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 h...