The Road to Morocco - a path to understanding

 The Progress-Index of Petersberg, Virginia By: JENNIFER FRANCIS, Staff Writer December 02, 2001

From beneath the draping white cloth of the Rev. David Teschner's vestments Thursday peeked a bright yellow pair of leather pointy-toed slippers. "They are called babouches," Teschner said with a chuckle and a quick wiggle of his left foot. "They are a traditional form of footwear for Muslim men, but they sure do stand out with my Christian vestments." Back only three weeks from a six-day tour of the mainly Arabic nation of Morocco, Teschner is eager to talk about his experiences in the Islamic country and what he has learned about the religion seemingly so different than his own.

Morocco is far away from the small brick and stone building that is home to Teschner's parish, Christ and Grace Episcopal Church in Petersburg.

Since his return, he has shared his experiences from the trip with his congregation, spoken of the "friendly country" and its people, of the sites and sounds which were strange to American eyes and ears. He has told people of the way in which Muslims so proudly use the name of God in nearly everything they say, and how he himself has become fond of saying "if God willing," like so many of the Muslims he encountered.

But just as the two nations have their differences, Teschner said, he has also been quick to point out their similarities.

"Mosques highlight the skyline of towns and cities across Morocco much in the same way church steeples do across Petersburg," Teschner said during an interview in his parish office Tuesday. "Even though our religions are different we have the same core belief in one God."

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Despite growing American fears about air travel and destinations in Muslim and Arabic nations since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Teschner climbed aboard an airplane earlier this month and flew to Morocco. By his side was his wife, Juanita, and a group of about 13 other Americans, including his two brothers, Doug and Jim.

The Teschners did not decide to travel to Morocco on a whim. The Rev. Teschner's brother, Doug, was once a Peace Corps volunteer who worked in Morocco. Today, he is a member of the Friends of Morocco, a nonprofit organization made-up mostly of former Peace Corps volunteers with experience in Morocco as well as Moroccans living in the United States. The organization works to promote educational, cultural, charitable, social, literary and scientific exchanges between the countries. Since the group was making a trip to encourage tourism to Morocco, Doug Teschner figured it would make a great family outing and invited his brother and sister-in-law along.

At first, Juanita Teschner said, she wasn't sure it was such a good idea.

"I think with the climate in America right now people are just worried about the safety of traveling to such a country," Juanita Teschner said. "But after talking with the group, we decided it would be an excellent experience and one which we could learn from quite a bit."

For Juanita Teschner, the biggest draw was the ability to learn more about Islam, a religion and philosophy which has always fascinated her. As the wife of an Episcopal priest and as an American woman, the trip enabled Juanita to explore a world very different than her own.

"We hiked the Atlas Mountains while we were there and when we got to the top, there was a place where a holy man had been buried," she said. "There was a sign there that said in English 'No Women Beyond This Point' so I couldn't walk around and see the tomb, but my husband could."

From the rocky terrain of the Atlas Mountains to the bustling city streets of Casablanca, the group of American tourists interacted with Moroccans and spoke often about the need for the two countries to maintain good working relationships. The goal of the mission was to help Moroccans understand that Americans are friendly, and help Americans to see that Morocco is safe. The group drank tea in the homes of locals in small villages, ate dinner in restaurants where bread was baked in clay ovens and rode mules on unbeaten paths.

In one city, the group visited a mosque and saw first hand where and how the people of Morocco pray.

"It was amazing to me because the men and women are not allowed to worship together because they fear they will distract each other," Juanita Teschner said. "At the mosque, we visited Muslim men, worshiped from the main floor, while women were placed on the second floor behind a screen."

In the streets, Juanita Teschner said she would marvel at the various forms of women's dress, from the more modern who simply wore scares around their heads to those who covered their heads, arms and faces with heavy cloth.

But what impressed her the most, Juanita Teschner said, was the hospitality of the Moroccan people and the kindness in which they always treated the foreign tourists.

"They would invite you into their homes and always had a smile on their faces," she said. "Even though there was a language barrier - neither David nor I speak French or Arabic - we felt welcome."

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Tim Resch, president of Friends of Morocco, said that as more Americans like the Teschners travel to Morocco and share the stories of their experiences with others, fears will subside.

"Because Morocco is a Muslim and mainly Arab country, people here have fears," Resch said. "But I can say I was just there and Morocco is relatively safe and friendly."

In fact, Resch said, it is important for Americans to realize that Morocco was a member of the Gulf War coalition and is currently supporting the United States in its efforts to fight terrorism. Moroccans condemn the attacks on the World Trade Center, Resch said, and Moroccans were among the some 2,000 foreigners killed in the attack.

"We are not sugar-coating it. People can visit our web site and learn about Morocco or the Muslim people or about Islam," Resch said. "In some small way we hope that we are doing both Americans and Moroccans a service by putting that information out there.

"The work's not done, we are not there yet, but at least it's a start," he said.

For the Rev. Teschner, the trip was also the start of a better understanding about the Islamic religion for himself and his congregation. By bringing back what he learned about Islam and the Muslims, Teschner said, he was able to teach members of his church that different doesn't mean better or worse. Different, the Rev. Teschner said, simply means different.

Both the Rev. Teschner and his wife said they would enjoy visiting Morocco again one day and hope that their trip will have inspired others to travel to the nation which so many have heard about and few have visited.

"It's a beautiful country with beautiful people and a place I think nearly everyone could enjoy visiting," the Rev. Teschner said. "People should embrace what is different and learn everything they can."

The only thing the Teschners don't agree about are the reverend's yellow babouches. Although he is more than welcome to wear them when preaching on Sundays, Juanita Teschner said, he most certainly cannot wear them in the house.

"You can't smell them? They are dyed with cow urine," Juanita Teschner said while wrinkling her nose. "He most certainly can't wear them in the house."

"But they are comfortable," the Rev. Teschner said with a smile. "Besides, they are a real fashion statement."

For more information on Friends of Morocco, visit the group's web site at http://morocco.home.att.net

* Jennifer Francis may be reached at 732-3456, ext. 259.

ŠThe Progress-Index 2001