CAES Morocco: Leading Across Differences

      Before arriving in Morocco, my understanding of the Muslim culture was very limited, shaped largely by the media and the one religion course I had taken in college. I have never considered myself uninformed, but looking back, I recognize that the information I had was surface-level. What I have discovered through my firsthand experience while studying abroad has challenged my prior assumptions, expanded my perspective, and left me with a profound respect for a community that has often been reduced to a stereotype.       Across the three categories of race, identity, and culture, the Arab Muslim experience, I believe, is one of the most layered, misunderstood, and resilient identities there is. Arab refers to an ethno-linguistic identity. According to the Arab American Institute, Arabs are a very diverse group of people connected by the Arabic language and a shared cultural heritage. Muslim, on the other hand, is a religious identity. A Muslim is ...

I’ve been really interested in the occasional inclusion of the Amazigh language on signage around the places we’ve visited, and the increase of Amazigh cultural iconography the closer we’ve gotten to the Atlas mountains. Based on current demographic census information on ethnicity in Morocco, 99 percent of the population identifies as of Arab-Amazigh descent (Morocco Population 2026, n.d.). Despite the large percentage of Amazigh people, the 2024 census has only 24.8 percent of the population reporting speaking Amazigh (Hermas, 2025, n.d.). Social and political movements in more recent years have pushed for more inclusion of Amazigh language and culture in Moroccan society, but the minority language group still faces social marginalization, and cultural tension with the hegemonic Arabic variety.  In a constitution adopted on July 1st, 2011, Amazigh was recognized as an official language of Morocco, and further interations have provided for the integration of Tamazight, a dialect of...

  Being in Morocco for a few days, I have noticed distinct differences in how religion is expressed here versus the United States. In the United States, I believe religion is more private as Americans will be known to be religious, but it is often not integrated into everyday public life as I have seen in Morocco. This is likely due to the first amendment offering freedom of religion and America separating church and state which allows for religious freedom, but also limiting religious involvement in government, school, etc. Despite Morocco having freedom of religion, Islam is recognized as the national religion of the State. According to Britannica, the majority of the population is known to be Sunni Muslim. Furthermore, religion is a large part of Moroccan culture and daily life as it helps shape traditions and community. Coming from a nation where there is no religion of the state, this seemed contradictory to me as Americans are often less open to their religion in public. ...

 Before coming to Morocco, I didn't really know anything about the religion of Islam especially not that it would play such a large role in the daily lives of an entire country. The word "Islam" is supported by 2 concepts: duty owned to God and rights owned to fellow human beings without any regard to their race or religion (Al Islam, 2021). On the very first day, we went into the Hassan II Mosque and got a very interesting explanation of what every [practicing] Muslim must do in order to complete their daily prayers: they must enter a purification state by washing their heads, hands/arms, and legs/feet and they can decide whether to do this in their homes or in the Mosque as well as face in the direction of Mecca. What I also see as we have driven through Morocco is that you can find a smaller Mosque or small prayer rooms with a washing area for people to be able to do their prayers even if they are out and about. For example, as we passed through Chefchaouen, I saw with...

  Blogger 2: Labor, Tourism, and Social Status in Morocco During our times in the more tourist-driven areas of Morocco, one identity that stood out to me was the working-class laborers and street vendors apparent throughout the streets and markets. I felt as though I constantly observed people transporting goods by hand or on carts, selling handmade products, or tending the small shops and market stalls. Even bathrooms are a source of employment for some women. While Morocco contains many modern developments such as luxury hotels and tourist attractions, there is still an obvious economic disparity in the places we have visited.  Seeing these contrasts so closely together made me reflect on how social status can shape daily experiences and opportunities differently around the world. One societal issue connected to this identity is economic inequality and the pressure placed on lower-income workers in tourism-driven economies. According to The World Bank Morocco Overview, Moroc...

     Before visiting Morocco, I had a very limited understanding about what life looked like here, specifically regarding women in a Muslim-majority country. A lot of the conversation surrounding Islam and women in the U.S. is about oppression and lack of rights. I honestly was not sure what women’s roles in society would look like when we came here. Now I realize that many of the stereotypes heard are inaccurate after observing people firsthand.     With the more time we have spent here, the more I notice  that women’s experiences and identities were far more diverse and complex than I had expected. I noticed that people expressed their faith in very different ways. Some women wore hijab, while others did not. Some dressed more traditionally, while others dressed more similarly to women in Western countries. This diversity definitely challenged the assumption that there is only one way for Muslim women to live or express their identity. There is more choic...