Morocco Culture
- I have decided to go to Morocco. Yes, Morocco. “Why Morocco of all
places?” is a question that I have heard a million times since I decided
to go. For some time I have been thinking about traveling to a foreign
country to teach English as a second language. I have just graduated
with my Master of Arts, but there is no work for me here because so many
teachers have lately been dismissed from their positions. I have little
formal experience but the market is glutted with many teachers who have
years of experience. So I resolved to travel abroad to teach in a
language institute for a time in order to improve my resume and gain
some very valuable experience. After having decided to embark on this
adventure, I considered traveling to many places. I considered South
America, Asia, and Europe. They all have points which recommend them but
still I was not satisfied with any of those places.
The question which I was continually asking myself was “What country has
the most to teach me?” I wanted not just to go somewhere to teach, but
to also be taught. Europe was the first part of the world to be struck
from my list.
The United States is not much more than a European transplant. I would
learn some things living in Europe, but on the whole Europe is not
terribly different from the United States. I considered South America
but in the end, it is the same. While there are definite cultural
differences between North and South America, I simply did not feel drawn
there. I thought about Asia and while I think it would be interesting
to visit some of the Asian countries, I am still not sure that I wish to
live there.
Throughout the entire time that I was deliberating on this decision, I
was thinking about Islam and the Islamic world. I began to think that
perhaps that part of the world has things to offer to me that these
other places do not. Why, after all, would I want to live in a country
that is similar to my own? America is largely a Christian country and
Christianity permeates the culture so I must go somewhere different.
Since September 11, 2001, Islam and Muslims are widely discussed in
America. Islam is the subject of many debates and discussions. I decided
that it would be best for me to go to an Islamic country. If I can go
to work and live among Muslims, then I know I can learn about their true
way of life and their true beliefs. I am not interested in Islam as it
is depicted on television or Islam as it is depicted in a book, I want
to go to a place where Islam is life.
Then I can see it not in books and films, but in the streets and
markets, academies and homes. So then I had to decide which Muslim
country I should consider.
At this present time there are some countries that I could not consider
visiting as an American because of our wars and other issues, so a few
places were eliminated straightaway. I began to think more and more
about North Africa.
That region is especially appealing not only because I speak some
French, but because the people there have a reputation for tolerating
Americans a bit more than some other Islamic areas.
There are many countries across North Africa, but what caused me to choose Morocco?
At the same time that I was deliberating about travel and work overseas,
I enlisted in a pen pal directory. I was soon corresponding with people
from all around the world, but I found that I began to gravitate more
and more toward Moroccans. They all seemed very kind and very friendly.
One thing that quickly stood out to me was their readiness to accept me
as a Christian.
This came as a great surprise to me as I had always been led to believe
that Muslims do not like Christians. When I told them that I am a
Christian and that I desire to learn about Islam, they were all very
gracious and willing to teach me. I had many very good and very
stimulating letters from my Muslim Moroccan friends. They were always
patient with me and strove to answer my questions but they were also
sincere enough to point out to me what seemed to them to be flaws in my
own religion.
Morocco Culture - This of course was what I wanted. I wanted to
understand them. I wanted to see things from their point of view. As I
continued to correspond with them, I soon began to admire Islam and its
principles. These Muslim friends of mine are among the most pious and
sincere people I have ever known. How much better would it be to sit
with them in person to eat together and to exchange ideas? If I can
learn so much from their letters, then I am sure I will learn much more
from their lives and from their friendship. It was these first
encounters with Muslims that caused me to decide to go to an Islamic
country. If I can go and live among people such as they, then I am sure
it can only make me a better person. Not only that, but with such
experiences I can then return to my own country with firsthand knowledge
and strive to restore the reputation of these good people which has
been so damaged by a few deranged maniacs.
*Jess L. Norton is Morocco World News’s correspondent in Fez, Morocco.