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Youth Challenges
49 percent of Moroccan youth are neither in school nor the workforce (World Bank, 2013). A lack of volunteer or civic organizations, associations and clubs means that few opportunities for social participation exist. The education system is plagued with issues of access, especially in the rural areas, and there is a discrepancy in quality based on family income. Existing schools in rural areas often lack running water and sanitary bathroom facilities, which add to factors discouraging families from sending their daughters to school.
Youth - Agents of Change
Youth play a crucial role in catalyzing the comprehensive and transformative development of the Moroccan economies and of rural and urban life. Active participation of youth in all project development phases, empowers them to create socio-economic and environmental change and develop self-reliance. HAF engages Moroccan youth through education, training, income- generating opportunities, and entrepreneurial organizational management.
HAF’s Youth Engagement
Investment in rural and urban youth through participatory development will ensure the sustainability of Moroccan development and a highly prosperous future. HAF’s Mohammadia training center at Hassan II University gives first-hand participatory and experiential training to students and civil society organizers. Sami’s Project joins with young students, teachers and communities in planting thousands of fruit trees and botanical gardens at their schools. Since 2012, HAF has planted with 67 schools throughout Morocco and has developed infrastructure for clean drinking water systems, gender segregated bathrooms, and teacher’s housing. HAF also provides tutoring and scholarships to promote continuation into high school and universities.
By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir
Morocco’s vision of sustainability
In the Kingdom of Morocco, there are a number of sustainable development programs and policies that display innovation and promote social solidarity. These participatory democratic initiatives are designed to catalyze people’s development that meet multiple human needs at the same time.
For example, the Municipal Charter of the nation requires the application of participatory methods for inclusive planning of community projects. Doing so enables new enterprises to address economic, environmental, and social factors and goals in a given region. Another example is Morocco’s Decentralization Roadmap, which in its design harnesses the resources of the national and regional levels in order to achieve locally-identified development priorities.
And, an embodiment of Morocco’s integrated development approach is its chosen way to preserve its culture. According to statements and the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, multicultural actions should directly lead to human development results. This is to say that preserving Moroccan cultural institutions, locations, and artifacts, also intends at the same time to enhance the lives of people in measurable ways, such as in education, income, and health. In essence, cultural activities are to be advanced simultaneously together with people’s development.
Since early in his reign, the King of Morocco has championed the premise of integrating cultural and sustainable development into single movements. The kingdom’s position in regards to the Alliance of Civilizations, for example, embodies the natural chemistry of actions that are both multicultural and developmental, as well as – in the case of the Alliance – meant to improve cooperation among nations. As King Mohammed VI explained in 2008: “That vision consists in making sure culture serves as a driving force for development as well as a bridge for dialogue.”
Moroccan-Jewish cemetery rehabilitation
One clear example that is occurring within Morocco (where cultural preservation and advancing the well-being of people work congruently) is regarding the national project launched in 2012 to rehabilitate the Jewish cemeteries. There are approximately 600 Hebrew “saints” that are buried in all parts of the kingdom. Many have laid in rest a millennium or more, and 167 of the sites have been part of the national preservation effort. Importantly, the Jewish community (starting in Marrakech) also began in 2012 to lend land to the High Atlas Foundation, a U.S.-Moroccan nonprofit organization, nearby seven of the sacred burials in order to plant organic fruit tree nurseries for the benefit of farming families and schools. Initial local efforts to preserve the Jewish cemeteries and lend land for community tree nurseries began in the 1990s, and has since been building to scale.
Given that most poverty in the nation (and in the world) exists in rural places, and that Moroccan farmers are transitioning from traditionally growing barley and corn, the demand for more profitable fruit trees is therefore very significant. Growing fruit trees from seedlings on land lent by the Moroccan Jewry and distributing them in-kind to marginalized rural communities not only meets a development priority, but is also an act of interfaith. The reinvigorated relationships between the Muslim farming families and Jewish community members leads to deepened appreciation among the beneficiaries of these historic religious places (even as the burial sites have been respected ever since their beginning). This multicultural initiative lends towards more goodwill due to the sustainable development results, and in turn increased social unity and actions of preservation. What maximizes the measure of solidarity (and sustainability), however, is that the farming communities themselves identified fruit trees and their varieties as a development priority. Therefore, the project responds to the expressed needs of the people and helps to deliver the outcomes they seek, illustrating how cultural benefits can be maximized when participatory human development is fully incorporated into their processes.
The Marrakech mellah and Jewish continuity
Now, let’s consider the rehabilitation of the mellah, the Jewish quarter which historians suggest first appeared in Marrakech during the second half of the 16th century. The Jewish experience in Morocco, and certainly in Marrakech, with all of its cycles and periods, can be characterized as quite remarkable in its longevity and quality. There are impressive scholars who have dedicated themselves to understanding specifically and thematically what has transpired in Marrakech in regards to Jewish life, thought, cultural evolution, practice, trials, and major stretches of peaceful pluralism. I personally have not given this level of consideration to the social developments that constitute the Jewish-Marrakech narrative. However, one can fairly state that Jewish life in Marrakech has been incredibly rich, complex, nonlinear, hopeful, painful, continuous, and ongoing to this very moment. Therefore, the initiative to preserve this living and evolving social artifact is exceptionally worthy, and an action fully consistent with the Moroccan national identity and Constitution.
I have often come up against this question of, why Morocco? Jewry had lived for millennia in Near Eastern nations, but no longer do; yet in Morocco they remain to this day, and are invited to return if they had left. When vandalism, violence, and rejection seems to characterize the Jewish experience to varying degrees at different times in many nations of the world, one might ask why this has not been the case in Morocco. This question on one level may be as difficult to answer as is the question of why the Jewish people continue to exist as a cohesive group in the world at all. Why Morocco is an ongoing home when other nations have ceased to be, could invite an esoteric explanation, or one simply accepting that observers have yet to fully explain Moroccan-Jewish exceptionalism.
One “mystical” explanation that accounts for the deep Moroccan-Jewish bond was given by the last Lubavitcher Rebbe, the most influential Jewish leader of the 20th century, the late Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (1902-1994). In messages conveyed between the Rebbe and the late His Majesty King Hassan II (1929-1999), the Rebbe had made positive statements regarding the continued security of the kingdom, and it as a home for Jewish people, on account of the Hebrew saints (referred to earlier) that are buried in its ground. In fact, it was precisely the presence of the buried saints that prompted the Rebbe to equate the holiness of the land of Morocco to that of Israel. These assertions of the Rebbe are according to my conversations (in 2016) with Serge Berdugo, the Secretary General of the Moroccan Jewish Community and the then interlocutor between the Rebbe and King Hassan II.
Two considerable, more social scientific factors that account for the Moroccan-Jewish experience are seemingly clear: the kings of Morocco have set a vision and historic outlook that is absolutely indispensable to Jewish continuity and the indelible connection that Moroccan Jews have to the country, even long after they have relocated elsewhere. Another noted example of this is the manner in which the late His Majesty King Mohammed V protected Moroccan Jews in the face of Nazi persecution during World War II – a display of statesmanship for the ages.
In addition, the Moroccan people and the ultimately accepting culture that has emerged from them, is a vital element which helps to explain the Moroccan-Jewish story. This is to say, the people and their monarchs have set the standard which has chartered the kind of life that allows Moroccan Jewry to endure until today. The mellah and its preservation is a “normal” outgrowth of the past and present. Again, the fact that Moroccan public and civil sectors recognize and continuously uphold this dimension of its culture is in itself ordinarily Moroccan.
Evaluating the mellah’s revitalization
In regards to the human development dimension of the Marrakech mellah’s rehabilitation, one can first begin by stating that the initiative clearly serves as a short-term economic stimulus by way of investing in the employment and materials necessary to design and reconstruct the area. Rebuilding infrastructure is a form of measurable human development. It is no wonder then that the residents of the mellah in general have positive outlooks on the initiative.
Taking a participatory development perspective, however, there are further questions to consider, such as: how many local residents and their associations were involved in the planning of the rehabilitation of their neighborhood? How many residents were involved in the prioritization of the sites to be refurbished? Did the residents have a voice in creating the new designs of public areas? Were the immediate residents informed and educated about the meaning of the Jewish-Hebrew names of old of the streets and the reasons they were brought back?
In the Moroccan coastal city, Essaouria, for example, the local associations were fully involved (again with the facilitation work of the High Atlas Foundation) in the selection of the specific historical-religious sites that require rehabilitation. Inclusive participation helped bring out the idea – as well as helped forge needed public-private partnerships – to enable the proposed renovation of the Portuguese church to provide space for civil society workshops, their offices, and a display area for their crafts and innovations. Here there is a link between cultural preservation and the ongoing advancement of human development, that would continue well after reconstruction ends.
Taking the proposed rehabilitation of Essaouria as a model and applying it to the renovation of the Marrakech mellah, we need to evaluate if the structures that have been brought back provide civil society space and continue to further sustainable development. Did rebuilding the mellah create a groundswell of community meetings where the local people participated in the planning and design of projects that meet their needs? Are we witnessing ongoing development transformation driven by heightened solidarity and new opportunity? Are there subsequent or indirect projects that will ripple on from people’s broad participation, thereby generating many times over the amount of the cultural preservation investment?
It is exceedingly difficult, but not impossible, to involve people’s participation in defining goals after the development process is deep into implementation. My understanding is that to date, the mellah has been a good economic and publicity stimulus, but the needed domino-effect of ongoing development carried on by the local residents and their civil organizations is substantially less than optimal. This is primarily due to the fact that their participation was not adequately enlisted from the start of the rehabilitation program.
However, there is a strong desire among local partners to facilitate people’s participation in the human development dimension of the mellah’s restoration. For example, during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar (from May 26th through June 25th), the Marrakech Jewish community, the Association Mimouna of Moroccan Muslim students, with the High Atlas Foundation are organizing F’tor (the meal breaking the fast at sundown) for local residents each Monday and Thursday at the mellah’s 400-year-old Slat Lazama Synagogue. The meal will be followed by community discussion and determination of local people’s new primary socio-economic and environmental initiatives.
Finally, the case of the mellah reminds me of an observation that one often makes when assisting social development in Morocco over time: the kingdom offers powerful and exemplary models for sustainable and shared growth driven by the participatory method. Thankfully, the participatory approach is codified into laws, polices, and programs. On the other hand, however, it remains a serious challenge to effectively achieve broad-based implementation in close accordance with the participatory vision that has been set forth to guide such actions. This is primarily because the skills to organize and facilitate local collaborative planning are not well enough dispersed, and the system of centralized management is so well entrenched.
The nation is one of hope because of its past and present, its idealism, and commitment to sustainability. In a sense, though, Morocco’s challenge is confronted by all nations that are guided by practical ideals: to conscientiously embody act-by-act the progressive values that are intended to plot the course of their national development now and in the future.
Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir is a sociologist and president of the High Atlas Foundation, a non-government organization dedicated to sustainable development.
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Friday March 24, 2017 Dr Yossef Ben Meir
There are a number of sustainable development programs and policies in Morocco that display innovation and promote social solidarity. These participatory democratic initiatives are designed to catalyze people’s development and meeting multiple human needs at the same time. For example, the Municipal Charter of the nation requires the application of participatory methods for inclusive planning of community projects. Doing so enables new enterprises to address economic, environmental, and social factors and goals in a given region. Another example is Morocco’s Decentralization Roadmap, which harnesses the resources of the national and regional levels in order to achieve locally-identified development priorities.
Since early in his reign, the King Mohammed VI has championed integrating cultural and sustainable development into single movements. The kingdom’s position in regards to the Alliance of Civilizations, for example, embodies the natural chemistry of actions that are both multicultural and developmental, as well as – in the case of the Alliance – meant to improve cooperation among nations. As King Mohammed VI explained in 2008, “That vision consists in making sure culture serves as a driving force for development as well as a bridge for dialogue.”
One clear example that is occurring within Morocco (where cultural preservation and advancing the well-being of people work congruently) is is the launch of a national project in 2012 to rehabilitate the Jewish cemeteries. There are approximately 600 Hebrew “saints” that are buried in all parts of the kingdom. Many have laid in rest a millennium or more, and 167 of the sites have been part of the national preservation effort. Importantly, the Jewish community (starting in Marrakech) also began in 2012 to lend land to the High Atlas Foundation, a U.S.-Moroccan nonprofit organization, near seven of the sacred burials in order to plant organic fruit tree nurseries for the benefit of farming families and schools.
Given that most poverty in the world exists in rural places and that Moroccan farmers are transitioning from growing barley and corn, the demand for more profitable fruit trees is therefore very significant. The reinvigorated relationships between the Muslim farming families and Jewish community members leads to deepened appreciation among the beneficiaries of these historic religious places (even as the burial sites have been respected ever since their beginning). This multicultural initiative lends towards more goodwill due to the sustainable development results, and in turn increased social unity and actions of preservation. What maximizes the measure of solidarity (and sustainability), however, is that the farming communities themselves identified fruit trees and their varieties as a development priority. Therefore, the project responds to the expressed needs of the people and helps to deliver the outcomes they seek, illustrating how cultural benefits can be maximized when participatory human development is fully incorporated into their processes.
Now, let’s consider the rehabilitation of the mellah, the Jewish quarter which historians suggest first appeared in Marrakech during the second half of the 16th century. The Jewish experience in Morocco, and certainly in Marrakech, with all of its cycles and periods, can be characterized as quite remarkable in its longevity and quality. There are impressive scholars who have dedicated themselves to understanding specifically and thematically what has transpired in Marrakech in regards to Jewish life, thought, cultural evolution, practice, trials, and major stretches of peaceful pluralism. I personally have not given this level of consideration to the social developments that constitute the Jewish-Marrakech narrative. However, one can fairly state that Jewish life in Marrakech has been incredibly rich, complex, nonlinear, hopeful, painful, continuous, and ongoing to this very moment. Therefore, the initiative to preserve this living and evolving social artifact is exceptionally worthy, and an action fully consistent with the Moroccan national identity and Constitution.
I have often come up against this question of, why Morocco? Jewry had lived for millennia in Near Eastern nations, but no longer do; yet in Morocco they remain to this day, and are invited to return if they had left. When vandalism, violence, and rejection seems to characterize the Jewish experience to varying degrees at different times in many nations of the world, one might ask why this has not been the case in Morocco. This question may be as difficult to answer as the question of why the Jewish people continue to exist as a cohesive group in the world at all. Why Morocco is an ongoing home when other nations have ceased to be, could invite an esoteric explanation, or one simply accepting that observers have yet to fully explain Moroccan-Jewish exceptionalism.
Two considerable, more social scientific factors that account for the Moroccan-Jewish experience are seemingly clear: the kings of Morocco have set a vision and historic outlook that is absolutely indispensable to Jewish continuity and the indelible connection that Moroccan Jews have to the country, even long after they have relocated elsewhere. Another noted example of this is the manner in which the late His Majesty King Mohammed V protected Moroccan Jews in the face of Nazi persecution during World War II. In addition, the Moroccan people and the ultimately accepting culture that has emerged from them, is a vital element which helps to explain this connection.
In regards to the human development dimension of the Marrakech mellah’s rehabilitation, one can first begin by stating that the initiative clearly serves as a short-term economic stimulus by way of investing in the employment and materials necessary to design and reconstruct the area. Rebuilding infrastructure is a form of measurable human development.
Taking a participatory development perspective, however, there are further questions to consider, like how many local residents and their associations were involved in the planning of the rehabilitation of their neighborhood? How many residents were involved in the prioritization of the sites to be refurbished? Did the residents have a voice in creating the new designs of public areas? Were the immediate residents informed and educated about the meaning of the Jewish-Hebrew names of old of the streets and the reasons they were brought back?
In the Moroccan coastal city, Essaouria, for example, the local associations were fully involved (again with the facilitation work of the High Atlas Foundation) in the selection of the specific historical and religious sites that require rehabilitation. Inclusive participation helped bring out the idea to enable the proposed renovation of the Portuguese church to provide space for civil society workshops, their offices, and a display area for their crafts and innovations. There is a link here between cultural preservation and the ongoing advancement of human development that would continue well after reconstruction ends.
Taking the proposed rehabilitation of Essaouria as a model and applying it to the renovation of the Marrakech mellah, we need to evaluate if the structures that have been brought back provide civil society space and continue to further sustainable development. Did rebuilding the mellah create a groundswell of community meetings where the local people participated in the planning and design of projects that meet their needs? Are we witnessing ongoing development transformation driven by heightened solidarity and new opportunity? Are there subsequent or indirect projects that will ripple on from people’s broad participation, thereby generating many times over the amount of the cultural preservation investment?
It is exceedingly difficult, but not impossible, to involve people’s participation in defining goals after the development process is deep into implementation. My understanding is that to date, the mellah has been a good economic and publicity stimulus, but the needed domino effect of ongoing development carried on by the local residents and their civil organizations is substantially less than optimal. This is primarily due to the fact that their participation was not adequately enlisted from the start of the rehabilitation program.
Finally, the case of the mellah reminds me of an observation that one often makes when assisting social development in Morocco over time. The kingdom offers powerful and exemplary models for sustainable and shared growth driven by the participatory method. Thankfully, the participatory approach is codified into laws, policies, and programs. On the other hand, however, it remains a serious challenge to effectively achieve broad-based implementation in close accordance with the participatory vision that has been set forth to guide such actions. This is primarily because the skills to organize and facilitate local collaborative planning are not well enough dispersed, and the system of centralized management is so well entrenched.
The nation is one of hope because of its past and present, its idealism, and commitment to sustainability. In a sense, though, Morocco’s challenge is confronted by all nations that are guided by practical ideals: to conscientiously embody act-by-act the progressive values that are intended to plot the course of their national development now and in the future.
http://www.theinertia.com/environment/how-moroccos-vision-of-sustainability-is-rooted-in-cultural-preservation/
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King Mohammed VI and his guest King Abdallah II of Jordan inaugurated at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat the cultural and artistic event “Africa in Capital”, which celebrates African artistic creation.
Africa in Capital, which runs until April 28, features a panoply of events including art exhibition, concerts, film projection and conferences with the aim to bring African art closer to the Moroccan public.
In this respect, King Mohammed VI and his distinguished guest visited exhibitions themed: “Contemporary Look into African Art”, “Joint Presence”, and “Memorial”.
The “Contemporary Look into African Art” exhibition features paintings, sculptures and design items made by famous African artists such as Congo’s Chéri Samba and Chéri Chérin, Benin’s Cyprien Tokoudagba, Nigeria’s Bruce Obomeyoma Onobrakpeya and Ben Osaghae and Ghana’s Kwame Akoto. The exhibition helps with exploring the trends marking the African contemporary art.
The “Joint Presence” is an exhibition narrating two experiences of a return to the roots in the African land by artists Kouka Ntadi (French-Congolese painter) and Wahib Chehata (Tunisian).
The third exhibition “Memorial” is a tribute to three inspiring photographers who passed away: Malek Sidibé “Malian Coverages”, Laila Alaoui “the Moroccans” and Othmane Dilami “Trance Musicians”.
Held under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI, Africa in Capital events are organized by the National Foundation for Museums in collaboration with several Moroccan cultural and institutional partners.
Besides Mohammed VI museum for modern arts, the events will take place in different cultural venues including the exhibition halls of Bab Rouah and Bab El Kébir, as well as the exhibition halls of the ONA and CDG.
Africa in Capital also reflects the particular attention attached by the Moroccan Monarch to art and culture as a bridge between cultures and civilizations and as a vector for promoting openness and coexistence.
http://northafricapost.com/17047-moroccos-capital-celebrates-african-art-majestically.html
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The strawberry season in Morocco is nearing its final stages. The peak of the season took place in December and lasted until January. According to Kaoutar Abouljalil of the export company Leader Morocco, the quality and prices of the strawberries were great, though demand was lower than last year.
“I think the relative lack of demand had to do with the beginning of the Moroccan season in 2016. Back then, the weather conditions in Morocco were quite hot, which had an adverse effect on the cultivation of strawberries. The quality suffered back then. Even though the quality of the current season is excellent, I do think that the previous season has made buyers more wary of our strawberries,” says Kaoutar Abouljalil.
Leader Morocco exports its strawberries to the Russian market by air cargo. While a lot of exporters these days are hesitant to work with the unpredictable Russian market, Leader Morocco is something of an expert when dealing with Russia. “Our company director is Russian. This allows us to communicate clearly and directly with Russian buyers. We also make use of prepayments, which lessens the risk that is involved when trading with Russia.
Leader Morocco sent about a cargo plane a week this season, which amounts to a weekly volume of 3 to 4 tons. The company has been involved with the Russian sector for three or four years now. The strawberries are sourced from growers in the northern regions of Morocco and exported directly to wholesalers in Russia.
“The Russian market showed less competition when compared to previous seasons,” says Kaoutar. According to her, there were fewer exporters from Turkey and Egypt active in Russia, which caused a decrease in volume, in turn leading to higher prices for strawberries.
Kaoutar admits that there still is a lot competition within the domestic strawberry sector of Morocco. However, her company doesn’t really need to take any rival exporters into consideration, as the Russian director ensures a unique position for the company with regards to trade between Russia and Morocco.
For Leader Morocco, the main challenge for trade with Russia comes down to the high costs of logistics. “There were several logistics companies active between Morocco and Russia. However, some of these have quit, which means that a single company currently pretty much has a monopoly on logistics between the two countries. This makes it harder to lower our costs or to arrange cheaper prices for logistics.” According to Kaoutar, you need excellent quality, good service and impeccable transparency in order to succeed as an exporter of fresh produce. “You need to be correct in everything that your company does,” says Kaoutar in conclusion.
For more information:
Kaoutar Abouljalil
Leader Man (Morocco)
Email: development@leader-man.org
Mob: 00212-661-281466
http://www.freshplaza.com/article/172521/Less-demand-but-great-quality-for-Moroccan-strawberries
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By Chaima Lahsini - March 24, 2017 , Rabat
Morocco has signed an agreement with the Chinese aerospace company Haite on the construction of an “industrial city” near Tangier, which will host some 200 Chinese companies.
Named Mohammed VI Tangier Tech, this new industrial and residential city will be built on 2,000 hectares of land in northern Morocco and is expected to house nearly 200 Chinese factories in the next ten years, making it the largest Chinese industrial platform on the continent.
Without further ado, here are 5 crucial things to know about this major Chinese investment in one of Morocco’s biggest industrial cities:
1. A $10 billion tech city
From an initial investment estimated at USD 1 billion, the realization of this intelligent city will generate investment of USD 10 billion as well as the creation of 100,000 jobs in the next decade. It is one of the biggest Chinese investments in the kingdom and confirms Morocco’s strategy to remake itself as a regional hub for Chinese investments destined for the African and European markets.
2. A true industrial hub
Mohammed VI Tangier Tech city would be divided into zones specializing in aerospace, automobiles, telecoms and other sectors. The aim is to attract as many as 200 transnational corporations, many of which will be Chinese attracted to Morocco’s proximity to European markets.
3. Where’s the money coming from?
Finance will be accessed over the next 10 years and will come from Haite, Moroccan private bank BMCE, and the Moroccan government.
4. Two steps away from Europe
Morocco’s gateway to Europe, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Tangier has been an industrial hub since the creation of the Tangier Exportation Free Zone in 1999 and Tanger-Med, a deep-water port, in 2007.
Ilyas Omari, the chairman of the Tangier-Tetouan region, has pointed out that that the tech city will be only 15km from Europe and will be supported by a number of infrastructure projects, including the modern port of Tanger Med, the motorway network, a high speed train line and industrial and logistics areas.
5. At the heart of the Silk Road
This new city will serve as the North African base for Chinese companies operating in the sectors of automobile manufacturing, aeronautics and textiles.
Othman Benjelloun, president of BMCE, said that the project will contribute to “the revival of the Silk Road, so dear to our Chinese partners and friends. This road now [goes] through Tangier and, from this blessed land, to the rest of Africa, Europe and America.”
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/03/212001/5-things-to-know-about-the-10-industrial-city-in-tangier/=========================================================
By Morocco World News - March 25, 2017 , By Aziz Nouhaidi Rabat
No other slave could ever recreate what Al-Hassan Ibn Mouhamed Al-Wazzan, Al-Fasi, had achieved in Europe, as a writer, geographer and papal adviser. This Moorish serf moved through various roles, at different junctures he was a Granadan refugee, a Moroccan explorer of sub-Saharan Africa, a royal ambassador, a Muslim slave and a converted Moor living in Rome, writing in Italian about Islamic culture and the geography of Africa. These multi-faceted threads have been fascinatingly interwoven together to construct a flexible persona constantly moving between margins and centers without showing strong adherence neither to its former world nor to the new one. Ibn Al-Wazzan, known to the West as Leo Africanus or Leo the African, is the writer of “Description of Africa,” an authoritative early modern account of North African geography which was unquestionably of great assistance to the Europeans, especially to Pope Leo X.
Fleeing from Nasirid Granada after its fall at the hands of the Catholic Spaniards in 1492, Ibn Al-Wazzan joined his family, who had decided to leave for Fez rather than to convert to Christianity. During his stay in Fez, he was enrolled in Quaraouiyine University, where he was instructed in different sciences. At the age of 18, he journeyed with his uncle, the emissary of the Wattasid sultan, Mouhamed Al-Bourtughali, to Timbuktu. After three years, he once again visited this spiritual African capital, showing that the young Granadino (a nickname given to Moors originating from Granada) had gained the sultan’s appreciation and established himself as a reliable notary and diplomat. This would be further confirmed a few years later when the sultan sent him as a trusted envoy to the Sublime Porte. As soon as he accomplished his mission, he decided to return to Fez. On his way through the Mediterranean in the summer of 1518, the normal course of his life was interrupted; the notorious Knights of the Order of Saint John sacked his ship and took him to Malta as a slave.
While in Malta, Ibn al-Wazzan was thought to be an elite slave who evidently had important information to offer to the pope. In 1520, the leader of the Saint John Chevaliers sent him to Rome where Pope Leo X baptized him and named him Johannes Leo de Medicis. Throughout the years he spent in the Roman curia, Leo taught Arabic to many Christian scholars craving to know about Islam. He translated many documents into Arabic and wrote vocabulary in Spanish, Latin, Italian, Hebrew and his native language, Arabic.
More interestingly, he rose through the ranks of scholarship as an unrivaled authority capable of establishing himself as a trustworthy source of knowledge whom his patrons admired so much that they could not help but rely on his ability to provide useful information. He was a scholar imbued with abundant savoir that enabled him to flourish across cultural and linguistic boundaries and act as a moving ambassador belonging to here and everywhere. He corrected Europeans’ lubricious preconceptions about Africa and the African Other. Aomar Boum discreetly affirms that his book, “Della descrittione dell’Africa,” “remains one of the best sources for political, social, and geographical information about the Maghrib during the first half of the 16th century.”
Deceptively, Al-Wazzan’s intellectual, cultural and noble backgrounds helped him to shape an identity that seemed to have been less affected by its ambivalent and liminal state between two antagonistic worlds, Dar al-Islam and Christendom. It is in this context, therefore, that “Della descrittione dell’Africa” should be read. It is a tome whose writer did not bother himself too much with the religious perception and categorization of the Other, probably due to his astute practice of taqiya (a precautionary dissimulation of one’s faith under duress), which enabled him to appear as “a man with a double vision.” This seems to be reflected in “Della descrittione dell’Africa,” a memoir which chronicles the early cultural and intellectual encounters and interchanges between Islam and Renaissance Christendom. Interchanges which allowed its writer more space to challenge the silences imposed upon his life story and upon the context from which he was stolen.
References:
Boum, Aomar, and Thomas K. Park . “Historical Dictionary of Morocco.” Historical Dictionaries of Africa, no.95. Toronto: The Scarecrow Press, 2005.
Zemon Davis, Natalie. Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim between Worlds. New York: Hill and Wand, 2006.
Whitney, Lois. “Did Shakespeare Know Leo Africanus?” PMLA, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Sep., 1922), pp. 470-483
Leo Africanus, A Man Between two Worlds, a documentary by BBC world.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/03/212097/leo-africanus-rewriting-history/
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Just one month after his recent street invasion of the beautiful Marrakech, the one and only Invader went back to Morocco to invade its capitale city also known as Rabat !
Rabat is a wonderful city, a perfect location for the 20 mosaics, the French street artist has disseminated in the narrow streets of the medina, filled with riads, stray cats and zellige tiles. Several pieces will also be found in the new part of the city. Make sure to download Flash Invader and book yourself a trip to Morocco to rack some points!
Take a look below for more images and keep checking back with us for the latest updates from the street art around the world!
Check it here: https://streetartnews.net/2017/03/invader-invades-rabat-in-morocco.html
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Hakima El Haité, host of COP22 in Marrakech, is a pioneer for women in science and diplomacy, and above all in the struggle for climate justice.
By Lucia Graves This story appears in the March/April 2017 issue of Pacific Standard.
“I’m the most hated minister in the world,” Morocco’s environmental minister Hakima El Haité says with a laugh. “All the ministers of environment are hated you know? Because the ministers of environment are not very important in terms of protocol, but they are controlling everybody.” El Haité is currently one up on her colleagues: They’re meeting in Marrakech, on her home turf. It’s November 18th, 2016, the last day of COP22, the annual United Nations climate summit, without a doubt the highest-profile event of her career, and spirits are running reasonably high, despite grim news out of America’s presidential election. What’s more, it’s clear that El Haité is well suited to her role.
Most environmental ministers are far more comfortable wearing their scientist hat, rather than that of statesman or spokesman. (Imagine the head of the Environmental Protection Agency orchestrating diplomatic talks on the world stage). But for two weeks each year, in whatever country has agreed to host climate talks, these scientists must double as the world’s top diplomats and, in El Haité’s case, as a gracious host.
“Let it be clear, the fight for gender equality is not a matter of feminism, it is a societal matter.” That she happens to be a woman in a Muslim country marks El Haité’s rise as all the more extraordinary, especially given that her qualifications set her apart in concentric male-dominated circles: She is a high-level Moroccan official; a doctor of science; a leader in the Arab world; and, now, chief overseer of global climate talks.
At 53, El Haité certainly has the bona fides to justify her impressively varied roles, both in the science-heavy realm of environmental policy and in the bluster-heavy one of international leadership. Born in Fes, she got her undergraduate degree in biology and microbiology from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, also in Fes. But she didn’t stay there.
Instead, El Haité west to the United States, where she earned a degree in political communication in 2008, and then to France, where she completed a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the École nationale supérieure des mines at Saint-Étienne, in 2010. Along the way, she held leadership roles in a number of organizations benefiting civil society, among them the Moroccan Association of Women Entrepreneurs and the International Network of Liberal Women, where she currently serves as vice president.
Given a particularly difficult COP this past year, and especially one haunted by the specter of Donald Trump’s surprise victory, El Haité’s impressive background has stood her in good stead. In the overeducated, polyglot-elite bubble of the climate talks, it helps, for instance, that she’s trilingual: She can fend off questions about Trump in English, Arabic, or French.
But addressing audiences under the sloping white tents of COP22, El Haité appears to prefer the latter, slipping into English only at the behest of the occasional less linguistically accomplished reporter. “We should open the door for dialogue with the administration of the president,” she says of Trump in a characteristically diplomatic aside. “We have heard the candidate. Today we have to listen to the president. So we need more dialogue.”
Another area where more dialogue is needed, she says, is with women worldwide, and with women leaders especially. El Haité’s own advocacy around women and leadership is highly relevant at the Marrakech talks, where, despite a recent uptick in female representation among some of the COPs most visible roles, women still comprise a woefully small percentage of delegation heads — around one-third.
As El Haité explains in the final days of COP, as part of the Women Leaders and Global Transformation Summit in Marrakech, her views are less about women’s empowerment than good politics. “Who, other than us, mothers and grandmothers, understand better the challenges of providing food, water, and security to our children?” she asks her audience. “Let it be clear, the fight for gender equality is not a matter of feminism, it is a societal matter.”
In other words, in seeking climate solutions, we must incorporate the perspective and insights of women, or perish. It’s that simple and that infinitely complex.
Yet, ever the politician, in private asides she repeatedly redirects all questions, seeking to talk up the success of her home country’s talks in whatever language the moment requires.
On the last night of the Marrakech talks, long after the sky has gone black, she wants to explain to whatever reporters are still on the premises what she sees as the successful work of this year’s negotiation, and to remind us that the Marrakech talks, as with the Paris talks before them, were never really a destination; like the long red lines laid down by protesters along the Champs-Élysées following the signing of the 2015 agreement, they’re merely markers on the path forward.
As for the importance of having women in leadership at climate talks? As the rare female minister in a Muslim country, El Haité would rather talk about her job. “I really can’t tell you,” she says with a smile when I raise the subject. Pinching my cheeks, she shrugs in feigned helplessness as a coterie of staffers sweeps her out the doors of the half-abandoned media tent and into the night.
https://psmag.com/women-saving-the-planet-hakima-el-hait%C3%A9-of-morocco-e1cf5fac862b#.mvit6h3jk
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By Morocco World News - March 24, 2017 Rabat
Although Spring officially started on March 21, the residents of Ifrane, often called Morocco’s Switzerland, and its surrounding areas woke up on Friday to panoramic snowy views.
Heavy snow has been coming down since the early hours of Friday. Many residents have expressed their joy and happiness on social media platforms, sharing the photos of the snowfall.
The following photos and video show the glamour of Ifrane’s sites under the snow. The photos shows the tables of the cafés and restaurants in Ifrane’s downstairs under the snow.
However, the restaurants have stayed open and continue to prepare foods for the snow lovers and the tourists who have chosen Ifrane as their preferred snowy destination in the Kingdom.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/03/212003/pictures-glamorous-view-ifrane-snow/
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By Morocco World News - March 24, 2017 Rabat
A total of 31,542 cases of tuberculosis were recorded in Morocco in 2016, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
Pulmonary tuberculosis, that is tuberculosis of the lungs, makes up the vast majority of the cases (nearly half), i.e. 47% of pulmonary tuberculosis compared with 53% of extra-pulmonary TB cases, said the Ministry on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day .
In Morocco, more men than women have tuberculosis, the statement said, noting that people between 15 and 45 are the most affected, that is 63 pc.
The Ministry of Health has significantly increased the annual budget allocated to the National Tuberculosis Control Program (PNLAT), from 30 million dirhams in 2012 to 60 million dirhams in 2016.
As a result, the PNLAT has made significant progress in detecting more cases and maintaining the rate of therapeutic success since 1995 at over 86%.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/03/211947/30000-cases-tuberculosis-registered-morocco-2016-ministry/
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By Amira El Masaiti - March 25, 2017 , Rabat
Oxfam has launched a tax justice program in an attempt to achieve a just distribution of resources and fiscal transparency in Morocco. The program aims to make the authorities more accountable to citizens, especially women and citizens in marginalized regions. The “Tax Justice, Budget Monitoring and Citizen Participation” program aims to equip citizens, media institutions and civil society organizations with the skills and confidence to monitor public, national and local budgets and to propose projects that meet their real needs.
“The tax justice program will allow for a more equitable distribution of resources and budgetary transparency and will make the authorities more accountable to the needs of citizens, especially women and young people in marginalized areas and therefore access to their rights in education, health and social protection,” Oxfam said in a press release. “The program also aims to strengthen the capacities of elected representatives and authorities at national and local level in order to achieve a more transparent and fair tax system, better access to information and more consultation with citizens” added Oxfam.
Oxfam also hopes that associations, trade unions, cooperatives, social movements and activists as well as the media will understand and appropriate the issues of public finance and socio-economic and territorial inequalities through this program. The organization intends for local authorities and elected representatives to begin taking into consideration the interests and practical needs of marginalized people.
The program is implemented with five associations: Transparency Maroc, Espace Associatif, Moroccan Women’s Democratic Association (ADFM), Alternative Citizenship Movement (ALCI) and the Third Millennium Development Association Of the Southeast Associative Action (ATMDAS).
These NGOs will work with more than 30 associations in the targeted regions of Rabat-Kénitra, Tanger-Tetouan, Fès-Meknès and Drâa-Tafilalet to ensure the effective implantation of the project.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/03/212023/oxfam-launches-new-project-to-promote-tax-justice-in-morocco/=========================================================
MENAFN - Morocco World News - 23/03/2017 Casablanca
Approximately 651,708 tourists have visited Morocco in the first month of 2017, an increase of 10.3 percent compared to January 2016.
The number of tourists who visited Morocco in January saw a rise of 10.3 percent, reaching 651,708 visitors. The contribution of Moroccans living abroad to this increase is undeniable. The rise in the number foreign tourists, however, has seen a significant increase of 7 percent.
According to the data from the Observatory of Tourism, the number of Spanish visitors increased 13 percent, Germans and Dutch visitors by 8 percent, and French and Belgian by 6 percent.
The increment in the number of tourists from mainland Europe is very low compared to other markets. The increase in the number of American torists hit 29 percent, whereas South Koreans, Russians and Japanese tourists increased by 41 percent, 84 percent, and 55 percent, respectively. The highest increase recorded is in Chinese tourists, which hit a staggering 1350 percent.
Concerning tourist accommodations, 2017 overnight stays in classified establishments increased by 11% compared to 2016, with a 21% increase for non-resident tourists and a decrease of 8% for residents.
Agadir, Marrakech and Casablanca accounted for 72 percent of the total night stays. The city of Agadir increased its overnight stays by 20%, followed by Casablanca with 7 percent and Marrakech, which was up by 6%. The cities of Fez and Tangier also grew by 27% each.
http://menafn.com/1095339244/651708-Tourists-Visit-Morocco-in-January-2017
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MENAFN - Morocco World News - 23/03/2017 By Cosima Schelfhout Rabat
From the Atlantic's rocky break, across plains, woodlands and the Atlas Mountains' imposing peaks, lays the Sahara.
Despite our early start, the sun was setting by the time we caught our first glimpse of desert. Snaking mountain roads turned into straight, dusty highways and eventually everything was burnt red; the early evening sky, the road ahead, and the rocky plateaus (orHamadas) beside us.
Just as the settling darkness amplified our isolation, we spotted the hotel; a hump along a stretching horizon. Once inside, it's shaded pools, canopied-sunbeds, and potted plants gave us the impression we had stumped upon an oasis.
The next morning, headscarves, water bottles and cameras in hand, we ventured into one of the Sahara's great Regs (expanses of loose rock and gravel that make up most of the desert). We first visited Arishidia, a village whose sand-colored buildings looked as though they had been formed and rounded naturally by centuries of wind.
After ducking into a cheerful classroom packed with wide-eyed first-graders, we escaped the quickly rising sun to watch a performance of Gnawa music. The folk style, developed by slaves from modern-day Senegal, is a form of ancient rhythmic poetry. It captured the group fully; as six men in long white robes sang and danced the tradition, we sunk back into the room's cushioned corners and watched in silence.
On our way out of Arishidia, we swapped our tourist van for 4×4 Jeeps, and headed into the Sahara's acclaimed Ergs (shifting sand dunes) with full force. 20 minutes into the trek, we stopped to explore an out-of-use colonial mine, where desert-natives workd under the threat of a French-run prison still looming in the distance.
Several stops (and photo-sessions) later, we arrived at our second accommodation; a sandcastle-like building marked at the entrance by a family of clay, life-size camels. From there we prepared for our trip's climax; the Saharan sunset.
With surprisingly little trepidation, our group mounted 25 one-hump camels, and sauntered into the golden mass that lay behind our hotel. The guides were accustomed to wide-mouthed tourists; leading groups of 4 by well-worn rope, they looked outward into the sinking sun. The curious animals beneath us also seemed uninterested; we questioned whether it was possible for anyone, even an animal born of the region, to walk the dunes without wonder.
After dismounting atop a bank as the sun sank in a cloudless sky, we climbed, and rolled and snapped as many photos as we could. Despite the group's number, and the setting's novelty, the dunes felt peaceful; maybe only the Sahara dessert, in its immense size and silence, could drown out the voices of 25 American tourists.
We ventured back out that night for stargazing, and again in the morning for sunrise. Under a bright moon, and cover of stars we attempted to guess constellations. 8 hours later, we huddled together atop a cool mount of leveled sand and waited for the sun to reappear. Once it signaled, we retreated for a groggy breakfast and boarded a bus for a long ride home. While the spell mostly lifted as the environments changed outside our windows, we all felt a bit smaller; aware of a new vastness and our significance relative to it.
http://menafn.com/1095340084/Morocco---Dawn-to-Dusk-in-the-Dunes-of-Marzouga
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By Lara BruntFriday Mar 24, 2017
Rabat may be Morocco’s capital city, but it’s little-known to tourists, writes Lara Brunt. Mention Morocco and most people instantly think of Marrakesh, with its spice-scented souks and rose-hued city walls.
Whereas the fabled Red City teems with tourists, not many make the journey north to Rabat, the country's capital. More fool them, as the coastal city is one of Morocco's best-kept secrets.
Situated on the mouth of the Bou Regreg River and bordered by the Atlantic, Rabat has a rich history dating as far back as the 8th century BC, with the Phoenicians, Romans, Berbers and Arabs all leaving their marks.
The city encompasses the Ville Nouvelle (New Town), with its handsome colonial buildings and palm-fringed boulevards built by the French in the early 20th century, and the historic old town encircled by 12th-century walls and ramparts.
A modern tram connects the capital to its whitewashed sister city of Sale across the river. Since independence in 1956, the twin cities have been the seat of the Moroccan government and the monarchy.
"Rabat is changing a lot, but in a good way," says Ali Younes, owner of Riad Zyo. "Traditions have changed, but we are inventing new traditions, too." Younes' riad is a case in point. Located in the medina (old town), it is a fresh take on the traditional Moroccan house built around a courtyard. Originally from Fez, Younes has transformed the former post office into a sleek, light-filled boutique B&B. There are traditional touches, such as intricately carved wooden doors and polished tadelakt (lime plaster), but the styling is restrained and contemporary. "I told my architect I wanted a Moroccan look for the 21st century," he says.
Breakfast is served in the ground-floor dining room overlooking the courtyard pool. Make sure you try r'zatte el quadi (judge's turban), spaghetti-thin dough, pan-fried and drizzled with honey, and the crumpet-like beghrir.
The city is still getting used to tourists, so finding an English-speaking guide is quite a challenge. Younes arranges for Mustafa, a friendly 50-something local, to show us the sights. We start in the oldest part of the city, the clifftop Kasbah des Oudaias overlooking the Atlantic. The fortress is easily the city's most atmospheric quarter, with brilliant white and blue houses built by Muslim refugees from Spain giving it a distinctly Andalusian feel.
Whereas we had sweated in Marrakesh, the sea breeze keeps us cool.
We stop for a glass of gunpowder tea with mint and lots of sugar at Cafe Maure overlooking the river, then stroll down the hill and into the carpet souk, where we're blissfully ignored, unlike Marrakesh's markets. We continue on past hole-in-the-wall tailors and Berbers wearing djellabas, the traditional loose-fitting robe with hood.
Next stop is Le Tour Hassan, Rabat's most famous landmark. When Sultan Yacoub El-Mansour made Rabat his capital in the late 12th century, he embarked on an ambitious project to build what would have been the second-largest mosque of its time. The sultan died before the mosque was finished and much of it was flattened by an earthquake in 1755. Its half-completed minaret and pillars are all that remain.
Near the tower is the stunning Mausoleum of Mohammed V, which holds the tombs of the current king's grandfather, father and uncle. It is richly decorated with zellij (colourful mosaic tiles), gold leaf and hand-carved cedar wood.
Mustafa waves us back to the car and we make the short drive to Chellah, the remains of the old Roman city of Sala Colonia. Overgrown and crumbling, the scattered ruins include a main road that passes through a triumphal arch and past the Jupiter Temple, and ending at the forum.
The city was abandoned in 1154 in favour of Sale.
The real treat, however, is returning to Riad Zyo and relaxing on the lavender-lined roof terrace, listening to the call to prayer. Rabat's subtle charm has won us over.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=11822654
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Morocco to Sponsor the "International Year of Sustainable Tourism 2017
MENAFN - Morocco World News - 23/03/2017 Rabat
Morocco has partnered with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as the official sponsor of the program of activities planned for the celebration of the 'International Year of Sustainable Tourism 2017' (IY2017), placing sustainable tourism and Responsible at the heart of its tourism strategy.
The objective of this year's celebration, which is part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Program, is to raise awareness among public decision-makers to make tourism a catalyst for positive change, according to a document from the Ministry of Tourism.
This second edition brought together more than 300 national and international guests, including several members of the government, African ministerial delegations, international organizations, tourism professionals and members of civil society.
According to a statement published by MAP, the Ministry of Tourism is committed to mobilize all stakeholders to implement an awareness-raising program to promote sustainable tourism and to undertake numerous actions and initiatives to make it a lever of national development and to establish Morocco as a reference destination for sustainable and responsible tourism.
Morocco is also proposing a program dedicated to the celebration of the IY2017 at the African scle in the form of a caravan to promote the African Charter of Sustainable Tourism as well as the best practices of sustainable tourism in Africa.
Signed by Morocco and the World Tourism Organization in the margins of COP22, this charter constitutes a reference framework for the development of sustainable tourism in Africa by allowing a sustainable dynamic that combines economic and social development, preserves the environment, and respects the cultural diversity of each country.
The program of the celebration of Morocco of the IY2017, entitled 'Sustainable tourism: a genuine and responsible approach', is part of the actions already committed to the promotion of sustainable tourism aiming to raise awareness of the field throughout the national territory.
The IY2017 will also reinforce the activities initially launched to promote sustainable tourism, such as the National Day for Sustainable Tourism, which aims to raise awareness and mobilize all stakeholders in the sector for the development and promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism, to make known the successful projects and the good initiatives in this field, and to encourage the sharing of good practices between regional and international partners.
http://menafn.com/1095339133/Morocco-to-Sponsor-the-%22International-Year-of-Sustainable-Tourism-2017%22
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Janeen Christoff March 21, 2017
Read it here..: http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/traveling-to-morocco-here-s-what-to-see-in-rabat.html
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Amanda Randone Mar 21, 2017 9:29AM EDT
When you think of Morocco, you may imagine the mysterious markets of Marrakech, mule-drawn carts carrying stacked carpets, and sun-drenched squares where men coerce rattlesnakes out of baskets. The birthplace of Yves Saint Laurent’s rich Majorelle blue is also where Carrie Bradshaw rushed through the souk in a panicked search for her passport — that’s right, Sex and the City 2 may have been set in Abu Dhabi, but it was filmed outside of Marrakech.
But there is a lot more that happens beneath the colorfully decorated surface of this nearly-1,000-year-old city. Marrakech’s magic hides a much crueler situation for the LGBTQ community, which is not yet accepted or welcomed by a government strongly tied to its religion. The recent story of two teenage girls put on trial for kissing in Marrakech is proof of that reality.
The land of pointy-toed babouches and tajines is also one where same-sex acts may be punishable by up to three years in jail, according to article 489 of the country’s penal code. Moroccan law penalizes what it refers to as “lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex.”
In the case of 16-year-old Sanaa and 17-year-old Hajar, the teens faced up to three years in prison for sharing a hug and a kiss, according to CNN. The girls were photographed snapped by a passer-by, family members reported Sanaa and Hajar to the police, and the girls were arrested that same day, according to a report in the Independent. And while the teens have since been acquitted, their defense lawyer, Rachid El Ghorfi, told the Independent that they “should have never been in front of the prosecutor or the judge” in the first place.
And Morocco is not the only country where the behavior of girls like Sanaa and Hajar can be considered criminal. According to the 2016 State-Sponsored Homophobia report from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), 73 countries that are members of the United Nations have criminal laws against sexual activity between LGBTQ individuals, and of those, 45 apply the law in the same way for men and women. In some of these places, the penalty for same-sex activity goes beyond prison — it could be death, according to the ILGA.
While the story of the teenage girls' kiss attracted international attention, women are rarely charged under the law prohibiting homosexual activity in Morocco. Beyond the law, many citizens don’t accept this way of life, but men are particularly at risk: Gay men are more commonly arrested as well as publicly shamed or stoned.
Abdellah Taïa is a Moroccan native who knows this reality all too well. The celebrated author and filmmaker is an openly gay Arab writer and one of the rare openly homosexual Moroccan writers or filmmakers. He moved to Paris in 1998, leaving his conservative family in Rabat and eventually coming out as gay in 2006. Taïa not only witnessed public stoning, but says himself was subjected to it.
“What was always unbearable for me was to feel rejected from a world that I always loved with all my heart, and to which I still feel strongly attached today,” Taïa says of his experience growing up in Morocco. “It was very difficult, feeling isolated, abandoned, and to have found, by myself, the necessary protection. I cried a lot when I was a child.”
Taïa says he understood that he needed to become smarter than the world that surrounded him, and he started to lie and to manipulate others in order to get by. Cinema always helped him, specifically Egyptian film.
According to Taïa, there is an underground gay community in Morocco, even one that is not so discreet. It is learning how to “play with society” that determines whether or not you can get away with bei. Youssef*, a 26-year-old man from Agadir, Morocco, who considers himself progressive after completing his education in Paris, shared his perception of the treatment of the gay community in his home country. He described a downtown scene in Marrakech, where gay men whom he says are prostitutes come out at night. But in his smaller, coastal town of Agadir, Youssef says, “You won’t see gay people in the streets…. For me, the worst part of that is that gay people can’t live safely in Morocco — definitely they can’t.”
And even though Youssef represents a younger, more open-minded generation of Morocco, Taïa still wouldn’t advise a young gay man to come out in a country where homosexuality is still considered a crime. He describes his own experience of coming out as dangerous, not only for him but for his family. In Morocco, Taïa explains, because his family is poor, he believed coming out publicly would put his family at risk. They were shocked, and out of fear they told him not to talk about it, Taïa recalls, adding that he understood where they were coming from.
“[A young gay person] must wait until the day where he is free, independent, so that he can at least say it to his parents, to his family, without suffering serious consequences,” he says. “Beyond the accepted homophobia that reigns in this country, it is possible for a young gay man, if he’s lucky, to have friends who could understand him and support him. Discreetly.”
Taïa moved to Paris and began to write freely about his sexuality, politics, hate, and discrimination in many forms. His books helped him to see the world and to dare to be critical about Morocco, France — anywhere. But Taïa’s fight continued, even in France. While he may have found a bit of freedom as a gay man, a new battle began: avoiding stereotypes and racism in a world where Islamophobia is seemingly at a peak.
As for the future of LBGTQ youths in Morocco, Taïa says journalists are now treating the gay community with respect, using less discriminatory and insulting language. “That’s already a big step,” he says. There are also some Arab associations, like Aswat Collective in Morocco and Shams in Tunisia, doing brave work to change the mentality and politics surrounding homosexuality in the Arab world. The Arab Spring also gave Moroccan people hope for a more progressive future.
“Although the political situations are catastrophic in some Arab countries, we should not forget about that hope, that light,” Taïa says. “We should make the change happen by ourselves. We should not expect the government to make the first move.... Although I am a very desperate person, I am sure that the change is coming and will be reality.” *Name has been changed.
Check it here http://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-its-like-to-be-gay-in-morocco
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Diane Rossen Worthington, Tribune Content Agency
Roast chicken with garlic, olives and lemon is definitely a Moroccan specialty. But here you don't need a traditional tagine (a special clay roasting pot with a conical top) to achieve tasty results.
Putting this dish together is a snap, as many stores now sell peeled garlic cloves. Garlic cloves become deliciously caramelized and act as a thickening agent in this recipe, a personal favorite of mine. And don't be afraid of the number of garlic cloves. They add a wonderful nutty richness to the sauce.
As for the chicken, there are so many varieties available. Look for air-chilled chickens that are firmer and tastier than water-chilled chickens that add extra water to the bird but offer less flavor. Kosher chickens are also good since they are salted, which helps keep them moist, but be mindful of the extra salt in the chicken. Of course, organic chickens are always delicious since the birds are fed organic food and given no antibiotics. Try different varieties to discover your personal favorite.
Cook the chicken in a shallow roasting pan that can be brought to the table for a casual presentation. Use a microplaner to grate the lemon zest before squeezing the juice. You'll find that lemon slices add an extra citrus flavor. If you can find Meyer lemons, use them in this dish. Serve with roasted vegetables or a vegetable rice pilaf for a hearty and satisfying dinner. A full-bodied California Chardonnay would be nice with the chicken, as would an Australian Sauvignon Blanc.
Tasty Tips
--The lemon-herb mixture can be made 4 hours ahead, covered and kept at room temperature.
--Double the recipe and use for a chicken salad the next day.
--Look for green pitted olives, and make sure to rinse them before adding them to the sauce.
--Add black and green olives for a contrast of color.
Roast Herbed Chicken with Caramelized Garlic, Lemon and Olives
Serves 4
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (any combination of rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil and oregano)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut up
25 peeled whole garlic cloves, ends cut off
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup pitted green olives
1. Combine the zest, lemon juice, olive oil, 1/4 cup herbs and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix to combine.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting pan, skin side up, and pour over the lemon herb mixture. Arrange the garlic cloves and lemon slices all around the chicken, moving them to coat with the mixture. Roast for about 40 minutes or until the chicken pieces are nicely browned and no pink color remains.
3. Remove pan from oven. Using potholders, place pan on top of the stove on medium-high heat, add the stock and deglaze the pan by scraping up any of the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle on the olives and toss them around to heat through. Garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons of herbs and serve right from the pan.
(Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks, including "Seriously Simple Parties," and a James Beard Award-winning radio show host. You can contact her at www.seriouslysimple.com.)
(c) 2017, DIANE ROSSEN WORTHINGTON. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC. http://www.mcall.com/features/
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By Morocco World News - March 18, 2017 By Safaa Kasraoui Rabat
The Ministry of Handicrafts, Social Economy and Solidarity launched on March 17 an English training program for trainees or graduates from handicrafts institutions in Fez.
This project is part of a partnership agreement between the ministry, the American Embassy, and the American Language Center to provide beneficiaries with tools to communicate with tourists and improve the sale of their products.
More than 300 artisans in the Msala and Aouinat Hajjaj handicraft institutions will benefit from this program, which will be assisted by Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University and the handicraft chamber of the Fez and Meknes region. “The program aims to empower young trainees with various tools including communication, to enable them integrate in the labor market and to develop this sector which is considered one of the pillars of the national economy,” said Fatema Marouane, the head minister.
“The composition of artisans in different languages including English, in line with the great care given by the king Mohammed VI in favor of this sector.” This program, launched in the presence of the Wali of Fez-Meknes region, Said Zniber and the representatives of all partners of the program, will comprise 36 hours of educational activities which might be expanded, along with certificates to be given to the beneficiaries by ALC.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/03/211402/morocco-launches-specialized-english-classes-for-fez-craftsmen/
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By Youssef Igrouane - March 24, 2017 Rabat
Behind Saad Eddine Othmani’s broad smile lies nearly 40 years of political activism, diplomacy, and academic study, revealing the complex character of the new Head of Government.
Bearded, wearing glasses, and always captured smiling by photojournalists, Othmani has been a charismatic figure in the Moroccan political scene ever since he was named as the Secretary General of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) in 2004.
Appointed Head of Government by King Mohammed VI last Wednesday, Othmani is now under the spotlight. The psychiatrist carries a heavy burden on his shoulder – to successfully form the government and keep the PJD on top of Morocco’s other political parties.
However, while he is mostly known for his recent history as a PJD member and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Othmani, described by PJD members as “wise and sagacious,” brings with him decades of experience, as a founding member of the PJD and its predecessors, as an expert in Islamic studies, and as a practicing doctor. Morocco World News provides the life history of the Kingdom’s new Head of Government.
A Bookworm Underground
Born on January 16, 1956, in Inezgan, Othmani grew up in a conservative Amazigh family, which Mohammed Mokhtar Soussi described as “one of the two families in which [the study of] science had been maintained for over a thousand years.” Known as a bookworm from a young age, as a child Othmani showed an interest in politics and began working with Dawah O Tabligh, a group of Sunni Muslim evangelists and preachers. His father opposed his political bent, warning him against entering politics.
After receiving his baccalaureate in math in 1976, the Inzegan native moved to Casablanca to pursue a PhD at the city’s Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, which he received in 1987, choosing to write his thesis in Arabic rather than the usual French. He also studied Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Sharia Law in Ait Melloul, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1983 and his master’s degree in 1987.
While a student, he started associating with the Chabiba Islamiya (“The Islamic Youth,”) an underground Islamist movement established in the late 1960s by Abdelkrim Moutii. One of many such Islamist groups that emerged from universities in this period, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Chabiba Islamiya’s overriding concern was to combat the spread of Marxism. In the Chabiba, Othmani met Abdelilah Benkirane and late Abdallah Baha, with whom he remained friends until Baha’s death in 2013.
The Islamist movement’s emergence coincided a dark period in Moroccan political history, the “Years of Lead,” marked by the state’s use of repressive measures against dissidents and other political threats. During this period, no one could castigate the state or openly discuss politics, and oppositional groups like the Chabiba were forced to remain underground.
In 1975, Omar Benjeloun, a prominent leftist activist, journalist, and Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) member, was assassinated. The Chabiba were widely suspected as having organized the murder, leading to the disruption of the group and the disappearance of its leader Moutii.
Othmani was detained in December 1981 at a march in Casablanca’s Hay Mohammadi Mosque in support of Moutii, who had been sentenced in absentia as an accomplice in Benjeloun’s murder. The demonstrators gathered at the mosque next to the court and were arrested once they passed through the palace.
Out of the Chabiba
“Before the assassination of Omar Benjelloun in 1975, the Chabiba Islamiya was more inclined to reformist ideology and was always seeking to open channels of communication with the state,” said Othmani in an interview in Bilal Talidi’s 2008 book, “Dhakirat Alharakat Al’iislamiat Almaghribia,” (Memory of the Moroccan Islamic Movement). “But after 1975, the Chabiba was strongly shaken, and its action disoriented.”
With their organization effectively dissolved, members of the Chabiba, led by Abdelilah Benkirane, re-formed as the Jamaa Islamiya in 1981. According to Talidi, Othmani was one of the leading supporters of Benkirane’s initiative. Along with Mohammed Yatim, who became the new group’s president, Othmani oversaw the charter of this new iteration of the Moroccan Islamic movement.
Benkirane then spearheaded the gradual “publicization” of the Jamaa Islamiya into a mainstream political organization, though some members, including Othmani remained opposed, advocating for the creation of two Jamaa Islamiya wings, one public and political, one private and underground.
“There was a group that refused to make the Jamaa Islamiya public, frightened of being exposed to [possible] arrests,” Talidi told Morocco World News. “The group expressed its reluctant desire to make the Jamaa Islamiya public on condition to preserve its former [secret] system.” In 1984, members of the Jamma Islamiya were arrested in Meknes following a police investigation. However, the officers who made the arrest did not know who the Jamaa Islamiya were, and became confused when the arrested members identified themselves as part of the Jamaa Islamiya. Benkirane himself came to the police station to arrange the members’ release. While Othmani had been among those members who were detained, he had managed to escape arrest.
An Official Islamist
The Moroccan Islamist movement gradually transformed from a fringe underground group whose activities were suppressed by the state to an officially-recognized political party, a shift permitted by the Moroccan state’s opening up to previous opposition movements in the late 1990s with late King Hassan II in his last days. Throughout the Islamist movement’s political legitimization, Othmani became a prominent figure in the party.
In 1986, a new page started in the history of the Islamists: political participation. Such a move “was never excluded,” Othmani told Talidi in 2008 “since the brothers did not participate to any elections at that time. That was disappointing, and this led to the emergence of the idea of political participation.” In 1997, the Popular Democratic and Constitutional Movement merged with the Jamaa Islamiya’s brief successor, the Reform and Renewal Movement (formed in 1996), and together became the PJD. Othmani was named the Deputy Secretary General. In his tenure under this position, and later as the Secretary General from 2004 to 2008, Othmani would see the PJD through its biggest challenges.
Following the May 16, 2003 terrorist attack in Casablanca, which led to the death of 45 people, the PJD was targeted by the state, who feared it would monopolize the elections due to the spread of Salafism among marginalized youth in Casablanca.
Following the attack, Othmani was summoned by the Minister of Interior Mustapha Sahel and Secretary of State, Fouad Ali El Himma. Afraid that the PJD would achieve a majority in the upcoming parliamentary elections, they lobbied him to present only 20 percent of the PJD constituencies to the legislative elections. Othmani accepted the conditions, effectively taking a bullet for the PJD’s Secretary General, Abdelkrim Khatib.
During this period, continued his academic work, publishing several books and papers on both psychology and Islamic studies. Among his popular books, there are “Jurisprudence of Political Participation of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah” (1997), “Woman’s Issues and Psychological Tyranny” (1998), and his diplôme superior thesis in Islamic Studies at Mohammed VI’s Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in 1999, “The Actions of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, with Imama Methodological and Legislative Connotations.” He also released “Religion and Politics: Preference, Not Separation” (1999), tackling the political participation of the Moroccan Islamist movement.
Since the PJD’s entrance into the public sphere as an official political party, Othmani has seemed reluctant to discuss his activist past, and in Talidi’s history, he recounts only his intellectual and academic paths, giving few details on his experiences in activism.
However, Othmani continues to be known as a bookworm. According to a close source from the PJD, he prefers to devote his time to reading books, even going as far to have others drive him on trips so he can focus on reading.
From Diplomacy to Psychiatry
Following the reform of the constitution in 2011 and the early legislative elections 2012 amidst the so-called Arab Spring, the PJD came out at the vanguard of Moroccan politics, taking 107 parliamentary seats out of 395. Having effectively won the elections, the PJD saw several of its members become ministers, including Othmani, who was named the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
However, his experience as the Morocco’s top diplomat from January 2012 to October 2013, did not leave a very praiseworthy legacy. A visit to Algeria in his first days as Foreign Minister did not go as planned. After meeting with his Algerian counterpart, Mourad Medelci, in January 2012, he sounded a very positive tone about a possible normalization of relations between the two countries.
He largely disappeared from the glare of the media in the intervening four years, with the exception of an opinion article on Al Massae he published amidst a heated controversy over abortion in which he called for a reform of Moroccan abortion laws. Making his argument through Islamic jurisprudence, he asked for more flexibility on the permissibility of abortion in certain circumstances, saying, “it would be possible to proceed with abortion in cases of malformation or rape and incest.”
Thrust into the Limelight
As the new Head of Government, he now faces the task of breaking the deadlock that has plagued the government ever since his party swept the 2016’s October legislative elections. His predecessor, Abdelilah Benkirane, led five months of futile negotiations with party leaders to form a government coalition before being dismissed from his position by King Mohammed VI as upcoming Head of Government on March 15.
He has told reporters that his appointment as coalition leader was “unexpected,” and that he had not yet determined his approach to party negotiations. However, with four decades of experience as a politician, activist, doctor, and academic under his belt, it is unlikely he will remain without a plan for long.
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