Race, Ethnicity, Culture or Religion Lucia Gravel
Religion has been a theme of our Morocco trip since our first day at the Hassan II Mosque, yet we’ve barely touched on the specifics of Muslim prayer since then. Some facts: according to the U.S. Department of State, the population of Morocco is estimated at 36.7 million, with over 99 percent identifying as Sunni Muslim. This stands in stark contrast to the 1.34%—or approximately 4.5 million Muslims—in the United States, according to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census. Muslims are expected to pray (salat) five times a day: Fajr (before sunrise), Dhuhr (midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and Isha (night). For each prayer, Muslims must be in a state of ritual purity, face the direction of Mecca, pray in a clean place, wear modest and clean clothing, silently intend the specific prayer in their heart, observe the prayer at its designated time, and carry out the proper sequence of physical movements and Qur’an recitations.
As we drive through Morocco, I’ve started to notice just how much Islam shapes the infrastructure of the country. Beyond mosques, spaces for Muslims to pray safely and in accordance with these requirements are everywhere. At the beach restaurant outside of Larache, every hotel, and nearly every gas station, I’ve seen a clean space—ranging from the size of a small closet to a small room—set aside for prayer, with the direction of Mecca clearly marked. This allows prayer to happen even when people are on the road or in the middle of a busy day.
In the United States, there isn’t the same kind of built-in support for Muslim prayer. Noticing these spaces in Morocco has made me reflect on stories from my Muslim friends who study in the U.S.—asking kind teachers to use their classrooms at lunch, or washing up in public restrooms. They talk about how a long car ride often means missing a prayer or two, and how that shapes their daily life. There are still 4.5 million practicing Muslims in the United States. So how do we make prayer more accessible for them?
Sources:
U.S. Department of State. 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Morocco. 15 May 2023, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/morocco/.
Grammich, Clifford. "Press Release 2020." U.S. Religion Census, Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, 2021, https://www.usreligioncensus.org/node/1641.
"Salat: Daily Prayers." The Islamic Supreme Council of America, https://islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/five-pillars-of-islam/10-salat-daily-prayers.html.
This is a very well reflection on how deeply Islam is integrated into daily life here. In the U.S., while there are certainly spaces for Muslim prayer, they’re not as widely available or culturally embedded in public spaces. It would take a cultural shift to make prayer spaces more accessible—whether by adding designated areas in public places like offices, schools, and rest stops or simply fostering greater understanding of the importance of these practices in daily life. Your reflection raises the importance on inclusive environments for religious practice.
ReplyDeleteI think this topic is so interesting to compare to our daily life in the US, whether we are religious or not. After talking to Eric today after he got back from church, I learned that everyone that was at the Catholic church were students not from Morocco. He said everyone there was from other north western countries in Africa, and that they had no locals come to their church. This is so different from America because even if you visit a religious ceremony that is not a church, you still see many local people worshiping. It makes you realize how unique and diverse America is on religion.
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