New Respect for Islam---- After Traveling to Morocco

You can't base anything from what you see in "the idiot box".
The negative influence is to be found everywhere though, even online.

reply to post by Skittle


I love Morocco too, although I'm biased since I'm half Moroccan

Really it's a great place to visit.
Because I have family there I may see the more real side to it. But even tourists can see how friendly the people are. A great sense of humor too!

One warning thou, if you get invited to a Moroccan's house, be prepared to eat a LOT of food haha.

In some ways morocco has more freedom than such countries as France. The women can wear whatever they want. And as you can see most choose not to wear scarf. Those who do wear a scarf, do not get treated in any way different. And traditional Moroccan clothes are really beautiful. They remind me of the elegance of geisha clothes.

There are a lot of beautiful women there too, natural beauty, but that's another topic haha.
They are a good example of how women in Islam have power too, and can be treated well, unlike what a lot of the world thinks, actually a lot of the women look like they control the husband and the whole family haha.
Moroccan families can be very close, they love hugs, they love to show their love. Something the western world lacks.

Thanks for the thread, it helps to get more positive stories from the Islamic world, to get a more realistic view, instead of looking at one side of the coin all the time. We can all learn from each other. Traveling is good for perspective.

If all we learned came from the news which shares mostly "negative" stories, then our view of reality would be very different to what the true reality is. Deny ignorance.

Peace.

p.s did you visit Fes?

reply to post by MRuss


Much respect to you Mrus, I believe travel is great for opening ones minds. Your always going to have a greater understanding of different cultures if you actually visit different countries. You can then disspel the myths you learn about other cultures and see how in fact we are all very similar.

Morocco is definitely among the more open and tolerant of the Muslim nations (notice how we never, ever hear about incidents there the way we do elsewhere). A lot of movies about the Middle East get shot there because the culture there is so conducive and open to it, in fact the largest movie studio in the world (in terms of physical size), Atlas Studios, is there and many Hollywood movies get shot there - things like "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Lawrence of Arabia," to name two of the more prominent ones.

As someone else said, most Muslims are just trying to live their lives the same as anyone else. Living in New York City, I am probably more familiar with Muslims than most Americans and interact with them on a daily basis, as do most living here. When I buy my lunch from the halal cart across the street twice a week, when I buy something from any one of the three or four Arab-owned bodegas in my area, or those I work with on a daily basis in the office. Why did most of them come here? To spread the "plague" of Islam? No, if anything most of them came here to get away from the more oppressive and repressive regimes they grew up under (ones not like Morocco). They may or may not still be religious, but they mostly just want the freedom to live their lives without being hassled by the government or other citizens the same as any of us, and to have a chance at a better life they probably couldn't have back home, too.

Thanks, everyone, for your really poignant responses.

Yes, I did visit Fes and the souks there were amazing. We stayed in the old Palace Hotel and I was impressed with the food culture in that city. Moroccan food is one of the world's great cuisines and we all enjoyed mint tea, lamb, cooked salads, pastika, fish, and all of the other great Moroccan dishes.

Walking through the souks, sharing the alleys with donkeys and carts, bargaining for silver and leather goods, was really a highlight. The senses become overwhelmed with all the sights and sounds and tastes.... I had the best potato chips of my life in the Fes souks---hot off the fryer, thin and warm and delicous. It was amazing to walk through the alleys, seeing goat and camel heads hanging from hooks, the magnificent colors of scarves and fabrics lining the shelves, the sounds of tinkering silversmiths, the smell of leather and tanneries, the craftmanship of generations of Moroccans, candles and candies and tea glasses and the thrush of humanity pushing against you...

I also had the opportunity to have tea with an elderly Moroccan General of the army whose family had been forced to leave Spain several generations ago. He now spends his time supporting archaelogy in Morocco, which we had many opportunities to visit. How wonderful to see Roman ruins and the other remnants of cultures that have marched through the country, trying to possess it to one degree or another. My favorite moment was slowly walking through the desert on a camel as the sun set-----the mountains of sand were perfectly smooth....and the stars began to shine as we made our way back to our vans....Talk about being in an altered state of mind.

Being a woman (with blonde hair) never posed a problem for me. I found the people to be friendly and generous, as someone else pointed out.

It was really a lovely trip and I hope many others will be inspired to visit there....

great post and a breath of fresh air.

i think your the first american who isn't in the army(you aren't are you?) i've "met" thats seen a bit of the world; )lol

i hope you put that bloke right and told them that america is still owned by britain!

did you get to have a chat to anyone about that sort of thing?

ps, got any pictures you can share?

reply to post by MRuss


Ah that's nice to know, Fes is where my family is from. A lot of people visit Marrakesh when they go to Morocco, but they shouldn't miss out on Fes too, the old parts of the city really brings a unique experience. So many alleyways, twists and turns, beautiful views, colors. It's like a maze. And it's perfect for shade too.

One thing I love about the city is if you go onto the rooftops of the houses, you can get a great view of the city, and then further away you can see a nice desert backdrop. I love going on the rooftop to relax, eat etc. I can't really do that here in the UK, the roofs aren't exactly designed for that lol.

I'm sure you noticed how many cafes there were everywhere lol. They sure love coffee and mint tea.

One place I haven't visited in Morocco which looks interesting, is Chefchaouen, it looks so unique because of all that BLUE.
Check out the images.
www.google.co.uk...

Peace.

Hello to all ! This is my first post
I was lucky to holiday in Dubai 2 weeks ago, What an amazing place! Unbelievably friendly and very respectful.
everyone speaks english, all signs in english, super clean, did not see one piece of graffiti
Traveling with another 45+ woman I was worried that we would be harassed ! (been to Turkey, totally different story) well not once did we feel awkward, we even got a "ladies taxi" from the airport. The brand new metro has carriages for ladies and children and the buses have ladies only sections at the front.
We went to the centre for Islamic understanding and enjoyed a lovely cup of coffee with the resident Amman who had a fab American accent even though he's never been to the US.
I can honestly say I highly recommend Dubai and if all Muslims were like Emirates the world would be a wonderful place

reply to post by evesoffspring


LOL at the American accent, When I went to Holland, some people I met had a slight American accent haha. It's obvious they learned a lot of English by watching American TV/Movies.

My friend moved to Dubai, I must say I'm a little jealous haha. It sounds interesting there. But it seems expensive and it's has changed a lot very fast, what future will it have I wonder.

Here is a list of the Muslim countries that are pro-American

Jordan
Iraq
Saudi Arabia
Indonesia
Turkey
Egypt
Senegal
Mali
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Bangladesh
India [ many Muslims though a Hindu country]
Malaysia
Algeria
Morocco
Yemen
Mauritania
Uzbekistan
Albania
Bosnia
Turkmenistan

Anti-American Muslim countries

Sudan [though slowly coming closer to America]
Syria [somewhat even though Syria and American intelligence agencies cooperate]
Iran

That’s it! . . . the Muslim countries that are not pro American or are anti-American, though the people of these countries ARE NOT anti-American

The point is there is no real conflict between Islam and the west, just a concocted neo-con attempt to make a cause out of nothing.

Many people unfortunately like the 2nd poster are addicted to ignorance and hatred in which was bred in them by the neo-con propaganda machine.

Thumbs up to the OP for having the breadth of wisdom and tolerance that is an example to all people of good will.

reply to post by MRuss


Isn’t it strange how you wrote about how you had this wonderful new respect of the Islamic People, how you now think that it’s not correct to connect “extremists” (terrorists) with Islam as you once did, yet you have put this in the “war on terrorism” forum. Surly if this was clearly this case then you would release that this was not a suitable forum for this thread as it implies that you still make a connection with terrorism and the Islamic faith, personally i would have put this in the social issues forum. Come to that its not really about terrorism in anyway nor is it about any conspiracy and therefore I would even suggest BTS.

You however have put it in the “War on terrorism” forum, which as I have said still shows that you still associate terrorism with Islam, how can you state that you respect a faith yet still make this connections which articulates the opposite of respect. I know this might have been done through ignorance but it still shows a level of disrespect.

I also found it interesting how you admitted in the first paragraph that your perception of Islam was mostly formed from your TV. This perception lead you to believe that not “all Muslims were terrorists” (for want of a better expression). I applaud you for confessing to this however why did you base your entire view on over 1 billion of the worlds people based on what you saw on TV. If I was to base my views on Americans based on what I had seen on TV then I would assume that all Americans were fat, stupid and ugly, which is of course not a accurate description of the entirety of the American people.

I am aware that I might be reading a little too much into this however for mean your lack of respect to the Islamic people is still obvious although not as ignorant fuelled as it once was. I think it is fantastic that you have changed your views of the Islamic people however I fail to understand why you thought of them all as terrorists in the first place and I think you are still doing this.

reply to post by MRuss


Great post MRuss. Blanket statements about entire groups of people are so easy to make so long as you haven't been exposed to them. Christians, Jews, Muslims.. the extremists among these groups always get the most press coverage.

Truth be told, most people are just that: People. With the sames hopes and the same tragedies as everyone else.

Kudos to you!

I think it`s actually sad that you have to go to Marocco to come to this conclusion although this is
mainly the case for the majority of westerners.

Well, Senser, experience is our greatest teacher.

We can know something theoretically.

But we can't really know it unless we experience it.

You can read about the beach. You can hear descriptions about those who have visited the beach and you can watch movies about the beach.

But until you visit the beach, you will never know what it feels like to have sand between your toes, or taste the salt of the ocean and feel the wind on your face.

One of the biggest tools for growth is actual experience.

I hope I've illustrated why in a way you can understand.

Have a good night, friend.

And don't be sad for me.

I had a wonderful time.

reply to post by MRuss


Does Islam have to promote Western values for you to gain its respect?

Maybe you should respect it for its own unique characteristics.

It seems women covering themselves worries you.

reply to post by MRuss


I've spent alot of time in the Middle East in the past and generally the Muslims are probably the most hospitable people on earth. As a guest in their homes, including some of the poorest ones, and they treat you like a King or Queen and lay out enough delicious food I might add, to feed 1/3 of Africa!

reply to post by MRuss

Like many of my fellow Americans, I had a negative impression of Islam and Muslims. 44% of America believes that Islam encourages violence amoung its believers. I had never learned to make a distinction between militant Islam and the general Muslim population.

I'm glad you had that experience. Islam is a respected religion, and it is only those who corrupt the teachings of Islam that have given many non-Muslims an unfavorable view of it. I spent considerable time in the Middle East, and have great respect for true practicing Muslims. Many Americans have an unfavorable opinion, because the MSM spend all their time reporting on those who pervert Islam, and virtually no time, showing the world the hundreds of million Muslims who practice their peaceful religion, and perform many good works.
Once again, the real ENEMY of America is the corrupt Main Stream Media, which colors world events to sell papers, and increase viewers. Shame on the main stream media.

reply to post by iamsupermanv2


I saw your post in that thread and I have put a few entries in myself. You made some very good points. You might think a "proud Englishman" like me might be one of the Muslim bashers, but I do try to change the opinion that being proud of being English doesn't mean I have a skinhead, hate "darkies" and get violent at football games.

As for the OP, I hear Morocco is a great place to be. It has very close links with Europe and there is talk about possible entry one day.

reply to post by torqpoc


Funny you should bring up the Saudis..

Much of the extremist groups in the UK that either preach hate or try to subvert the British way of life through the promotion of Sharia have their cash funneled to them from Saudi Arabia.

We've been chasing Ghosts with regard to hutning the "terrorists". The real problem is SA, not Afghanistan or Iraq.

Originally posted by Grumble
Very funny that I just read the thread about the "liberal gene." Essentially, conservatives lack a gene responsible for a dopamine reaction that incentivizes a search for novelty. So liberals seek out new things, like travel to foreign countries, for example. It is no wonder that they tend to be those who are well traveled. And conservatives have limited life experiences and prefer sameness. Shocking!

That's funny!

You know, I consider myself a "conservative" person and I know that I've probably been to more countries than most of the "liberals" here on ATS.

So much for that study. I wonder how much they soaked the government for that?