Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
May 21, 2016

How we helped Hasna's family flourish
May 16, 2016

Hasna and her family faced an uncertain future until a chance meeting with an officer from our Family Strengthening Programme changed their lives forever. Living in the incredibly poor Sidi Moumen shanty-town on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco is tough. But mum of four, Hasna, always tried her hardest to give her children the best childhood possible. Then, four years ago, everything changed when Hasna’s husband died suddenly. She found herself completely alone with her four young children, Salma, Yasmine, Karim and Nabil.

Sidi Moumen is notorious in Morocco. A sprawling shanty-town characterised by piles of rubbish on street corners and high unemployment, it is a difficult place to grow up. Opportunities, particularly for the young, are scarce and many young people turn to crime or extremism to escape the cycle of poverty they live in. Despite working a few days a week as a seamstress, Hasna wasn’t able to keep her children in school. This was a tough decision for Hasna. As a young girl she had been forced to drop out of school when her father also died unexpectedly. She ended up working as a domestic worker when she was just nine-years-old. She desperately wanted a different life for her children and knew the power of education to lift children out of poverty and give them a future outside the shanty-town. But if the family was to survive the children would have to help bring in some money. “It was a difficult time,” remembers Hasna. “But we didn’t have a choice.”
Since 2014, Morocco has tried hard to eliminate most forms of child labour, but poverty still leaves many families with no option but to send their children out to work. Nearly 5% of Moroccan children aged 10-14 are working. Only 0.7% of those children are still enrolled at school.

One day while out looking for work with her children, Hasna met Khadija, an officer from our Family Strengthening Programme in Dar Bouazza, Casablanca. Hasna told Khadija about her situation and her despair. Just ten days later, she was accepted onto the Family Strengthening Programme. Since then, the family has gone from strength to strength. Getting the children back into school as soon as possible was a priority for us and Hasna so we organised school fees, uniforms, books and stationary. We also provided Salma, Yasmine, Karim and Nabil with catch-up classes to help them get back up to speed with the children in their classes as quickly as possible. The oldest children, Yasmine and Karim, had been dealing with a lot of stress and sadness as they’d watched their mum struggle to make ends meet. They’d also not had a chance to grieve properly for their dad and so our counsellors gave them specialised support to help them overcome the trauma they had experienced.

We supported Hasna with food, fresh water and other supplies to meet the family’s immediate needs. “This enabled me to concentrate on improving my sewing skills so that I could start my own business,” says Hasna. Thanks to our Family Strengthening Programme, Hasna has been able to open her own sewing business. And that’s exactly what she did – after six months of training partly funded by SOS Children’s Villages, Hasna opened her own sewing business. She has been so successful that she has been able to buy her very own sewing machine. “I bought it with the earnings from the sale of my first items which I sold at the weekly souk,” she says proudly. Her beautiful work and unique designs mean that Hasna has quickly built up loyal customer base and she has been able to transform a room in her house into a tailors shop and buy a small car. “Hasna works so hard and the children are flourishing,” says Khadija who still keeps in regular contact with the family. Hasna is able to pay the school fees for the oldest children while continued support from SOS Children’s Villages ensures that the youngest children can continue their schooling too.

We have been working to protect vulnerable children in Morocco since 1985. Find out more about the work we do there.
http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/news/how-we-helped-hasnas-family-flourish
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Moroccan Women Entrepreneurs Turn Used Plastic Bags into Handicrafts
Monday 16 May 2016 - Larbi Arbaoui Rabat

Dar B’na, a Moroccan women’s association located in Dar Bouazza, a beach town on the outskirts of Casablanca, has launched an environmental project that recycles plastic bags transforming them into chic shopping bags, wallets, and other useful items. The project was launched by a dozen women with the same objectives: to save the environment by collecting discarded plastic shopping bags and to earn a living from the artisanal handicrafts they make. Speaking to Telquel, Daouia, one of the women working on the project, joked that “It’s like cigarettes, once you start it you cannot stop.”  She added that, “We are always on the search for used bags thrown in the streets.”

This initiative, which comports with the government’s new policies of reducing the use of plastic bags in Morocco, has changed the lives of some families.  All the members of some families are engaged in this green practice which is a source for income for them.  Young girls help in knitting plastic while boys collect plastic bags from the streets or the dust bins.
Morocco introduced a new law last October that aims to eliminate all plastic bags from use in the Moroccan market.  The law, which was presented by Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the Minister of Industry, will be discussed by Parliament before being put into force.

Mustapha El Khalfi, Minister of Communications and Government Spokesperson, who introduced the law said, “it is a great challenge to protect the environment, health, soil, and livestock,” especially given the fact that Morocco ranks as “the second country in the world for the most plastic bags,” according to the minister. Given that plastic bags can take 1,000 years to degrade, this plastic bag recycling initiative is a very important project for Morocco that should inspire other associations all over Morocco.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186639/moroccan-women-entrepreneurs-turn-used-plastic-bags-into-handicrafts/
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Petition Launched Against Bill Authorizing Maids to Work at Age 16.
Sunday 15 May 2016 - morocco world news Rabat

A number of international lawyers have started a petition under the slogan “No to the exploitation of minors working domestic jobs” against a bill in the House of Representatives that aims to authorize minors as young as 16 to work legally as maids in Morocco. On Monday, the Committee on Social Sectors approved bill 19.12, which also regulates working conditions for domestic servants, with seven members supporting the release of the draft for a vote by the entire legislature. Two other committee members opposed the draft’s release.

Critics of the bill say the minimum age to work as a maid should have been raised to 18 before it became tabled vote. According to a report by Hespress, the lawyers protesting the bill have amassed over 1600 signatures over the past few days. Signatories of the petition insist that children must have the opportunity to enjoy their rights to their full extent. They say that May 9 represents a “sad day” for young girls in Morocco because the law “destroys [their] dreams of a better life” and “exploits their childhood.”

“In the name of the children of Morocco and its young girls, we ask of you all to shoulder your responsibilities completely as representatives of the nation in the general voting session of the bill and to make the appropriate decision based on the constitutional principles and international treaties to which the kingdom has agreed,” the group’s statement said to the national legislature.
 “Take into consideration the opinions of the National Council on Human Rights, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council and also other experts in the field.”

The signatories of the petition also emphasized that allowing 16-year-olds to work as domestic servants would make them more vulnerable to exploitation via their socioeconomic disadvantages. The bill would be against the development of the country and decrease the minors’ chances of becoming economically and socially integrated in society, they added.

Abdeslam Saddiki, Minister of Employment, has previously defended the bill as “international laws indicate that the minimum working age should not be lower than the mandatory schooling age,” which is 15 in Morocco. He has also said the draft’s other provisions, which, among other new rules, require employers to sign a contract with the servants, would “lift the injustice” maids have been suffering for years.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186575/morocco-petition-launched-against-bill-authorizing-maids-to-work-at-age-16/
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Travel review: A history-themed cruise to Morocco
Jemaa El Fnaa, Marrakesh. Sunday 15 May 2016

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. The great affair is to move.”If you subscribe to Robert Louis Stephenson’s theory – that it’s not the destination but the journey that matters – then a cruise may just be the perfect holiday for you. To be honest, the idea of floating from one place to another has never particularly appealed to me. But when time at sea can also be spent learning about new destinations, the idea suddenly becomes a more appealing prospect.

Voyages To Antiquity champions the calibre of their knowledgeable speakers and guides, so I join a trip to Morocco to discover more about the exotic North African country. A former ferry, the Aegean Odyssey was converted into a cruise ship in 2010, a year after Voyages To Antiquity was founded. The cinema was replaced with a lecture theatre, and the capacity dropped to 380 people.
Tours are designed for the older passenger, with knowledge and information very much at the heart of excursions. Many of the guests I meet on the ship are retired academics or scholars, or those simply looking to learn more in later years.

After settling into our spacious cabin and enjoying a cocktail or two, our cruise sets sail from Malaga, Spain, and heads for the North African coast. There’s a live jazz trio in one of the bars to entertain us, and by the time we wake the following morning, we have docked in Tangier.

We join a walking tour, where our guide explains the roles played by Berbers, Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs in the city’s past. Before becoming part of Morocco in 1956, Tangier was a city of international status and a hub for smugglers and spies. While walking through the bustling markets, I half imagine James Bond or Modesty Blaise emerging from dark alleys. We continue to the city’s headline attraction, the Caves of Hercules, which lie on a beautiful stretch of coastline. There are various myths associated with the site, including one story suggesting Hercules drank from trickling pools of water. Afterwards, we return to the ship in time for pre-dinner drinks and a screening of Casablanca – the next stop on our journey.

Made famous by the 1942 Hollywood film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco with roughly four million inhabitants. It is also home to the beautiful Hassan II Mosque – although non-Muslims are not permitted inside unless on a pre-arranged visit. With our bags on the coach for an overnight stay, we begin a four-hour drive to Marrakech where we check in to the Kenzi Farah hotel. We eat dinner in the famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, where traders holler, hoping to entice hungry tourists to their stalls.

It’s vibrant, exciting and essential, but be on your guard – pickpockets are everywhere. So too are locals wishing to make a few coins from directing you to restaurants and bars. The markets and souks themselves are good fun, too. Haggling is a national sport, so stick to your guns and drive down those prices. The bottom-dollar you think you’re paying for that painted plate is likely higher than a local would pay anyway.

The following morning, we visit the Jardin Majorelle. It took French painter Jacques Majorelle 40 years to create this sheltered, exotic paradise full of cacti and tropical imported plants, later bought by designer Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge. The vivid walls, painted in the artist’s trademarked colour Majorelle Blue, are a sight to behold. The Marrakech museum, in the old Dar Menebhi Palace, is worth visiting for its beautiful mosaic floors and ceilings. We also stop at the Ben Youssef Madrasa, a former Islamic college.

After lunch in a traditional restaurant specialising in tagines, we return to Casablanca. Back on the ship, I spend time exploring the extensive library, listening to lectures and watching films. I chuckle, musing that once I would have probably been propping up the bar but here learning is all part of the journey.
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/travel-review-a-history-themed-cruise-to-morocco-1-7903046#ixzz49HnKkAqj
Read more here:https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/travel/167570/relax-en-route-magnificent-morocco/
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Morocco and US: The Price of Friendship
Friday 20 May 2016 - By Karim Bejjit Casablanca

Is Morocco overreacting to the Human Rights Report 2015 issued by the US State Department? The 40 page report posted on the official State Department website contains numerous references to alleged abuses of human rights committed by the Moroccan authorities in various parts of the country including the southern provinces.

On Tuesday 17 May, the Moroccan interior ministry issued a statement denouncing the report on the ground that it contains unverified information and pure fabrications based often on hostile and unreliable sources. The Moroccan authorities, the statement affirms, have regularly pointed out the danger of drawing hasty conclusions on the basis of isolated and individual cases. Since the report was issued on April 13, Moroccan officials met members from the US embassy in Rabat to discuss the alleged cases of abuse and hoped the evidence they provided would dispel the confusion and straighten out the facts. On his part, the US State Department spokesman, John Kirby declared that the State Department continued to hold firm to the report. Could this have triggered the upgrade in Moroccan official reaction? On Wednesday 18, the Moroccan foreign ministry summoned US ambassador to Rabat to protest against the conclusions of the annual report.

This new spat comes only weeks after a resolution passed by the Security Council S/RES/2285 (2016) demanding the return in three months’ time of MINURSO civil servants expelled by Morocco a month earlier. The original draft of the resolution submitted by the US ambassador to the UN had adopted a hardline position which provoked a great deal of concern and bitterness in the Moroccan official circles and among the public. The statement issued by the Moroccan foreign ministry carried unmitigated words of rebuke stating that Rabat “regrets […] that the member of the Security Council, which is responsible for the formulation and presentation of the first draft resolution, has introduced elements of pressure, constraints and weakening, and acted against the spirit of partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco.”

In the light of the established relations between US and Morocco dating back to the late 18th century, and the strong economic ties and solid military and intelligence cooperation that exist between the two countries, these recent developments may not look as somber and worrying as the media portray them. Summoning ambassadors in itself is not a dramatic event. In the last few months US ambassadors in Turkey, Italy, Uganda and Thailand have been summoned by the official authorities in a gesture of protest over some unpleasant issue. Annual country reports produced by US Department of State are typically records of alleged abuses and should be treated with adequate interest and attention. The report on some European countries such as Spain, France and Ireland themselves were not entirely devoid of cases of alleged abuse.

On the other hand, as a Moroccan academician who has spent years studying and teaching American culture and politics, and has visited different parts of the US, I am confident to say that in standing as a champion of human rights and upholder of universal values, the United States government has still much room for improvement. The reports of international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have portrayed a rather grim picture of the Human rights conditions in US often citing for illustration the high number of death sentences passed by American courts, police prosecution of African Americans and other ethnic minorities, economic disparity, labor rights, rights of non-citizens etc. The Human Rights Watch report for 2015 stated that “US national security policies, including mass surveillance programs, are eroding freedoms of the press, expression, and association. Discriminatory and unfair investigations and prosecutions of American Muslims are alienating the communities the US claims it wants as partners in combatting terrorism”.

The challenge which the respect of Human Rights poses is a real one and is not restricted to developing countries. Recent history has shown that the path of democratization in Europe and more notably in US has never been a bed of roses. And yet it must be said that there is a great deal to be learnt from Western democracies. The pressures exerted on Moroccan government from international Human Rights organizations, European and North American governments are not new and over the last three decades they have contributed to creating the ripe conditions for a benign transition toward a fair and just society. The course of transition may have been a little circuitous, but for someone like myself who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, I am fully and genuinely appreciative of the will that both the civil society and official authorities have shown to turn the dark page of the years of lead, and create a better social, political and economic environment for positive change.

Today there is a growing sense of optimism in Morocco perhaps not fully shared by the impoverished segments of the society and certainly not by radical activists whether Islamists or leftists and much less by scores of vocal pro-Polisario separatists. There is certainly a long way to go to appease this discontentment and reassure the sceptics. Nonetheless, the enduring political and economic stability of the country in a region plunged in unprecedented social and political unrest is clear proof that progress is being made and that the political elite is sensitive enough of what is being at stake.

What should be remembered is that Morocco is seeking recognition for its new regional role and its new political visage. The many reforms introduced, the successes achieved, and the experiences accumulated are not always properly acknowledged and valued by Morocco’s strategic allies. As a dynamic partner of the US, Morocco demands respect and understanding of its deep concerns and refuses to be mistaken for a failing state.
Karim Bejjit IS Director of the Moroccan American Studies Research Laboratory, Dept. of English, Hassan II University of Casablanca www.karimbejjit.com
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/187048/morocco-and-us-the-price-of-friendship/
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Don't feed the monkeys: Why your generosity is harming their health
Date:May 20, 2016
Source: University of Lincoln
Summary: Tourists who feed wild monkeys in Morocco are risking the health of an endangered species by making them larger, more susceptible to disease, and more stressed, according to new research.

Tourists who feed wild monkeys in Morocco are risking the health of an endangered species by making them larger, more susceptible to disease, and more stressed, according to new research.
Behavioral ecologists compared the health of two groups of wild Barbary macaques in Ifrane National Park in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco; one which spent nearly 50 per cent of their feeding activity eating food provided by humans, and another which rarely encounter tourists and instead relied on natural food resources. The macaques which ate food from tourists were found to have poorer quality fur, with some patches of alopecia, and also suffered from higher levels of stress hormones compared with the other group.

All the females in the non-fed group gave birth, but only a third of females in the groups of Barbary macaques frequently fed by tourists had babies. The monkeys which relied on natural food were observed to only suffer one incident of a stomach upset, while the group which received large amounts of food from tourists had 32 bouts of illness. The study also found that the effects of feeding by tourists were different depending on sex; while males did not differ between groups in body size and fur quality, the females fed by tourists had larger body sizes, but better coat quality. However, the males suffered more from alopecia and higher stress levels. The findings are published in the journal, PLOS ONE.

The study was led by Dr Laëtitia Maréchal as part of her PhD at the University of Roehampton. Dr Maréchal, now a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, UK, said: "Barbary macaques are an endangered species and recently tourism was proposed as a potential tool for the conservation of this species in Morocco. But such tourism is currently unregulated, and feeding is a common practice; therefore regulating tourist provisioning may improve animal welfare.

"We assessed the primates' health using a range of non-invasive measures, such as birth and survival rates, the quality of their fur, body size, occurrence of injury and disease, and stress hormone levels in fecal samples. Our findings support previous research which indicates that wildlife tourism, and particularly so-called 'tourist provisioning', has negative impacts on the health of wild animals.
"The study suggests that measures need to be taken to avoid causing more harm to an already endangered species. We are confident that changes will soon be made to regulate wildlife tourism in Morocco, as the Moroccan authorities and the local community have supported our study. Now tourists who encounter wildlife need to be informed that feeding wild animals is harmful, and so they should not do it."

Story Source: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Lincoln. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference: Maréchal L., Semple S., Majolo, B., and MacLarnon A. Assessing the effects of tourist provisioning on the health of wild Barbary macaques in Morocco. PLOS ONE, May 2016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155920
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160520142955.htm
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Moroccan Student Who Had Her Eyebrows and Hair Cut, Tells Her Story
Friday 20 May 2016 - Youssef El Kaidi Fez

After two days of being subjected to horrendous physical and psychological violence before the eyes of hundreds of students at the Faculty of Science in Meknes, Chaimae comes out in a statement to Alyaoum24 news outlet to tell her story in detail.  Restraining tears and with a lump at her throat, Chaimae describes the amount of violence inflicted on her by the radical leftist student group known as “The Interim Program.”

Chaimae was accused of spying on the leftist group who hold a different ideology than her own. “About twenty students attacked me and dragged me from my hair to the university. I know them one by one. They used to eat and drink at the cafeteria where I work. I was out when they came to me armed with swords and dragged me from my hair to the university campus,” she said. “They called out for all students to attend the trial and they started making verdicts. Some said my hand should be severed. Others said my eyebrows should be shaved and my hair cut. Finally they decided that my eyebrows should be shaved and my hair cut,” She added.

The terror the sixteen year old suffered at the hands of the ISIS-like students was tremendous. The physical wounds may heal with time, but the psychological scars would remain.  “Zouhir and Zakia were the ones who executed the verdict; they beat me, and shaved my eyebrows. She tied and blindfolded me. I was crying and beseeching them to remove the blindfold, which they did. I recognized them one by one…” she said with tears in her eyes.

After filing a complaint against the perpetrators, Chaimae said that the police arrested some of the “monster[s]” that attacked her and that the investigation is still ongoing. “I don’t want what I have experienced to happen to another girl. I also want that the perpetrators get their deserved punishment.”

The Moroccan university has always been a theatre for ideological confrontations with a history of assassinations, murders, and violence between different ideological factions. Despite the collapse of the USSR and the emergence of a new world political order, the leftist ideology is still deeply rooted in the Moroccan university. The frequent clashes between the Islamists and the leftists inhibit the Moroccan university from achieving its goals and living up to the expectations of Moroccans
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/187018/moroccan-student-who-had-her-eyebrows-and-hair-cut-tells-her-story/
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In Morocco, a new kind of Bedouin businessman
Lara Jakes Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Special To The Washington Post. TAN-TAN, Morocco

Sitting cross-legged on a brightly colored rug, Chettati Youssef proudly showed off his wares. Here, a golden candlestick made out of a ram's horn. There, a hearth mantle crafted from plaster, paint, and old cloth. Everything was made from discarded material he found and recycled into art - a new twist on a centuries-old nomadic habit of living off what is available. "The free bird doesn't repeat his songs - he always has something new," said Yousef, one of dozens of craftsmen this past weekend at the Moussem of Tan-Tan, an annual festival in the Sahara Desert that celebrates - and hopes to preserve - Morocco's tribal traditions and art. "The one in the cage only sings the same song."

Up to 250,000 people were expected to attend the multi-day festival in Tan-Tan, a windswept, mid-sized city in southern Morocco. Although the gathering is older than Morocco itself - the country won independence in 1956 - the moussem was shelved in the late 1970s during the Western Sahara war between Rabat and Algiers. It started up again in 2004, and UNESCO declared it a world heritage event a year later, giving more than 30 nomadic tribes from the region a stage to continue generations of meetings, trade, and fierce displays of horsemanship.

"The moussem was there before there were borders," organizer Fadel Benyaich, who also serves as Morocco's ambassador to Spain, said through a translator. "It has always been a part of our history, for tribes to show their own nomad cultures and traditions."

Now the moussem has become an opportunity for artisans like Youssef - and Morocco itself - to lure potential foreign investors, even as the kingdom's relationship with the United Nations grows increasingly strained over the very borders drawn on Bedouin lands.

In March, King Mohammed IV expelled most of the U.N.'s peacekeeping mission from the disputed Western Sahara region after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used the word "occupation" to describe Morocco's claim over the area during its 25-year cold war with Algeria. The separatist Polisario Front continues to seek independence for the region, which links Algeria to the Atlantic Ocean, despite a 1991 ceasefire that failed to settle the land dispute.

The Security Council last month urged Morocco to allow the return of the peacekeepers, but with a divided vote that reflected reluctance among several developing nations and even world powers to condemn the kingdom. The dust-up was the main undercurrent of conversation at the moussem among the estimated 70 diplomats, investors, and journalists who were invited to attend as a guest of the king, including Foreign Policy. Moroccan officials at the event refused to provide a full list of the guests, but many were Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish.

The guest of honor was the United Arab Emirates, which officials said is investing $10 million in a camel racetrack outside of Tan-Tan, located about 130 miles north of the Western Sahara border. Also honored were artisans from each of Morocco's 12 provinces - including the three that are under dispute, where Rabat is hoping to draw more investors.

"We want peace and business," Ouled Dlim tribesman Sidati Cheguaf, a local politician, tomato grower, and camel owner from the Western Sahara port city of Dakhla, said in an interview Monday.
Cheguaf wants the region to remain an autonomous part of Morocco because he worries that the tribes that don't win power in elections held in an independent Western Sahara state would never agree to be ruled by their rivals. He said it is up to the U.N. to resolve the longstanding impasse between Morocco and Algeria.

Showing off pictures on his iPhone of his desert camp of camels, Cheguaf acknowledged with a smile what he called the "evolving" dichotomy of the life of the Sahara Bedouin, from a nomad to an advocate of development. "Change is fine," he said. "The Bedouin will carry his culture on the back of his camel, wherever he goes."
morocco-trade
http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20160517/AP/305179783/InMoroccoanewkindofBedouinbusinessman
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BLUE. A sea of varying shades of blue. Blue streets, blue walls, blue houses, blue doors … you get the picture. Chefchaouen would win hands down in Morocco’s prettiest medina (or old part of town) competition, should such a thing exist. While most of the country’s annual 10-plus million tourists make a beeline for Marrakesh, Morocco has a lot more to offer and Chefchaouen is one such gem.
A mixture of distinctive architecture, indigenous culture and striking landscape, this is a city that could easily come from the pages of a storybook. Indeed, everything about this bohemian mountain town is a bit offbeat. A longtime favourite for visiting hippies — primarily thanks to the easy availability of hashish (or “kif” as the locals call it) — there’s a distinct laid-back vibe, which isn’t found in other Moroccan cities.

Nestled in the Rif Mountains — at about 5000 feet above sea level inland from Tangier — the blue-rinsed town clings to the steep hillside against a backdrop of dramatic peaks. It’s from these peaks the town gets its name, specifically the twin peaks likened to goat horns by the Berber natives thousands of years ago (Chefchaouen means “look to the horns”). It’s a city steeped in history.
Passing through the medina’s ancient walls, the temptation to reach for your camera and get snap-happy hits instantly. The labyrinthine streets are a photographer’s dream: tiny stray cats silhouetted against old door frames; elderly Berber men shuffling down alleyways in conical djellabas (robe); dreamy, colourful spice-filled souks; warm circular loaves of bread baking in large communal ovens and cheeky local children chasing one another down twisting, turning blue-soaked streets. There’s a Kodak moment around every corner.

Speaking of, the 15th century kasbah — now a museum — off the town’s main square is worth a visit, both for the sweeping view of the town from above, as well as a look at the dungeons below. Next door, you can admire the Grand Mosque, well, its exterior anyway (non-Muslims aren’t allowed to enter) and wherever you are in the medina you’ll be able to see the bright white Spanish Mosque, perched high on a hill just east of town.

Spanish colonialists started work on the mosque when they arrived in the 1920s, but it wasn’t until 2010 that they finally restored and opened the building to the public for the first time.
After sightseeing, head into the thick of the medina for some retail therapy. Shopping here is a far more relaxing experience than elsewhere in Morocco, so it should be taken advantage of. There’s a noticeable absence of hasslers here — although you’ll more than likely be asked if you want to buy hashish at least once during your stay — but in general, browsing and purchasing err on the low pressure side.

Traditional crafts made by Berber tribes in the surrounding Rif mountains make the best buys, particularly textiles. Wool and cactus silk, vegetable dyed rugs are hand embroidered by Berber women and often incorporate signature tribal “tattoos”. Also, you can get a pair of local “babouche” soft leather slippers custom-made in a few days.

Owing to its hilltop position — and providing a gateway to the surrounding mountains — the city is a great hub for outdoor activities. If your legs aren’t already broken from walking the steep medina alleyways, then hiking is a popular activity. You can go for a more strenuous route or take an idle stroll outside of the medina to the waterfalls of Ras El Maa, where locals come to cool off and do their laundry.

Back in town there are a handful of hammams — two off the main square — which offer the perfect post-hike scrub down. These traditional baths have their roots in those frequented by ancient Romans and if you’ve ever visited the baths in Pompeii then you’ll see the similarities. Some in Chefchaouen have been in operation for almost 500 years and for a tiny sum you can follow in the footsteps of centuries of bathers.

When it comes to eating out, unlike the more cosmopolitan cities of Fez, Casablanca and Marrakesh, diversity of cuisine and “fine dining” isn’t on the menu, but good, basic Moroccan staples are. Tangines and couscous are pretty much ubiquitous.

La Lampe Magique Casa Aladdin is just off Plaza Outa el Hammam and offers great views from its rooftop terrace, alongside a very welcome open wood fire on cold evenings. Adjacent to the kasbah, Chez Hicham is a great venue to try the signature “pastilla” or Moroccan pigeon pie made with flaky pastry and topped with toasted almonds.

But no matter where you eat, one sure-fire way to absorb some local colour is to do as the natives do and pull up a chair in one of the cafes on the bustling main square and order a class of “Berber whiskey”, otherwise known as mint tea. For the uninitiated it’s best to opt for no sugar — unless you want early onset diabetes, that is.

And if you’re going to pick a time of day to do it, then sunset is it. It’s at this time — when the mournful wail from the evening call to prayer fills the air and the sun burns red over the cloudy, distant mountains, covering everything in a golden hue — that this unique city is truly at its most magical.
The writer travelled as a guest of Tempo holidays. See tempoholidays.com
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/travel/world/blue-haze-a-tour-of-moroccos-hippy-capital-chefchaouen/news-story/88f035189aeb46f0207911959a76a8a0
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Postcard from Moroccan Bureaucracy
Tuesday 17 May 2016 - Myriam Fizazi-Hawkins Casablanca

I recently went home to Morocco after my grandmother’s death. During my trip, I experienced unexpected efficiency and kindness by government employees. But I also experienced the utter indifference and inefficiency that our bureaucracies have perfected. This is my story.

I worried as my plane landed in Casablanca that I would have a hard time at passport check. In my scatterbrained state, I had remembered my American passport but forgotten my expired National ID card. I recalled from past experiences that the officers at passport check were dour, humorless sorts who disapproved of my dual citizenship and marriage to a non-Moroccan and harangued me about never forgetting who I was. One had said to me once, “You couldn’t find a Moroccan to marry, you had to go marry a foreigner?” So I was expecting unpleasantness. But the policeman at passport check at Mohammed V Airport welcomed me home. When he learned the reason for my trip, he said “Lbaraka frassek.” He asked me for my National ID card. I told him “I forgot it,” and thought “Here comes the lecture.” But he didn’t try to shame me.

Instead, he said “No problem, give me your name and your father’s name, I’ll find the number, and I’ll write it down in your passport so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.” I thought “My goodness, how terribly efficient, and a little scary” (but we know this about our security services, they are good at their jobs). I also thought “What kindness.” And when I told Facebook about the kindness of strangers on my trip home, I included thanks for this gentleman.

But in case you thought that this attitude has spread to other government agencies, I am here to reassure you that it’s business-as-usual in the Ministry of the Interior Office of Vital Statistics.
After my experience at the airport, I thought I should apply for a new National ID card when I returned to the US. I would need official copies of my birth certificate. I don’t really need to do this, you understand. I have my expired card. The police database at the airport knows me. I also have a Certificate of Foreign Birth, which the US Consulate gave my mother when I was born. So I already officially exist in two countries’ government databases.

But the Ministry of the Interior has been doing a PR campaign saying that the bureaucracy has been streamlined and it’s easier to get what you need from them. And the Moroccan Embassy website said I could apply for my ID card online. So I thought “I’m here, why not?” The Office of Vital Statistics was an ancient building with numbered doors and barred windows around a courtyard. People wearing sabr (a cross between patience and endurance) like a second skin stood in lines. Some people sat or milled around in the courtyard. My father and I stood out as people who looked like we believed things would work out for us. After all we had a copy of my expired card, and the “Carnet de Famille,” or family booklet, listing my birth.

We waited to see the lady who would issue the copies. In good time, a policeman called us into her office. Another woman sat there trying to get papers. The vital statistics lady looked me up in the big paper registry for 1971. She found it, which didn’t surprise me, but then she said: “I can’t issue copies of your birth certificate because the person who registered your birth made a mistake, scratched it out, and corrected it. You have to go to court to get a judgment that this is the right date, and then come back.” I wasn’t sure I understood her correctly because 1) my Darija is rather mediocre and 2) it seemed shockingly wrong, so I asked my father to translate. He confirmed what she said, and said to the lady, “but here’s the family booklet issued by the state, it has the right date.” That didn’t make a difference.

My dad said “So your employee made and corrected his mistake in 1971 but we have to get a judgment to confirm the fixed mistake?” That earned him a frown.

I thought I would offer a solution. I said “Look. Here’s a copy of the expired card, issued by this office, my birth date is on here. Here’s my American passport, my birth date is on here too.” She wouldn’t budge. In a split second I thought of the efficient police database, and the contrast with the paper registry where someone used a Bic to write down my birth in 1971. I thought of the Ministry of the Interior’s PR campaign. I looked at the lady bureaucrat’s face, which had closed like a fist, the citizen who was looking at me with sympathy, and the policeman who was just watching to see what would happen next. And I made a decision.

“Never mind, Dad, let’s go.” That surprised them all. “Blesh,” I said. “I don’t need it. I don’t even need the citizenship. I’m an American.” And we left. Because having experienced the courtesy and efficiency of airport police (believe me, that is not something I thought I would ever write), I knew what I could expect from a government agency, and I wasn’t willing to settle for less.
When my father and I left, the courtyard was still full of people trying to get something vital out of Vital Statistics. I am sure some of them will be told, like me, that they have to get something important from another labyrinthine government agency first, by someone with a huge paper registry that looks like it dates from the administration of Maréchal Lyautey. Most of them will make remarkable displays of sabr and humor, and some will feel forced to deploy the weapon of last resort of Moroccans faced with broken bureaucracy: the MAD 200 bill. Asking a citizen to hire a lawyer and go to court to get a judgment nullifying a mistake made by a government employee that the employee had corrected is asking them to live in an Ionesco play. Is it any wonder so many Moroccans want to live elsewhere? Or resort to bribery?

I have heard from friends that my story is quite common. Here’s what I would like you to take from it, aside from the fact that I clearly failed sabr class in the school of Moroccan life:

• Morocco has made some great progress. The way I was treated at the airport is proof.
• But parts of the bureaucracy are stuck in an old, rigid way of doing things that strips citizens of their dignity and encourages corruption, regardless of government PR.
• The majority of Moroccans can’t say “Blesh” and turn their backs on the absurdity and indignity of some of these interactions, as I did secure in the knowledge of my American citizenship. I share my story with them in mind, hoping that one more voice demanding efficient government services for all Moroccans will make a difference. It can happen, it must happen, and we all deserve it.

Maimshi m3akoum bass.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186753/postcard-from-moroccan-bureaucracy/
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Mohammed VI Imam Academy:Another Success Story in Faith Management in Morocco 
MENAFN - Morocco World News - 17/05/2016

Mohammed VI is quite a taciturn monarch in comparison to his late father Hassan II, an eloquent speaker, keen on public speaking and giving interviews to foreign press. The son unlike the father believes more in deeds than words and, indeed, since his accession to the throne, he hardly gave any interviews to the media, be it national or foreign. However, Mohammed VI, very much like his forefather Hassan I (18731894), a sultan who was always on his horse, travelling all over the country collecting taxes and enquiring about the well-being of his subjects, is a jet-set monarch visiting different capitals in search of diverse markets and cooperation schemes that could bring investment to the country and provide jobs to Moroccans.

The Moroccan monarchy is one of the oldest in the world, it dates back to the Idrisid dynasty (788974) and has always strived to strike a balance between different religious currents, social tendencies and economic interests and achieve equilibrium for the sake of stability. The task has always been difficult, if not impossible, but this political system has been successful through time in keeping the country united and inclusive.

The monarch in Morocco is the head of the state, but, most importantly, he is 'the Commander of the Faithful;' amir al-mu'minin, a religious office that gives him a quasi-sacrosanct status. Ordinary people would often criticize his political acts, his worldly decisions in running the affairs of the country, but, hardly, his religious clout or actions. Interestingly enough, his religious status is, even, recognized in many countries of Western Africa, who acknowledge his religious title of 'Commander of the Faithful,' especially among the Tidjane communities in Western Africa.

Mohamed El Mansour,[ii] a prominent Moroccan historian writes that Mawlay Sulayman (17921822), an Alouite sultan was vanquished by Berber tribes near Meknes and made prisoner. He thought, deep down, that the Berbers, who contested his temporal role, would kill him, but he was wrong. They put him in a tent, fed him and took off his djellaba (robe-like garment with a hood), cut them into hundreds of pieces, which they distributed evenly among their warriors, for divine grace Baraka purposes, and went back to their mountains happy and satisfied with their accomplishment.
In the 19th century, Morocco was divided into two political territories, but it was yet one country. There was bled al-Makhzen, land under total control of the central government and bled as-siba, land of dissidence, made generally of mountains inhabited by Berbers, who recognized the religious authority of the sultan but not his temporal one since they often refused to pay taxes to him.
But in spite of this quiet and muted rebellion of the Berbers against the sultan and his power, yet his religious clout remained intact. The inhabitants of the mountains made Friday prayers and the ensuing sermon khutba in his name, as well as, all other prayers, especially prayers for the rain followed by a procession, called taghunja.

After the independence in 1956 and the reunification of Morocco, King Mohammed V, King Hassan II and the present monarch all practiced their religious office, written in gold in the various constitutions, solemnly and diligently, by leading Friday prayers, religious feasts and Ramadan daily lectures. Because of the importance of the religious field, the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs was always located in the Mechouar (palace's precinct) so that the Monarch can walk to the ministry, whenever he deems it necessary, to oversee personally the management of religious affairs of the country.

During the reign of Hassan II (1961-1999), a very conservative monarch, he made it a rule to always start and end his numerous speeches to the nation with verses surats of the Koran and intersperse them with sayings of the Prophet Muhammad hadiths, which gave his words a kind of sacredness and his message utmost importance, even though most of the people did not understand such speeches because they were delivered in classical Arabic and not in darija, the local Arabic idiom.

Islamists' Frustration in Morocco
Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, and the subsequent rise of political Islam in the Muslim world. Islamists took easily control of the religious matters in most Muslim countries because local political leadership had either secular inclinations or did not consider religion as an important issue of daily life. To give their campaign importance and gain in membership, they, also, invested effort, money and dedication in social affairs, a good example of that is the Ikhwan in Egypt, assisting poor people with education, health and living expenses.

In Morocco, the Islamists frustrated by the predominant role of the conservative monarchy in religious affairs, epitomized by the yearly act of allegiance bey'a, presented by officials to the 'Commander of the Faithful' on the day of his accession to the throne, to give his office a religious blessing, divide into three factions of different opinions:
Moderate Islamists willing to accept the monarchy and its omnipresence in Moroccan life and represented by today's Parti de la Justice et du Developpement PJD-, currently in power;

Rejectionist Islamists, al-'Adl wa al-Ihsan, who question the legitimacy of the monarchy but abstain from overthrowing it and condemn any idea of recourse to violence and extremist action to change the political system;

and Foreign legion of violent Islamists formed and financed by Al-Qaeda, ISIS or oher, with the agenda of overthrowing the monarchy and replacing it with a caliphate political system. The latter group tried their hand at violence in the events of Casablanca bombings of May 3, 2003, leading to the death of 47 innocent people. This dramatic event served as a wakeup call to Mohammed VI to review his management of the religious faith in Morocco.

Mohamed Abbadi, spiritual guide of Al-'Adl wa al-Ihsan
Proactive management of the religious field
It turned out that most of the attackers of the Casablanca bombings of 2003 were young recruits coming from the poor and marginalized shanty town of Sidi Moumen. Nabil Ayouch, a Moroccan film maker, immortalized this important even of Moroccan history in a long feature film entitled: 'Horses of God.' As a follow up to this dramatic event, Mohammed VI launched on May 18, 2005 the National Human Development Initiative (INDH), a national solidarity project aiming at empowering the needy and alleviating poverty.

This was followed by a rigorous program of training of Imams (religious preachers) in the conservative and moderate Malekite doctrine and school of thought and for the first time women religious were included as clergy and were trained to initiate womenfolk to the moderate Islam. They were called mourchidate and have achieved an incredible success in counseling women in religious affairs to the extent that many countries copied this experience to halt them from becoming violent and serving as vehicles for time bombs of the extremists.

However, the most important achievement in the present monarch's progressive management of the faith issues is the opening, on March 27, 2015, of Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates, slated to play a leading role in fighting religious radicalism and violence related to extremist interpretation of the Islamic faith in Morocco and the world.

Poster of the film
Ilan Berman, in an article published in Foreign Affairs, views this experience in rather positive light, as a progressive approach that can be easily grafted on the religious establishments of other countries of the Muslim World: 'For years, the Kingdom of Morocco viewed itself as an exception to the radical political problems of the Middle Easta designation that suggested its experience was both unique and not easily translatable to the outside world. Increasingly, however, Morocco appears to be transitioning into the role of an intellectual model that is both willing and able to take a stand against Salafism and jihadism. In the words of one Moroccan religious official, the kingdom today 'sees itself as a natural leader' in the battle of ideas taking place in the Muslim world, on account of its religious credibility and its tolerant teachings.

For the United States, this should come as welcome news. Washington, deeply invested in countering violent extremism in its various forms, would do well to take note of Morocco’s soft-power innovations. It would do even better to leverage them in the global fight against Islamic radicalism.'

The Imam Academy is, probably, the first organized reaction to the massive fundamentalist tsunami in religious preaching and education. Until now, radical Islam, quite aptly, had the upper hand in religious education or rather religious indoctrination, brainwashing the youth in hating anyone standing against their philosophy and teachings and especially the West, for its secularism and democracy. This institute is training at the moments Moroccan students as well as clergy from such countries as: Nigeria, Chad, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and France. Soon students from Tunisia and the Russian Federation will join.

The Institute provides curriculum in religious topics such as Koranic interpretation, exegesis, Sayings of the Prophet Hadith and his doings Sunnah in addition to Islamic law shari'a, etc. Besides, it, also, provides education in humanities, mainly; history, geography such subjects as philosophy, psychology and sociology that are despised by the Islamists because teach critical and free thinking.
The duration of the training is one full year for Moroccan students and two years for the others, the French, instead, will have to spend three years after which they will be granted a degree to become official Imams in their own countries.

Mohammed VI inaugurating the Imam Academy on March 27, 2015
Morocco leading the way towards brotherhood of men
Mohammed VI has not only succeeded in keeping Morocco safe from the Islamist Tsunami and the ill-fated Arab Spring and its dire consequences, but has, also, successfully initiated a paying strategy to combat radical religious indoctrination, which for the moment is available in Morocco but can be easily copycatted in other countries of the Muslim world.
So, not only Morocco has survived miraculously the Islamist undertow, but it is, also, leading the way toward a more moderate Islam, accepting of other faiths and cultures and respectful of their difference. And it was about time Muslim moderates stood up to extremism in an orderly manner.
Endnotes:
[ii] Mohamed El Mansour:Morocco in the reign of Mawlay Sulayman. xiv, 248 pp. Wisbech, Cambs.: Middle East and North African Studies Press Ltd., 1990.
You can follow Dr. Mohamed Chtatou on TwitterAyurinu
http://www.menafn.com/1094770456/Mohammed-VI-Imam-AcademyAnother-Success-Story-in-Faith-Management-in-Morocco
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Morocco, a Pioneer in Intellectual Fight Against Extremism: American Expert
Monday 16 May 2016 - Larbi Arbaoui Rabat

An article published on the Foreign Affairs highlighted the pioneering role played by the Kingdom of Morocco in the fight against Islamic fundamentalism after the establishment of the “Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates (religious preachers).” Under the title, “Morocco’s Islamic Exports: The Counterterrorism Strategy Behind the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams,” Ilan Berman, Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council, a non-profit U.S. foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC., explained that Morocco’s religious reforms after the deadly attacks in Casablanca in 2003 put the kingdom “on the frontlines of the intellectual struggle against radical Islam.”

“Morocco’s contemporary counterterrorism strategy can be traced back to the spring of 2003,” said Berman, adding that the series of synchronized attacks that rocked the city of Casablanca, killing 45 and wounding dozens of others, was “a wakeup call.”

The US publication added that these attacks have caused a profound awareness among the Moroccan people, giving alarming signs to the authorities that the nation was not immune to the radicalism plaguing the rest of the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr. Berman said that Morocco responded quickly by introducing the family code, known as the Moudawana, the following year, “as part of efforts to forge a more inclusive society.” He added that this social reform brought in “a dramatic enhancement of the status of women, who gained equal legal standing in the household, the power to initiate divorces, and the right to inherit equally,” in addition to the pioneering and leading role they were given to play in the religious field after the training of hundreds of female preachers, known as “morchidates.”

The US Magazine hailed the efforts of the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams that increasingly help Morocco transition into “the role of an intellectual model that is both willing and able to take a stand against Salafism and jihadism.”

The magazine added that Morocco is now considered as a “leader in the battle of ideas taking place in the Muslim world,” on account of its religious credibility and its tolerant teachings.
Morocco set itself as a religious leader in the region, advocating a moderate Islam based on the Ashaari doctrine and the Malikite School of jurisprudence.

Last January, some 300 Islamic scholars, jurists, muftis (those capable of issuing fatwas) and government ministers from Muslim states gathered in Marrakech to discuss the issue of protecting religious minorities in the Islamic world. The international meeting gave birth to the Marrakesh Declaration, which is a statement made by “more than 250 Muslim religious leaders, heads of state, and scholars,” which champions “defending the rights of religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries.”

Last March, the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, inaugurated the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates (religious preachers), that has started offering training to Imams from Morocco, the Arab world, Africa and Europe.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186688/morocco-a-pioneer-in-intellectual-fight-against-extremism-american-expert/
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Music of Morocco - Recorded by Paul Bowles 1959.
by Imran Khan 19 May 2016

Housed inside a cigar box decorated with arabesque print, Dust-to-Digital’s Music of Morocco offers what is perhaps one of the most definitive experiences of North African music yet recorded. This is the North Africa of novelist Paul Bowles, and the music of these four discs strangely captures a very close and intimate feeling of traditional Moroccan sounds while engaging in the music at an observational remove. Recorded by the writer between the summer and winter of 1959 in Morocco, what can be heard on this release are the clandestine sounds of a culture completely in tune with nature. Music of Morocco is the sound of the many diverse ethnic and regional styles of Moroccan music, and it is a fully rounded overview of what this part of North Africa has to offer. Here, there is a wealth of stories to be told by hand in the rough and raw drumming of the bendirs and tabls (Berber percussion); the landscapes are arid and the sounds feel caked with the dust rising in the fervour.

There is an exhaustive amount to listen to here, but taken in one sitting, there is also the benefit of a deeply hypnotic absorbing of culture. The first and second discs focus on the Berber traditions in the highlands of Morocco. Filled with intense drumming and passionate singing (of either single voices or mixed choirs), the highlands reveal the musical life of intimate family affairs. Certain tracks stretch well over the 13-minute mark, working a mesmeric, circular rhythm. Some cuts are really nothing more than just the airy reed work of woodwinds and the notes are pressed intensely into the atmospheres before they disperse. In contrast, the third and fourth discs concentrate on the lowlands (subtitled “Influent Strains”) and explore yet another facet of Morocco’s musical culture. The sounds feel even dryer on these recordings, and there is the sensuous warmth of an afternoon’s sun filling the air. Together, these discs provide music that’s never lush, but rather earthy and parched; there is the inbuilt soul of African colour within these scales and they glow with the heat of desert reds and sky blues. Even with the sometimes harsh and fevered turns of melody and rhythm, it is never difficult to drift upwards on a contemplative cloud when listening.

Also included in the box set is a leather-bound booklet of 120 pages, which details the history of these recordings. Compact but lovely, the booklet is filled with essays from Bowles himself, Lee Ranaldo (singer and guitarist from Sonic Youth), and essayist Philip D. Schuyler, plus in-depth reviews of a number of the tracks that are featured in this collection. In addition, there are plenty of black and white photographs that accompany the writings in the booklet—including photos of Bowles and his many literary friends during their time spent in Morocco, as well as native Moroccan folk and musicians.

While the music in this box set can certainly be enjoyed simply for what it is (solid, compelling musicianship), it seems to serve more as a portal into understanding cultures outside of Western social doctrines. Music of Morocco, therefore, proves a most valuable and edifying artifact of cultural experience and immersion. For those adventurous sorts willing to dive headfirst into one of Africa’s most fascinating cultures, this little glory box of sound will provide ample gifts of the Maghreb, imaginations fully arrested in the hours of contemplation.
http://world.einnews.com/article/326886596/8u9iLij3Bp-ojxD3
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A weekend break in... Rabat
16 May 2016

Why go now?
Tourists seduced by the exoticism of Marrakech and Fez often unfairly neglect Morocco’s lesser-known capital – at its best now, before temperatures rocket. Smaller than you would expect, with a centre compact enough to be walkable, Rabat is enchanting. Its seaside location, at the mouth of the River Bou Regreg, is a delight – with unspoilt public beaches and a fairy-tale 12th-century kasbah perched over the water. 

Across the lagoon, easily reached by foot, tram or rowing boat, is Rabat’s pretty sister city, Salé. Inland, you will find fine historic buildings, a bustling, menace-free medina (old quarter) and an elegant ville nouvelle (new town) with palm-lined boulevards and cosmopolitan restaurants. 

Early summer is a lovely time to visit. Music-lovers should head for the city’s annual Mawazine (“Rhythms of the World”) festival, headlined this year by Christina Aguilera (May 20-28; festivalmawazine.ma).
Read more here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africa/morocco/articles/a-weekend-break-in-rabat-morocco/
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Colorful Parade at Tan-Tan Moussem Festival in Morocco
Monday 16 May 2016 -Larbi Arbaoui Rabat

Thousands of people took part in the colorful parade on the streets of the southern Moroccan city of Tan-Tan as part of the 12th annual Tan-Tan Moussem Festival, running from May 13 to 18.
The festival, which is recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, brought about a thousand people, representing various nomadic tribes from the Moroccan Sahara and other Arab and Gulf countries.

The festival celebrates the Bedouin culture and the perspicacity of the locals through the preservation of the various dimensions of their daily life. As is the fact every year, the citizens and local associations have shown their commitment to the success of the Tan-Tan Moussem Festival. All the participants demonstrated their attachment to the integrity of the kingdom through various artistic forms including paintings, patriotic songs by students and local bands, fashion exhibitions and demonstrations of martial arts.

The parade also highlighted traditional clothes, music and customs of the Saharawi marriage, music and all the components and aspects of this rich culture were beautifully demonstrated.
The participants in the festival showcased a diverse range of performances specific to their tribes including popular songs, heritage games, poetry evenings, and performances featuring horses and camels.

Some Gulf countries contributed in the enrichment of the festival that was historically considered an annual gathering of the Amazigh and Hassani tribes to “promote local traditions and provide a place for exchange, meeting and celebrations.” “An active Emirati participation in the activities of the Tan-Tan Moussem Festival is quite important as it boosts cultural dialogue and reinforces exchange between the main players in the field of authentic Bedouin heritage and culture,” said Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, chairman of the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee in Abu Dhabi. “This participation serves and strengthens the distinguished cultural ties between the UAE and the brotherly Kingdom of Morocco,” he added.

In September 2004, the Tan-Tan Cultural Festival was inducted into the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage to ensure its safeguard and maintain its annual organization
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186711/colorful-parade-at-tan-tan-moussem-festival-in-morocco-2/
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The Obama Administration Snubs Another Arab Ally: Despite major political gains, Morocco is targeted by Foggy Bottom.
May 19, 2016

The remarkable video below shows a group of Moroccan Jews from Israel singing and dancing in front of police checkpoints at the King Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, upon their arrival from Jerusalem. They had come to make a religious pilgrimage in the region of Ouarzazate. The comfort level of a group of Jews in religious attire in an Arab country, literally dancing through the metal detector, is both moving and telling. Morocco has enshrined the rights of Jews into its constitution. Moroccan Jews of the world, including in Israel, routinely express a feeling of deep attachment to their country of origin.

The merits of the kingdom's constitution, ratified overwhelmingly by the population in a 2011 referendum, go beyond the country's Jewish community. While consecrating the popular sovereignty of the king, it also transfers most ministerial responsibilities to an elected Chief of a Government. It affirms the sanctity of human rights, equality of all before the law, and freedom of expression. It also consecrates the virtue of preserving the environment, a responsibility to be shared by the monarchy, the state, and the population.

With respect to human rights and the equality of Moroccan citizens, the constitution is not merely aspirational: It reflects a social reality, painstakingly nurtured by the present king since he took the throne in 1999. Among his first dramatic moves was to set in motion a process of equity and reconciliation, whereby the suffering of elements of the population at the hands of the security services in prior decades was acknowledged and redressed. The Moroccan experience of transitional justice has become a model which other countries in Africa and the Middle East have begun to apply to their own societies.

Thus the outstanding—and widely acknowledged—political gains which Morocco has registered are not a child of yesterday but rather the result of a long and gradual process. That process is not over: It moves forward, in the manner of so many human endeavors, with occasional fits and starts as well as periods of rapid acceleration. At its finest moments, it is a process in which the state, as well as members of the society in all walks of life, partner for the common good.

When a developing country takes such measures and registers manifest results, its leadership and people hope for acknowledgment and support from the developed democracies of the West with which it is allied. But from the present administration in Washington, Morocco has encountered the opposite. The most recent manifestation of apparent ill will was the release of a human rights report by the U.S. State Department which was outrageously and demonstrably inaccurate. A few days ago, the U.S. Ambassador to Morocco was summoned, and confronted with documentation of substantial factual mistakes, some of which can be verified through a mere survey of international reporting on the country. The kingdom awaits the U.S. Government's acknowledgment of error.
both parties' frontrunners in the American presidential campaign appear to be conveying a desire to change course in foreign policy, though the details are as yet unclear. America's ability to garner goodwill and play a positive role on the world's stage depends on the next administration's success at doing so. The Obama administration's policies toward its traditional allies in the Arab and Muslim world—sometimes neglectful, other times cavalier—has been a failure, playing into the pathology of terrorism and among the causes of state collapse in Libya and beyond. And with respect to Morocco, rather than recognize and support the country's remarkable political and social reforms, the Administration has used a combination of hyperbole, fixation on isolated error, and pure falsehood to condemn the country and alienate its people.

To argue for a course correction is not to argue against a nuanced foreign policy or critical dialogue as a component of American-Arab relations. But it is to echo the views of so many in the Washington policy community that the present state of affairs is untenable—damaging to the United States, its allies in the region, and global security.
Ahmed Charai is publisher of the weekly Moroccan newspaper L'Observateur and president of MED Radio, a national broadcast network in Morocco, MEDTV network and chairman of the board of Al-Ahdath al-Maghrebiya Arabic daily newspaper. As an expert on Morocco and North Africa, he sits on the Board of Trustees of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He is a member of the National Interest's Advisory Council.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-obama-administration-snubs-another-arab-ally-16267
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Moroccan Muslim Woman Looks After Jewish Synagogue (video)
Thursday 19 May 2016 - Morocco World News Rabat

Many are the stories that tell of the tolerance, generosity, and hospitality of Moroccans. One such legendary story is that of Lahcen who lives in the fur-flung village of Arazan, near Taroudant.
Lahcen has been keeping a promise made to his friend Moshe in the 1950s.  When Moshe immigrated to Israel, Lahcen promised to take care of his ancestors’ graves for as long as he lived – and he has done so until now.

A more recent story was reported by Alhorra TV of a Moroccan Muslim woman who has devoted her life to taking care of the Rabbi Haim Pinto Jewish synagogue in the city of Essaouira. Malika Aidrous can teach the world the most sublime meaning of tolerance and coexistence. For years, she has been receiving visitors, cleaning the synagogue, and taking care of its documents and equipment.
“People ask me if I am a Jew or a Muslim; I say I am a Muslim and they are surprised. How can a Muslim woman take care of a Jewish synagogue? I tell them, this is our culture that we inherited from our ancestors. We were living together with Jews without any problems whatsoever,” Malika told Alhorra TV.

Andre Azoulay, a Moroccan Jew and advisor to King Mohammed VI believes that “Islam and Judaism in Morocco have established a civilization which is based on mutual respect.” The long-established values of coexistence and respect, he insists, should be shared nowadays.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186988/moroccan-muslim-woman-looks-after-jewish-synagogue/
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Jews From NY Wearing Local Garb Visit Remote Village In Morocco (video)
Thursday 19 May 2016 

http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186979/jews-from-ny-wearing-local-garb-visit-remote-village-in-morocco/
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Step Into the Sights, Sounds & Smells of Morocco (video)
Sunday 15 May 2016

http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186617/video-step-into-the-sights-sounds-smells-of-morocco/
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