Pride and Prejudice

As part of the language program here in Fez, we have lectures every week on different aspects of Moroccan life.  Today we had a fabulous lecture on Islam in Morocco, which for me was a real education.  Like most Americans, my knowledge of Islam has been fairly limited.  I do my best to read and be knowledgeable, but when it comes down to it, I can name which celebrity is in rehab this week and who won last weeks Project Runway, but I couldn't tell you more than few sentences on the major religion of the country I'm living in...

In an attempt to pass on what I took from the lecture, I will do my best to summarize, but know all intelligent points belong to the lecturer (Niaz Ahmad).

A good starting point of understanding Islam in Fez is to start with a little history.  The oldest university in the world, Al-Qarawiyyin, is in Fez and is still a leading spiritual center for the Muslim world. The mosque associated with it is one of the largest in Fez and was built by a Tunisian Princess Fatimah Firiyyah. Upon arriving in Fez, sh actively scrutinized her funds, fearful of money that may have been obtained in a tainted manner.  Instead of spending her money on a palace or personal pleasure, she invested all her savings in the construction of the mosque that still exists today in Fez.  In the five pillars of Islam, one of the pillars is known as Zakat and it is the belief in giving alms.  This means, that each year Muslims should give 2.5% of their savings to the poor.  This money can also be distributed to travelers and those who have lost their high standing in society (like a doctor).  They belief behind this is that they have played an important part of society and should not be abandoned in a time of need.

In current day Morocco, this notion of generiosity is still very present.  For example, if you are on a train or bus and eating food in public, it is the norm to offer some food to those around you. 

Another pillar of Islam is the daily prayers.  The times of these prayers are timed with the sun, forcing people to be aware of the sun and the sky in their daily lives.  You must also perform ablution before prayer, making prayer time an opportunity reconnect with water, acknowledging waters purity and ability to maintain life on earth.  The fourth pillar is fasting during the month of Ramadan from dawn to sunset.  This is a way to practice self restraint, as well as staying in touch with the moon, as  Ramadan begins and ends with the cycles of the moon. 


As most current day discussion on modern Islam, our lecture did discuss a little about violence.  In taking into account violent acts today, it is important to always keep things in perspective.  Although violence has been a constant throughout the history of mankind, the 20th century saw violence and death in unparelled levels.  Between the Holocaust, Stalin, Mao and the dropping of the Atomic bomb over Japan, mass killings and genocide have become feasible. Technology, globalisation and imperialism have created a world where organized violence can occur on a massive scale.  Mass killings have occurred under the guise of many different beliefs and ideas in the past, and it is important to hold accountable the man and not the belief, for a belief cannotthe trigger of a gun.

This lecture left me in a state of reflection, forcing me to set aside my own pride and accept the fact that I too have fallen prey to generalizations, and in turn prejudice.  At the beginning of the lecture he asked us all to describe our experience with Islam.  As I reflected on the question, I realized my knowledge was limited to a few personal interactions, the classroom and of course what I hear on the news. Like any religion, there is a great complexity and beauty that extends beyond the doctrine and expresses itself in the people, history and culture. Throughout the rest of my time here I hope to observe without prejudice and without pride, comfortable with the fact that I have just begun to learn and that I have a long way to go.