Moroccan Culture Research Articles

East winds and full moons: Ramal al-Māya and the peregrinations of love-poetry images

The Moroccan poetic-musical genre known as al-Āla, also commonly referred to as ‘Andalusian music’, illustrates the mytho-historical travels of love images from classical and post-classical Arabic poetry, preserving and re-presenting examples of them as part of Moroccan public culture in the twenty-first century. This tradition preserves a substantial number of poems, which clearly echo both the strophic and non-strophic facets of Arabic verse in their forms and contents, and which Moroccans regard, by virtue of their association with al-Āla, as part of an authentic cultural-historical heritage deriving from the Islamic period in Spain and Portugal (al-Andalus). Although the history of interchange between al-Andalus and North Africa would seem to make this attribution plausible, the idea that these songs derive from al-Andalus is problematic; none of the music and very little of the poetry can be traced to that era. Careful study of the love-poetry (ghazal) images in the nūba Ramal al-Māya – a suite of songs within the tradition ostensibly devoted to praise of the Prophet Muḥammad – shows that al-Āla in fact represents a distillation of major uses of such themes in Arabic verse deriving from contexts well beyond the Iberian Peninsula of the Islamic period. In fact, the poetry of Ramal al-Māya preserves poetic images and themes stemming from the classical Islamic period and in so doing serves as a means by which these images and themes are kept alive in contemporary Moroccan culture.

In Defense of Tradition: Mohammed Mrabet's Postcolonial Leanings and the Confrontation of “Kif Wisdom” with Modernity

This article details the inclusion of postcolonial themes and modern/traditional confrontations and conflicts in the translated tales of Mohammed Mrabet. I indicate the importance of preliterate tradition in producing meaning for poor Moroccans. A large part of the essay is devoted to refuting claims that Mrabet represents a colonialist byline of the expatriate lives of American writers such as Paul Bowles. The theme of learning Moroccan culture is also important, as it tends to demonstrate appreciation and preservation in a modern context, traditional narrative and theosophical practices, arts, and modes of ideation—hence, my reference to many of Paul Bowles's interviews where he discussed the phenomenon of Moroccan epistemology. I also include stories that express the traditional/modern divide in Moroccan cultural life and how traditional, practical, and inventive reasoning derived from smoking kif—the kif wisdom that I refer to can produce meaning and resolution for Moroccans. Finally, the article situ...

Socio-demographic and psychological features in Moroccan patients with cancer: A prospective multicentric large cohort study.

e20516 Background: To explore socio-demographic features and functional dimensions in patients included in a large Moroccan cohort study. Methods: This is the first Moroccan study which was designed to evaluate the quality of life in cancer patients. It is a prospective multicentric cohort study (the 10 existing centers). Patients with breast, cervical, lung or colorectal cancer were included during 2009. EORTC QLQ C30, BR23, CX24 and LC13 questionnaires were used after a transcultural validation. Results: Over 12 months, 2903 patients were included. Breast cancer was the most common (50.4%). Socio-demographic features: The average age at diagnosis was 52.7 years old. Most of them were women (75%). All of patients were Muslims. 75.1% were married. 60% were illiterate. 20% of patients were professionally active and 59.3% were housewives. 27.2% came from rural towns. The socioeconomic status was 65.8% low and 32.4% intermediate. 71.4% of patients had no social welfare. To get to the oncology centers, 77.8% of patients used public transportation while only 0.6% of total cases came in ambulances. The average distance was 150 kilometers. Psychosocial dimensions: For all types of cancer, functional dimensions were noticeably deteriorated with the stage. The lowest scores were observed in lung cancer, whereas the highest ones were for breast cancer. (Emotional function 62.54 vs. 53.05 professional function and leisure 74.14 vs. 42.22 cognitive activity 83.25 vs 26.93 social activity 86,17 vs. 77.69 p<0.001). The financial problems score was higher in lung cancer (68.34). The future perspective was the most affected dimension in QLQ BR23 questionnaire (score40.51), while in QLQ CX24, the sexual enjoyment was the most impacted dimension (score 52.1). Conclusions: In the Moroccan culture, the social relationships the social relationships offset the negative impact of cancer on other functional dimensions. Social activity scores were the less affected. Financial issues are the major concern, resulting in a negative impact on the quality of life of our patients. Finally, over a period of one year, the scores of reported dimensions were significantly improved by the cancer treatment.

Validation of the Skindex-16 questionnaire in patients with skin diseases in Morocco

Objective: The aim of the study was to translate and adapt the original version of the Skindex-16 questionnaire from English to Moroccan Arabic language, refining its terms and adapting it to Moroccan culture. Methods: After translation and cross-cultural adaptation, the questionnaire was tested on skin diseases patients. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach's α coefficient, the test–retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Construct validity was assessed by examining item convergent and divergent validity. Results: The questionnaire was administered to 120 patients. The mean age of patients was 39 years (SD: 16), 49.6% were married. 76.9% of all participants lived in an urban area. The average time to complete the Skindex-16 questionnaire was 5 min. Questionnaire reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α coefficient, in which the values were all > 0.7. All items exceeded the 0.4 criterion for convergent validity. Conclusion: In general, the findings of this study indicated that the authors have developed a semantically equivalent translation of Skindex-16 into Moroccan Arabic. It is a reliable and valid measure of the effects of skin disease on the quality of life in Moroccan patients.

An Introduction to Moroccan Arabic and Culture by CHEKAYRI, ABDELLAH

The article reviews the book “An Introduction to Moroccan Arabic and Culture, by Abdellah Chekayri.

The Influence of the Socioeducational Environment on Marriage Formation in Morocco

The objectives of this research were to highlight socioeducational influences on marriage formation in Morocco, and to analyse–by region and gender–the influence of education on strategies of marriage formation. A comparative methodology was employed, using proportional quota samples of three Moroccan regions: Greater Casablanca (the most industrialised and economically powerful region); the Interior (archaic and rural); Tangier-Tétouan (culturally similar to Spain). Homogamy, endogamy and traditional meeting strategies prevail, with regional differences attributable to the degree of modernisation. Moroccan culture, law and religion differ from western models, with concepts of family and marriage rooted in custom and tradition, and a universal respect for Islam. We conclude that further modernisation in Morocco is possible but must respect cultural diversity.

Bicultural adolescents' anger regulation: In between two cultures?

This study explored the anger-regulation strategies of bicultural individuals who are brought up with two distinct cultures that might carry contradictory demands about how to regulate emotions. With a sample of 525 adolescents in the Netherlands and Morocco, we found that bicultural Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' anger regulation in response to hypothetical peer conflict were largely similar to those of their Dutch peers. In fact, both the Dutch and the Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' anger regulation differed in the same ways from the Moroccan group, with greater acting out and less calm verbalisation, reflection, and diversion in the former than in the latter. Additionally, our findings indicate that Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' identification with the Dutch as well as with the Moroccan culture is related to more anger verbalisation and less externalising anger regulation. These results are interpreted in light of the complex cultural position faced by bicultural adolescents.

Geertz, humour and Morocco

This paper explores the role of humour in Clifford Geertz's work on Morocco and seeks to understand why, although Geertz was very witty in person and in writing, and although humour provides the kind of material Geertz would have been able to put to excellent use had he chosen to study it, he never directly addressed questions related to humour in society and only glancingly referred to humour in Morocco. The paper examines the humorous techniques Geertz employs and the kinds of humour he attends to in his writings on Morocco, the characteristics of humour and the ‘comic attitude’ and their relationship to Geertz's views of Moroccan culture and society, how Geertz's rhetorical dispositions and ‘serious’ anthropological stance are rooted, historically, in the late colonial and immediate postcolonial periods, and concludes that Geertz's relative neglect of humour provides interesting insights into both the strengths and weaknesses of his approach to culture, to anthropology, and to Morocco.

Difficultés de l’adaptation transculturelle des échelles de mesure en santé dans les pays du sud : exemple de la validation du St-George Respiratory Questionnaire au Maroc

Background In developing countries, quality of life (QoL) is becoming an increasingly relevant question. The use, in these countries, of the validated English scales could resolve an important problem of a lack of QoL tools noted in southern countries. However, this approach raises methodological problems of cross-cultural adaptation. This paper underlines the principal difficulties related to cross-cultural adaptation of QoL measurement scales based on the example of St-George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) translation from English to the Moroccan Arabic language. Methods The SGRQ, initially designed in English, was translated into dialectical Arabic by four translators following the recommended stages of translation and cultural adaptation: translation with conceptual and linguistic evaluation, back translation, comparison of the source and target versions and verification of the new instrument. Results During this cross-cultural adaptation process, some items were modified to adapt the original questionnaire to the Moroccan culture. Because of the great diversity of the Moroccan dialectal language, some words were, sometimes, translated into two or more equivalents which were put in the brackets in the final version of the SGRQ m. Some questions were not applicable to all the Moroccan population such as a question about sports that did not concern women. On the other hand, some questions involving the same items posed differently in different dimensions, gave rise to confusion or the impression of repetition in the Moroccan Arabic version. Conclusion The cross-cultural adaptation process, even if carried out in a rigorous way, does not always lead to the best target version and suggests it would be useful to develop new scales specific to each culture and at the same time, to think about the Tran cultural adaptation.

Varieties of Muslim Experience: Encounters with Arab Political and Cultural Life by Lawrence Rosen

242 BOOK REVIEWS / COMPTES RENDUS Lawrence Rosen, Varieties of Muslim Experience: Encounters with Arab Political and Cultural Life, Chicago University Press, 2008. The weight of contemporary events encourages historians and other professional academics to deviate from their routine fields of study and to write on current issues. 1 Lawrence Rosen, a well-known Princeton anthropologist and lawyer, has taken this road too. 2 In the book under review Rosen accumulated 12 chapters, arranged in three sections. Some of the chapters are read as an endeavour to decode various episodes viewed by television spectators. Others transmit Rosen’s impression of the encounter between the American way of life and Muslim citizens of the United States. In a paraphrase of Bernard Lewis’s What Went Wrong? Rosen deconstructs Arab society, claiming that in the Arab world no autonomous self ever developed fully. Yet can we deduce from the stories grouped in this chapter a general theory on social relations amongst ‘the Arabs’? Chapter 3 asks the question: ‘Why do [young] Arab terrorists kill themselves?’. In posting this question Rosen is searching for a lucid interpretation of the news headlines. Yet does his reading of the martyr’s death as a ceremonial exchange ( in the style of Marcel Mauss) explain the atrocity? This seems to be a reductionist interpretation. The political and social realities and the Arabs’ conceptualization of personal identity prevent us from adopting or accepting Rosen’s exegesis. Moreover, suicide bombing is not a masculine domain and accounts of women self-bombings are not rare at all. Chapter 4 aims to illuminate the problematic of property in Moroccan culture. He claims that the standard Maliki theory holds that all the land belongs to the Merciful One (rahmaniya, although this concept of land tenure is not common in classical Islamic texts). To secure immobile property, Muslims in Morocco have elaborated various mechanisms, such as habus (waqf). This highlights the importance of social networks in protecting possessions. Adl is a key Islamic concept. It is associated with balance (mizan). Rosen scrutinizes a wide range of texts from the Qur’an to a modern-day Pakistani teacher in order to highlight his presumption that justice is a most essential virtues for Arabs. Ibn Khaldun has attracted much attention from modern historians, sociologists and political scientists. Rosen narrates the intellectual biography of this well-known Mamluk cadi and ambassador. He sees him as a Muslim and as an Arab thinker attached to Sufism. This is an extensive domain and the reader 1 Stephen R. Humphreys, Between Memory and Desire: The Middle East in a Troubled Age (University of California Press, 1999). 2 Lawrence Rosen, The Culture of Islam: Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life (Chicago University Press, 2002). BOOK REVIEWS / COMPTES RENDUS 243 of this short chapter does not have the sense that Rosen covers this wide topic adequately. The conspicuous presence of science students in Islamic radical movements has been noticed by observers, who asked how it happened that faculties of engineering, medicine and sciences were dominated by Islamists.3 In Chapter 10, ‘Muslim Scientists as Fundamentalists’, Rosen seeks an answer to this question in the history of Arab science. He elaborates on the importance of ilm in Islamic discourse and Arabs’ view of causality and worldly experience. They did not distinguish between ‘pure’ science and knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Lawrence Rosen writes straightforwardly and empathetically on a world civilization that in the mass media is too often related to violence and brutality. Muslims who are troubled by the worldwide barrage of xenophobic rhetoric would find Rosen’s book a sympathetic account. YEHOSHUA FRENKEL Haifa University 3 Emmanuel Sivan, Radical Islam Medieval Theology and Modern Politics, enlarged edition (Yale University Press, 1990), chap. 5. ...

Metamaterialists Meet in Marrakech, Morocco: A NATO Advanced Research Workshop

In summary, Meta'08 was an outstanding and very informative conference, with broad coverage of diverse activities in developments in metamaterials science and engineering by international researchers. The organizers and local hosts were extremely dedicated in arranging a well-organized and memorable conference. Particular attention was given to attracting some of the most known international researchers, alongside with many young researchers in this area. The key objectives of the organizers, namely, strengthening scientific connections of specialists in a diverse array of areas related to advances in metamaterial research, were successfully achieved. We are certain that the research community benefited from the outcomes of this conference. Perhaps a nice way to end this article is by referring to figure 7, representing a beautiful and handsomely crafted wall decoration, symbolizing the beauty of complex periodic structures in Moroccan culture. Could it be that the ancient Moroccan artists predicted this scientific/engineering conference in the unique features of periodic structures in metamaterial research by displaying their work as a reminder?!

Estereótipos e mulheres na cultura marroquina

Estereótipos sobre as mulheres no Marrocos podem ser caracterizados como crenças culturais incompletas e inexatas mantidas por algumas pessoas e que se encontram inscritos em expressões lingüísticas ou em discursos subliminares. A cultura popular marroquina emprega representações poderosas para transmitir e sustentar tais estereótipos. Embora existam alguns estereótipos positivos, a maioria dos estereótipos sobre as mulheres no Marrocos é negativa e reflete ditames patriarcais subliminares que estruturam as relações de gênero nas culturas marroquinas. As mulheres marroquinas, no entanto, não são receptoras e transmissoras passivas, mas usam estratégias para lutar contra esses estereótipos.

Cultural Representation in Literary Translation: Translators as Mediators/Creators

AbstractThis article examines the French and English translations of Mohamed Choukri's Al-Khubz al-Hāfī (For Bread Alone), by Tahar Ben Jelloun and Paul Bowles respectively, and the impact on the representation of Moroccan (Arab) culture. It explores the roles of these translators in the emergence and promotion of Choukri's controversial book. It also shows how they used this text to convey different views on various issues and, therefore, change the representation of cultural aspects. Giving specific examples of these shifts and the probable motivations for making them, the article proves that nuanced readings of these translations cannot ignore the presence of these mediators/creators.

The Fabric of Moroccan Life

For centuries, the people of Morocco have been producing magnificent embroideries, pile rugs, and flatweaves. The Fabric of Moroccan Life showcases rare embroideries, hangings, and rugs that reflect the broad range of traditions and cultural influences active in Morocco during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The book explores the artistic importance of these superb weavings as well as their central role in Moroccan culture. Approximately 150 pieces - and numerous details - are illustrated in colour, and additional photographs (including many that were taken in the 1930s) show how they were once used in everyday life in Morocco. The book includes essays on Moroccan embroidery and its origins, traditional costumes of the cities and rural areas, the weavings of the Berbers and other ethnic groups, and the distinctive characteristics of items made by particular ethnic sub-groups. The contributing writers are eminent scholars and experts in a variety of fields, including Moroccan history and culture; Moroccan rugs, textiles, and clothing; and natural dyes. A wealth of information is included that has never before been available in one volume. Niloo Imami Paydar is curator of textiles and costumes at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Ivo Grammet is coordinator of a new museum in Nador, northern Morocco. The contributors include Gerard Boely, Gebhard Blazek, Katherine Dolk-Ellis, Narjys El Alaoui, Mustapha Hansali, Annette Korolnik-Andersch, Marcel Korolnik, Zineb Lehmam, Russell Pickering, Ahmed Skounti, Frieda Sorber, Wilfried Stanzer, and Marie-France Vivier.

NOTE DE RECHERCHE: TRADITIONS NATIONALES ET GESTION D'ENTREPRISE: PORTÉE ET LIMITES DE L'APPROCHE D'IRIBARNIENNE DANS L'ANALYSE DE LA CULTURE MAROCAINE

This article presents and discusses the extrapolative analytical approach used by Philippe d'Iribarne and his team to study corporate management and national traditions. d'Iribarne's study of SGS-Thomson in Casablanca and contextualization in Moroccan culture of representations made by individuals and groups of their experience working in the enterprise. Other explanations for the behaviors analyzed are proposed, and it is concluded that, although still valid overall, d'Iribarne's framework would benefit from being adjusted to avoid hasty extrapolations.

The expression of guilt by Moroccan adolescents:: ethnocentric interpretations by Wester teachers and social workers

Many Belgian teachers who have Moroccan pupils and students in their classes hold the idea that Moroccans do not really have a sense of guilt. The same idea is also expressed in several Dutch and Belgian publications about Moroccan youth. In Moroccan culture, it is argued, shame is the most important form of social control, but it does not lead to the internalization of moral standards. This seems to explain all sorts of educational and behavioral problems of Moroccan youngsters at school and even the high delinquency rate of Moroccan boys who live in Belgian and Dutch cities. In this chapter these views are questioned on the basis of the expression of guilt themes on a projective test by Moroccan youngsters who live in the city of Brussels as well as on the basis of the analysis of cultural and linguistic data.

Master and disciple: the cultural foundations of Moroccan authoritarianism

In the postcolonial era, Arab societies have been ruled by a variety of authoritarian regimes. Focusing on his native Morocco and building on the work of Foucault, the author of this text explores the ideological and cultural foundations of this persistent authoritarianism. Hammoudi argues that at the heart of Moroccan culture lies a paradigm of authority which juxtaposes absolute authority against absolute submission. Rooted in Islamic mysticism, this paradigm can be observed in the drama of mystic initiation, with its fundamental dialectic between master and disciple; in conflict with other cultural forms, and re-elaborated in colonial and and postcolonial circumstances, it informs all major aspects of Moroccan personal, political and gender relations. According to Hammoudi, its influence is so pervasive and so firmly embedded that it ultimately legitimizes the authoritarian structure of power. Hammoudi contends that, as long as the master-disciple dialectic remains the dominant paradigm of power relations, male authoritarianism will prevail as the dominant political form.

The place of Berber in Morocco

Berber plays a crucial role in present-day Morocco. There are three good reasons for this. First, historically, Berber is the oldest language in Morocco; its use is reminiscent of the ancient Berber dynasties thatflourished in North Africa centuries ago. Second, linguistically, Berber has an important place as it is the mother tongue of nearly half the population of Morocco, which interacts smoothly and harmoniously with the other mother tongue usedin Morocco, namely Moroccan Arabic. Third, culturally, Berber is an inherent ingredient of Moroccan culture and way oflife. The recent official recognition of Berber and the project of teaching the language in Moroccan primary schools may enhance the place of Berber and will probably lead to its codification and standardization.

La performatividad de género según La hija extranjera o el compromiso político de Najat El Hachmi

The objective of this article consists in analysing how and to what extent “the psychic life of power” (Butler, 2001) and the “synchronicity of the non-synchronic” (Cros, 2002) organise discourse practices of the hybrid identity (Sabaté, 2014) encoded in Najat El Hachmi’s La hija extranjera (2015), a novel written from a marked transcultural and feminist perspective. The protagonist and narrator in first person, a young Catalan woman of Moroccan origin (“the foreign daughter” of the title), is torn between contradictory ideologies, hopes and desires. She is suspended between the Spanish and the Moroccan cultures, between submission and rebellion. Likewise, we will see how the narrator reveals the great political potential of literature that lies in “resignification” (Butler, 2002).