Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
November 24, 2012

Like halloween, Thanksgiving Day is not a Moroccan holiday and yet every year it is celebrated around the country among the expat community. The eating of turkey is traditional and turkey salesmen in Fez reported higher than normal sales over the last few days. Today The View from Fez went hunting for a Thanksgiving Day celebration and we did not have to go far before the smell of roast turkey and baked pumpkin pie wafted into our nostrils.

The celebration of Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday primarily in the United States and Canada. It is said to have originated with the early colonists giving thanks for a good harvest. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Because of the longstanding traditions of the holiday, the celebration often extends to the weekend that falls closest to the day it is celebrated. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious traditions, but today is celebrated in a more secular manner.

The tradition of having pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving is an interesting one. Early Americans would not have had pies because they had no ovens in which to bake them. However, some suggest they stewed pumpkins or filled a hollowed out shell with milk, honey and spices, and then baked it in hot ashes.

One of the earliest pumpkin pie recipes that includes a crust comes from Francois Pierre la Varenne, the famous French chef and author of Le Vrai Cuisinier Francois (The True French Cook 1661). It was translated and published in England as The French Cook in 1653. It has a recipe for a pumpkin pie that included the pastry:

Tourte of pumpkin – Boile it with good milk, pass it through a straining pan very thick, and mix it with sugar, butter, a little salt and if you will, a few stamped almonds; let all be very thin. Put it in your sheet of paste; bake it. After it is baked, besprinkle it with sugar and serve -  The French Cook.

In the USA many pumpkin pies are made with store bought pastry crust and tinned pumpkin. We can report that the pumpkin pie we sampled in Fez was much more the genuine article; real pumpkin and homemade pastry – delicious.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/11/66685/thanksgiving-day-in-morocco/
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MTSU professor to be honored in Morocco.
Nov 23, 2012   MURFREESBORO

The Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange will bestow a high honor on an MTSU professor Thursday in Morocco.

Ron Messier, a professor emeritus of Middle East history and historical archaeology and former director of MTSU’s University Honors Program, will be one of only two Americans to receive an award from the binational commission that administers the Fulbright Program in Morocco.

The ceremony will be held at the Centre d’Accueil Mohammed VI in Medinat al Irfan, the university and studies center located below Agdal, a suburb of Morocco’s capital city of Rabat, according to a news release.

The commission, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is funded by the Kingdom of Morocco, the United States and private-sector donations. Its mission is to facilitate “academic and cultural exchanges between American and Moroccan citizens,” according to its website, www.macece.org.

Messier’s invitation states that he will be honored because “you and your work in Morocco (over the last 40 years) exemplify … the spirit of traditional friendship uniting the people of the two countries.” “We’ve heard so many times people say, when they receive an award or honor, ‘I am deeply honored and humbled,’” said Messier. “Now I know why they say it. I can truly say that I am both.”

Vanessa Paloma, a Sephardic singer and researcher who specializes in Jewish women’s oral traditions, especially in Morocco, will be the only other American to receive the award. Two Moroccans also will be recipients.

Messier first went to Morocco in fall 1969 to do research for his doctoral dissertation on the circulation of gold currency in the medieval Mediterranean world. “When it came time for me to do field work, Morocco was an easy choice,” said Messier. “The program I was in already had a good working relationship with Morocco. The university even owned an apartment in Rabat available to graduate students. “So, off to Morocco I was with my family. Then, it was clear that Morocco was such a great place to work, the question became, from then on, ‘Why go anywhere else?’”

Messier became interested in the city of Sijilmasa, a city mostly buried under the Saharan sand, because of its role in the gold trade. From 1988 through 1998, he directed an archaeological excavation of the city — work which will be detailed in “Sijilmasa: The Last Civilized Place,” a book to be released in 2013. Messier also began excavating Aghmat, a ninth-century capital city in southern Morocco, which was replaced in the 11th century by construction of a new capital in Marrakech. In both endeavors, he has worked with Moroccan officials and archaeological professionals and trained dozens of Moroccan archaeological students, many of whom are working now in various Moroccan governmental agencies and academic institutions.

In recent years, Messier has worked in Morocco and elsewhere on issues of Christian-Muslim dialogue, culminating in his book “Jesus: One Man, Two Faiths—A Dialogue between Christians and Muslims.” Messier, who taught at MTSU from 1972 to 2004, won the university’s Outstanding Teacher Award in 1976, Outstanding Honors Faculty Award in 1978 and Outstanding Research Award in 1997, as well as the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Award as Tennessee Teacher of the Year in 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1966 and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan in 1968 and 1972, respectively. http://www.dnj.com/article/20121124/NEWS/311240020?nclick_check=
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Is Morocco Really Building a Green City?

According to a press release from the Moroccan government, the ambitious construction of the new Mohammed VI green city close to Benguerir in Morocco represents a one-off project in Africa that gives a new royal impetus to a megaproject that joins modernity and sustainable development.

For now, however, so few specifics about the project are known that its true green credentials are currently impossible to determine. Thus far, apart from descriptions of a four-kilometre ‘green lane’ which will connect the new city and the existing nearby city of Benguerir and will cover an 80-hectare corridor where more than 50,000 trees will be planted, the government has made lofty statements but given few details.

What is known is that the new city will be developed around Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, a yet to be built private institution which will have international dimensions and will serve as the ‘engine of development’ for the city.

The future university will be built in two phases and will be supported by a 23-hectare faculty housing project that will include villas, recreation facilities and shopping centres.

Perhaps the government is pinning part of its sustainability hopes on what will be taught there. Along with the providing students with a better grasp of foreign cultures and the modern, globalised world, the government says the new university will include several schools focusing on disciplines such as management, engineering, dry-land farming, green technologies and sustainable development, town planning and architecture, business and management, governance and public administration and health sciences.

Yet with so few specifics known about design, whether or not the university itself or the city supporting it will prove to be genuinely revolutionary from a sustainability viewpoint is yet to be seen.

A big announcement has been made, but will building materials used and systems for transport, sewerage, HVAC, lighting and other aspects of sustainable construction deliver?

Those questions and more make the project worth watching.
By Andrew Heaton
http://designbuildsource.com.au/morocco-building-green-city
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The distinction between man and woman is not a simple biological identification of gender. It is a dilemma with hypothetical propositions and multiple perceptions. Everywhere in this world, sexes are defined, represented, valued and channeled into different directions. This presents a burden on our intellectuals to introduce the most possible balanced approach to issues of gender.

Activists and successful feminine figures should take over the stage to tell us: Here are the Moroccan women who believe in hard work and commitment. Here are the moms, daughters, wives, sisters and the grandmas that we can be proud of as Moroccans. These women can challenge and compete on high level to have the positive influence on our perceptions and give us hope again that our society is safe and that our values are to be kept for generations.

The current debate and concern on Moroccan women should direct the media to respond to the growing demand of Moroccan women to portray their true image on our screens and have us listen to their stories of success on our radio streams and balance the alarming growing stereotyping of their negative influence. In the west, Arab women in general are perceived to be submissive and oppressed. Here, in Morocco, the conception of women is being associated with a significant presence of sex which can be destructive and cause serious harm to our society.

For many, the current representation of women on our screens or on our newspapers cannot be seen and admitted to be a realistic reflection of our Moroccan ladies. As the media can disempower the needed strength and involvement of women and constrain their efforts and initiatives; it can also construct a solid structure that allows the respect and admiration of their impressive roles in our society. The question again is how to raise the awareness and concern of public on feminism and how to incorporate gender not only in media, but also in the workplace, in education, in politics and in arts. Actually, in every single discipline.

Essential to our success in our understanding of sociocultural complexities is our sensitivity to details and our pursuit of objectivity. In fact, Moroccan women are caught between two extremes; the traditional perception of women that denies her the freedom of choice and responsibility and the current view that objectifies her fine qualities. A woman now can sell your car, gain your newspaper huge profits or at worse scenarios be used by a malicious hand. Paradoxically, or rather ironically, both ideologies consider, implicitly and explicitly, her body to be their battle field.
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be further published, rewritten or redistributed
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/11/66692/moroccan-women-and-media-between-myth-and-reality/
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Mounting frustration in Morocco, one year after elections
Saturday, 24 November 2012  By AFP Rabat

Morocco’s moderate Islamist Party of Justice and Development swept to power in historic elections last year in the wake of Arab Spring protests that brought hopes of change. But a year on, analysts say disappointment is growing at the slow pace of reform, compounded by doubts about how much power the palace has devolved and looming economic woes, with unemployed youths marching daily in the capital.

The PJD’s triumph in the November 25 2011 poll followed constitutional changes introduced by King Mohammed VI to curb his near-absolute powers, and campaign pledges to tackle widespread poverty, endemic corruption and a lop-sided economy.

Those steps succeeded in hollowing out support for the February 20 protest movement, prompting party officials to hail a “third way” that delivered Morocco from political chaos and proved it was an “exception” in the region. But scores of demonstrators have been jailed this year, amid international concerns about their confessions being obtained through torture, and police often employ violent tactics to scatter the protests by jobless graduates.

Diplomats say the democratic provisions of the new constitution have led to meaningful institutional changes.

“Parliament is stronger and livelier, and has amended controversial legislation, while the National Human Rights Council is starting to deliver,” said one Western diplomat in Rabat. “But there are large swathes of government business that are still influenced by the palace, and that continues to cause a lot of frustration among those who would like reform to move faster.”

Abdelilah Benkirane, the Islamist leader of the coalition government formed in January, insisted last month that democracy in Morocco was advancing slowly but surely. The king, he said, “is the head of state and... therefore my boss.”

All the signs suggest the king remains popular among Moroccans.

But the frustrations of the reformist camp, including over the pervasive interests in the economy of the monarch and his inner circle, the makhzen, are palpable.

So too is the determination of the authorities to suppress any criticism of what has long been a taboo subject.

Battling corruption

Security forces aggressively dispersed a protest outside parliament last Sunday against the king’s proposed spending budget for 2013, of nearly 2.6 billion dirhams (234 million euros/$301 million), deemed extravagant by the demonstrators amid worsening economic hardship.

Unemployment remains stubbornly high, rising in the third quarter from 9.1 to 9.4 percent year-on-year, official figures showed, although the World Bank says the proportion of youths out of work is far worse at around 30 percent.

Prominent PJD sympathizers have started to raise their voices in criticism of the party, with politically active businessman Karim Tazi saying the electoral slogan of the PJD “All against corruption and absolutism” rings hollow today.

But despite these perceived failings, the Islamists appear to have retained much of their grass-roots support, winning legislative by-elections in Tangiers and Marrakesh in early October.

Political scientist Mohammed Madani believes the party’s lasting popularity is due to its clear desire to help ordinary Moroccans, many of whom accept that it is very limited in what it can do, and to the lack of viable alternatives.

“I think people continue to support the PJD because they know the government doesn’t have a free hand,” he said.

PJD officials claim the steps taken to battle corruption as a key achievement, notably the lists it has published of those benefiting from privilege, through the awarding of public contracts, and the mechanisms set up to scrutinize accounts and prosecute offenders.

Communications Minister Mustapha Khalfi also proudly refers to the numerous spending projects targeting the marginalized sectors of society and mentions the plans to reform to Morocco’s compensation fund.

The richest 20 percent, he points out, consume 43 percent of Morocco's costly state subsidies.

“It’s only been 10 months. In reality, we are working on and launching projects that have an impact on the daily lives of Moroccans. But at the same time there are challenges,” Khalfi told AFP.

Others are less optimistic, saying corruption, economic hardship and social exclusion remain pressing problems in the kingdom.

“At the moment we don't have any real, meaningful social and economic reforms, which means the problems are still there, and they are serious,” said Madani. http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/11/24/251492.html
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Morocco Eyes Tax On Wealth
by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus 23 November 2012

Morocco's Finance Minister Nizar Baraka has recently underlined the need for the government to examine both the "feasibility and the profitability" of a tax on wealth before any such tax is introduced in Morocco.

Commenting on the country's 2013 finance bill, Baraka indicated that the government would first have to thoroughly consider the idea of applying a wealth tax in Morocco, to ensure that this would not merely lead to a flight of capital or serve to adversely affect investment.

Underscoring that it is not simply "a question of courage," the minister insisted that the government would have to make sure that the tax could be adapted to Moroccan society. Given the potential effect of the levy on productive capital investment, the government must analyze data from other countries, Baraka said, pointing out that some countries have decided to abolish the tax,.

Regarding the government's draft budget for next year, Baraka highlighted the fact that the bill introduces certain advantages aimed at facilitating access to housing for the country's middle class, applicable to citizens whose net monthly income does not exceed MAD15,000 (USD1,735).

According to Baraka, the bill extends until December 31, 2020, tax exemptions accorded for low-value housing construction programs aimed at the country's poorest. The tax benefits, accorded to property developers contracted by the state to build 300 houses over a period of five years, include exemption from registration fees, from stamp duty, and exemption from land conservation fees.

At the beginning of the month, Baraka highlighted the fact that the fiscal provisions contained in the 2013 finance bill demonstrate the government's firm commitment to reducing the country's budget deficit and to containing expenditure.

Baraka alluded to the "exceptional contribution" to be imposed for a period of three years on top income earners and on companies realizing large profits, designed to benefit the poor, namely those "most exposed to the crisis" in Morocco.
http://www.tax-news.com/news/Morocco_Eyes_Tax_On_Wealth____58404.html
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The Impact of Time and Space on Learning Behavior
By Abdelouahed Oulgout Morocco World News Tinjedad, Morocco, Nov 18, 2012

Most teachers are aware of the impact of time and space on students’ learning behavior, yet very little is done to turn them into real learning resources. The management of English classroom requires that English teachers focus their full attention on various intertwined factors affecting English Language Learning (ELL) inside the classroom.  Among those factors are time, space, and behavior. This triad constitutes the basic pillars without which no learning takes place. The effective management of these three implies a profound understanding of the learning process and progress. No wonder that time and space leave remarkable effects on the learner’s behavior and achievement.

The time students spend engaging in a task – group work, project work, or role play, etc. – ends in new, behavioral outputs and outcomes. Likewise, the way the classroom is organized, for example, the way the seats are made and arranged, the way the walls are decorated, the kind and power of light that is supplied, leaves a further impact on students’ achievement and learning capacity. No wonder that any learning process is contextualized within a space and a time. The space here is the classroom and the time is the lesson duration. The focus will be therefore on what classroom in what time is adequate for desirable learning behavior. What are the qualities of an exemplary learning space and time? How can both factors contribute to increasing students’ achievement in an English class?

To start with, a classroom is adequate if it meets the utmost needs of the learner. These needs can be broken up into three categories. First are affective needs. A classroom should supply the learner with a secure and stress-free atmosphere. Any learning action necessitates, without doubt, a strong desire and motivation. The latter is the first engine to boost the student’s potential to learn. A terrifying atmosphere – the space where the teacher, the wall displays, and all classroom objects generate fear and pessimism – blocks the passage of learning and impedes any action or interest in participation and involvement. On the other hand, if the classroom is guided by an inspirational teacher – a businessman who is conscious of the clients’ needs, admires his or her mission, and tries their best to meet the clients request – then the interest in learning will burst out from within the heart of every learner, regardless of their learning level, personality, and preferences. This factor counts more than any other factor, and it is the internal engine for any in-task behavior.

Second are cognitive needs. The learning space should be a source of knowledge required for the learner’s cognitive development. Many elements inside the classroom would help achieve this need if integrated. For instance, the wise and purposeful incorporation of ICT into the class will surely widen and deepen students’ applied knowledge of English and other relevant disciplines. A computerized classroom develops the learner’s independence and autonomy and embodies variety in cognitive resources instead of one, dominating source of knowledge: the teacher. Another example is the wall displays. The classroom wall displays can provide rich learning input if selected and designed appropriately. The wall displays, the English course-related pictures, colors, and other visual aids of learning operate as learning inputs and time savers for effective, creative teaching.

Third are social needs. No doubt that learning in groups results in better achievement in ELL. A language class is social in nature and should therefore remain a positively noisy environment wherein students naturally learn from each other, acquire the habit of negotiation, the value of responsibility, collaboration, respect, listening, tolerance, democracy, and other traits of social and moral character. Imagine students working in groups! During the process of achieving a consensus, students surely learn how to organize their work, manage their time, take turns in discussion and decision-making, and learn the ABCs of leadership and team management. These practices, if carried out appropriately, will considerably minimize behavioral disruption and direct learning behavior toward the desired purposes.

Another factor affecting students’ learning behavior is time. It is one of the serious constraints teachers compete against. In his book Managing Time and Classroom Space, Joyce McLeod writes:

“The efficient use of time is an important variable in helping students achieve learning goals and making the classroom a pleasant place for teachers and students. Unfortunately, how you spend your time is all too often determined by state or district mandates, school policy, and rigid daily school schedules.’’

These out-of-control factors impose their dictations and make time control a hard task for teachers. For example, some English curricula are too rigorous for they specify many more objectives than can be taught at an appropriate depth. Such programs result in teachers wasting much time reviewing what students have not yet internalized. Also, it happens that teachers run out of time, lose control of their plans while simultaneously being pressured to move on for other objectives before a session is over. In this case, disorder and chaos take place: off-task behavior dominates the class, students lose attention, instructions go with noise, and, suddenly, the bell rings and students leave with their minds cluttered and confused. However, if each task is allocated its reasonable amount of time and the objectives are limited, clear and precise, this will undeniably guarantee that students absorb what they are being taught and positive results.

Time and space management is, and will still be, the cornerstone of effective ELT. Therefore, an effective teacher is an effective time and space manager. It is that philosopher and thinker who is profoundly aware of the effects time and space leave on behavior; and it is he who exerts his utmost efforts to plan for his time and space before embarking on teaching.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/11/65776/the-impact-of-time-and-space-on-learning-behavior/
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Ashura: a day of joy and sorrow
By Larbi Arbaoui Taroudant, November 22, 2012

The Muslim world celebrates the Day of Ashura Sunday 25,  the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar. Originally a Jewish celebration, this ceremony marks the Jewish tradition of fasting on the tenth day of Muharram to commemorate the rescue of Moses from Pharaoh.  In Sunni Islam the celebration also is tied to Moses:  Where prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) advised his fellow Muslims to fast the ninth and tenth day or the tenth and eleventh day of Muharram also to honor the deliverance of Moses and to be distinguished from the Jews.

For the Shia Muslims, Ashura is a day of sorrow and mourning remembering the grandson of the prophet Mohammed, Hussein Ibn Abi Talib, whom was martyred in the Battle of Karbala around thirteen centuries ago.

In some Sunni countries like Morocco, the commemoration has grown beyond its religious roots into a festive and enjoyable day.  Moroccans  prepare delicious meals made specifically to celebrate Ashura.  One of the traditions is to keep the tail of the sheep of ‘Eid Al Adha’ until Ashura, and use it along with sun dried meat called “kurdas” inMorocco’s famous dish of couscous.  Kurdas contains liver, fat and lots of spices, wrapped around the stomach and tied tightly with the small intestines then stored in an open sunny place to dry.

In the Moroccan city of Goulmima there is a large street festival where  people celebrate Ashura by wearing costumes, different skins of sheep and goats, and scary looking animal masks.  In the Berber tradition, the costumed people are referred to as “Udayen n Ashur,” the Jews of Ashura.  With only tambourines and handclaps, “Udayen n Ashur” creates lively music, performances of acrobatic dancers.  Everyone sings and dances with amusing variations on the songs, until very late into the night.

Another Ashura tradition is throwing water at one another.  This is another very common tradition in Morocco, especially if Ashura comes at the end of a hot spring or summer day. Moroccans are showered from head to toe whenever they’re caught outside.  The Arabic speaking regions call this tradition “Zamzam.” The Berbers have a different name for each of the three days of Zamzam:  The first day is “Bou Isnayen” the second, “Bou Imerwasen” and the third is, “Bou Imrazen.” These are translated as “the day of throwing water,” “the day of repayment,” and finally “the day of fight.” On any one of these days, if water is thrown at a person, they have the right to throw stones back.

On Ashura, children move from house to house, singing rhyming songs and collecting money and sweets. The songs are often prayers or offers of praise for kind and generous people.  As a child, I always looked forward with overwhelming happiness to Ashura.  The day before, my friends and I would prepare Ashura clothes and long necklaces from shells of the dead snails. When traveling from house to house, one of us used to lay down in a neighbors’ door and pretend to be dead while the rest sang sorrowful mourning songs personalized for each house, for example:  ‘Oh! Mr. Lmakki, our friend has tragically passed away, if only you could bring him back to life, we would give you almonds and henna for your kids.”  Nearly all the houses would offer us eggs, dates, almonds, and sometimes even money.
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be further published, rewritten or redistributed
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/11/66593/ashura-a-day-of-joy-and-sorrow-2/
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Inspired by Love, BELDI Sells Planet-Friendly Artisanal Crafts From Morocco
Tafline Laylin | June 27th, 2012

We are suckers for a good love story, especially when it has an eco-twist. Chafiq Ennaoui and Aimee Bianca met at the Djemaa el Fna square in Marrakech, where Aimee gushed over the unique quality of artisanal Moroccan crafts. The pair soon fell in love and eventually moved to New York, where Chafiq gained a new appreciation for the designs of his youth.

But with plastic junk from China and elsewhere quickly replacing slow handcrafted pieces, the couple became concerned about the future of these special products and the people who so lovingly craft them. This is how BELDI, which refers to all things folk and country about real Morocco, was born. An online store and a preservation project, BELDI sells a wide range of striking pieces that are almost all made with recycled or renewable materials.

More here: http://www.greenprophet.com/2012/06/eco-friendly-beldi-morocc/
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Travel challenge: Morocco
http://www.news.com.au/news/travel-challenge-morocco/story-fnejnnql-1226522682898
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Approaching the question of the intellectual is one of the thorny issues that has baffled me for a long time. I have been raising a question to myself: what is an intellectual? This question has led me to an ongoing monologue about the nature of the intellectual and his/her function in daily life….

Read more here: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/11/66532/real-intellectuals-and-their-impact-on-society-2/
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Bissara is a Moroccan popular dish prepared from dried and peeled fava-beans. It is prepared more often during the cold seasons because of the energy it provides for the body. Bissara is usually served with olive oil and hot spices on the top.  Although it is prepared also by the rich people, it remains more prevalent amid the working class.

Ingredients:
500g dry fava beans soaked in water for the whole night.
2 tbps oil.
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
2 chopped cloves of garlic.
1 tsp salt.
½ tsp black pepper.
1 tsp cumin.
1tsp paprika ( optional).
2 liters water.

 Way of preparation:

1- Drain dried fava beans from water, peel them and clean them well.
2- In a pressure cooker, put  dried fava beans, garlic, oil, spices and water, then cover the cooker tightly and cook over medium heat for an hour (until the fava beans are well cooked).
3- Mash them with a wooden spoon or place them in a processor until they become smooth soup.
4- Return them into the cooker and let it over low heat until the soup becomes thick.
5- Serve the soup in bowls with some olive oil, cumin and cayenne (optional) on the top.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/11/65750/moroccan-cuisine-a-recipe-for-bissara-dried-fava-beans-soup/
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