not entirely secular. Although America has achieved “freedom of religion,” to a great extent, it is not a secular state. Nor do I believe it should be. We chewed over some of the specifics of each of our countries and came to the conclusion that religion is engrained within culture and, even within secular countries, individuals are affected by the culture and the religions they group up within, making it nearly impossible to entirely separate religion from politics. It was very interesting to listen to the Moroccan students and their opinions on secularism and Islam within Morocco. There were no unanimous opinions to be had during the conversation, not between Moroccans or Americans. However, a general attitude did exist: it is necessary for people, whether religious or not, to learn about other religions and be open to them. All religions leave room for the others and promote understanding and cooperation. It is when an individual interprets a religion and corrupts it in order to use it for political gain or promotion of violence that things become messy.
One of my favorite parts of the conversation was when one of the Moroccan students, Nassime, continued to say that Americans are lucky because they grow up experiencing many different kinds of people and religions and cultures, and therefore they grow up being more accepting. Here I was in Morocco, talking to Moroccan students who speak nearly perfect English, in addition to French, Arabic and Darija, living with a conservative Muslim family who had opened their home and their hearts to me, and I was being told that I am more cultured and understanding because of the variety of people who live in the U.S. Nassime’s statement is certainly true: though there is a large majority when it comes to religion and race in America, many of us at least grow up with classmates who are from other countries and practice different religions, and therefore we have some small understanding of the outside world. According to Nassime, because the overwhelming majority of Moroccans are Muslim and Arab, Moroccans tend to be less open to difference and change. Though his statement rang true, I wanted to stress that American students who choose to study abroad in locations such as Morocco are, more than likely, open-minded; but there is a large group of Americans who will never attempt to understand that which is different from them because they prefer living in their own high-minded bubble. Most importantly, I wanted to thank them for coming to us and being willing to meet and talk with us and speak in English, despite the fact that we were in their country and examining their government. Having young Moroccans to discuss these concepts with was incredibly enlightening and interesting. If we were to have the same conversation without Muslim Moroccan students, very little would have actually been accomplished.
We finished off our religion seminar week by traveling to Northern Morocco for the weekend. Ouezzane, one of the towns we visited, is a popular destination for Sufi Moroccans pilgrimaging to the burial sites of saints. One Islamic saint founded the town of Ouezzane when he decided to settle in the mountainous valley, his followers in-tow. Other neighboring cities and towns, including Chefchaouen and Asilah, are also famous sites of Sufi saints, as well as several Jewish saints. It is not surprising to me that some of these small valley towns, surrounded by stone-faced mountains and rolling green hills, are popular religious sites. It is difficult not to feel spiritual when perched high-up on a mountainside, surrounded by blankets of clouds and sky and endless green.
Ouezzane is also known for its production of olive oil and other olive products extracted from the olives grown in the trees in the valleys below. Home-made olive oil, made in a press run by a donkey from olives freshly-picked, is certainly delicious enough to make me feel religious. al-humdulillah!