Blog 1: Race, Ethnicity, Culture or Religion - Tattoos and Islam

By

    Thus far, I have seen no men or women with tattoos in Morocco, which is a Muslim country with a common Islamic religious practice. Muslims believe their bodies are vessels that God graces them with, and they are not permitted to take actions that disrupt their livelihoods and worship. While Islam does not explicitly inhibit the adornment of tattoos in its scripture, believers are asked to consider the social, financial, and spiritual consequences when deciding if getting a tattoo is "haram" (forbidden) or "halal" (permissible) ("What is Halal and Haram in Islam?", 2024). This being said, tattoos do not inherently contradict these practices. Upon further research, conflict arises when tattoos are compared to extravagance ("israf"), adornment for women ("zeenah"), and the social implications of imitating the "wordly" or purposeless (Qazwini et al., 2025). These practices are considered forbidden, and it is my impression that this largely prevent Muslims from getting tattoos. 


    As a Christian with a tattoo, I hold similar beliefs that my body is considered a "temple," meant to be respected as one of God's creations. My religious beliefs differ in that the content of my tattoos holds the implicative value. I see my tattoo as self-expression; it signifies growth and healing, and it has my mom's favorite flower! However, I fully understand practicing religion and upholding certain values, and I don't see their personal restrictions as negative if it is not harmful and gives them peace. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about another religion through this assignment, and I will continue to cover my tattoo out of respect for the common Islamic and Muslim practice.



Citations:

Qazwini, S. A., Zaidi, F. A., & Zaidi, F. J. (2025, December 16). What Islam Says About Tattoos. Thaqlain. https://thaqlain.org/what-islam-says-about/tattoos/

What is Halal and Haram in Islam? Online Islamic Institute. (2024, June 21). https://onlineislamicinstitute.org/what-is-halal-and-haram-in-islam/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who Am I? Think Again. Exploring Authentic Identities

By
Image
  This video is part of the  TED Talks  series.  TED  (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a nonprofit devoted to disseminating "ideas worth spreading." I thought the idea of  creating authentic identity through failed imitation  was a great theme to begin the course as well as the blog. My hope is that you will step outside of the  status quo  and use your creative nature to complete the assignments and explore identity in a global context throughout this semester. What are your thoughts about Hetain Patel's presentation?
Read more

Motherhood & Morocco

By
Image
  Motherhood & Morocco All life comes from women. This is a fact we all know and see the evidence of daily, yet it is also a fact we choose to ignore or employ only when it is of convenience to society. Women are the backbone, the lifeblood, the prana, and the chi of all life. As we endure heartbreak, trauma, and illness, we call out for our mothers. As men die on battlefields and in army hospitals, they yearn for a touch of their mother. Across cultures, the mother figure is a respected tenet of the community, and in Morocco’s Argan Cooperative, the motherhood experience is respected and supported.  Though the history of feminism in Morocco is varied and contains times of both celebration and tension, yet the importance of family has remained a central tenet.  At the Argan oil cooperative, women bring the fruit from their argan trees into the cooperative, weigh, process and eventually, sell them for cosmetics and food oils. In this system, women own their own trees a...
Read more

Sexual Orientation or Gender Roles - Markeila Howard

By
  During my time in Morocco, I had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the identity of Moroccan women. A  perspective very different from my own. What struck me most was the complex and evolving role of women in Moroccan society as they navigate the balance between tradition and modern change. Moroccan women live in a society deeply rooted in Islamic traditions, yet one that is also undergoing significant transformation. According to the World Bank, Morocco has made substantial progress in gender equality, particularly in education and legal rights. Throughout the trip, several people mentioned that women now have more legal protections, especially in the area of divorce. In most of the places we visited, it was predominantly women who were hard at work—doing the tedious jobs like cleaning and sorting out bad fruit—while men handled tasks involving heavy equipment. These women challenged the stereotypes I previously held about what life is like for women in a tra...
Read more