Morocco: Cultural and Religious Melting Pot of the Arab World     4/2/2004 By Angela J. Phelps CWA's radio producer visits an old childhood home ... Until its recent terror links, not much news ever stemmed from the country of Morocco. In fact, the only knowledge that most Westerners had about the exotic place came straight out of Hollywood. Movies such as Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, and Road to Morocco, featuring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, glamorized and mystified the former French colony on Africa's northwest tip. As the daughter of a career enlisted Army sergeant, I had the opportunity of living abroad throughout much of my childhood. One of the remarkable places we lived in the 1970s was Morocco's capital city of Rabat. Regrettably, I was too young to remember my experience there, so I too have always imagined it to be a mystical place similar to what I'd seen on the silver screen. Recently, to my glee, I was invited to participate in a delegation traveling to the country in which I had once lived. The visit, sponsored by a Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, took our nine-member team to three of the country's largest and most famous cities, Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech. Unlike the black and white scenes from the classic Hollywood films, Morocco's rolling green hills, snow-capped mountains, groves of palm trees, random scents of orange blossoms, and miles of sandy coastline were a surprise and delight to take in. And the people welcomed us with open arms. Although the weather and atmosphere were nearly utopian, the journey was not a vacation. In fact, its purpose was three-fold: to research first hand the status of religious freedom in the Muslim nation; observe the relationship between Morocco's manifestation of Islam and various aspects of its society; and investigate whether the Islam of Morocco can serve as an antidote to Islamism and religion-based terrorism. Unique among its Arab counterparts, Morocco is geographically and culturally the most Westernized. Because of its location and history of colonization and immigration, Morocco is a melting pot, strongly exhibiting the influence of French, Spanish, Jewish and Arab cultures. As a result, the country has historically been able to achieve peace and harmony among its eclectic population. While in Rabat, our delegation, which consisted mostly of evangelical leaders, had the opportunity to openly dialogue about a variety of topics with various high-ranking government officials, including Prime Minister Driss Jettou; Ahmed Taoufik, the Minister of Islamic Affairs; Mohammed Bousoubaa, the Minister of Justice; and nearly 20 members of Parliament. We focused chiefly on religion and politics. In Casablanca, we held meetings with members of the minority Christian and Jewish community to hear their perspective on Morocco's interpretation of religious freedom. Morocco's populace of 31 million is described as 98 percent Muslim, 1 percent Christian, and 1 percent Jewish. Despite the lack of religious diversity, we learned through numerous interviews with locals that Morocco's moderate interpretation of Islam promotes a tolerance and respect for non-Muslims that is not found in many Islamic nations. In fact, the U.S. State Department documented this when it issued its 2002 International Religious Freedom Report, stating, "Although Islam is (Morocco's) official state religion, Jewish and Christian communities openly practice their faiths." On the one hand, it is true that non-Muslims in Morocco are free to express their faith openly. However we found a striking difference between the definition of "religious freedom" in the Arab world and the Western world. While religious minorities in Morocco can practice and express their faith, proselytization is strictly forbidden. In fact, it is illegal. Interestingly, we learned through discussions with local government leaders that the primary reason for this policy is not because the government is concerned with the conversion of Muslims to Christianity. Instead, their greatest fear is that fundamentalist Islamists will manipulate the meaning of "religious freedom" to recruit members of Morocco's poor and uneducated communities into a radical ideology that could become a source for terror activity. A brief look at Morocco's recent history reveals that their fears are well-founded. On May 16, 2003, Morocco experienced its first brush with terrorism when a bomb killed more than 30 people in a restaurant in Casablanca. Then, just last month, on March 11, when terror hit three train stations in Madrid, Spain, killing nearly 200 people, six members of the al-Qaeda clan who carried out the attacks were Moroccans. As the world has tragically witnessed the dramatic rise in terrorism in recent years, those that are serious about confronting this new evil have learned that the key to fighting fundamentalist-based terrorism is recognizing and understanding its roots, and proactively squelching any environment that allows for radical religious or political ideology to plant itself. Thankfully, Morocco is meeting this challenge head on. Without a doubt, the nation has a long way to go in its journey toward true religious freedom for all; but relatively speaking, its citizens have come a long way. Moroccans understand the need for tolerance and respect as a means to living in harmony. The world can only hope that Morocco's fellow Islamic countries will follow their lead.