Morocco Time

You wouldn’t believe the calls that were flying back and forth today, trying to determine when everyone is starting Ramadan. The results were varied.

Council of North American Islamic Scholars : Sept 12
Morocco : Sept. 14 (according to several people we called there)
Our friend Hajib’s mosque in Washington, DC (huge Moroccan community!) : Sept 13

I looked at the moon phase calendar, and I defy anyone to spot the new moon tonight. So we’ll start on the 13th (tomorrow) - how about you?

As you can see from my countdown timer, it’s less than a week to Ramadan! I’m excited. No, I’m not Muslim - but I do observe along with my husband. An American who converted (”reverted”, if you prefer the term) to Islam once told me that my fast didn’t mean anything, that it wasn’t recognized by Allah - don’t you just love nutters like that? Actually, I don’t do it for God, and no one pressures me, either. I do it because it’s a great mental, physical, and spiritual exercise.

So…many of you who don’t fast might think the hardest part is giving up food. Not so - at least not for me. It’s all about controlling your nafs (basic wants and desires/your “self” or personality), so my biggest problem is usually controlling my temper. So here’s a few examples:

Anger - no yelling at Hamou when he puts the toilet paper roll on backwards for the umpteenth time
Gossip - no talking to other people about how M’s girlfriend is no good for him and he could do better
Lust - no flirting with certain clients (No more suggestions of how they’re “my favorite!”)
Pride - no feeling smug when I know more than someone else (or when I think I know!)

This is also known as “jihad bi-n-nafs” - or the struggle to tame the self.

Anyway, it seems to be a lot easier to stick to the fast in Morocco - most everyone is going through the same things you are, and there’s a wonderful communal vibe in the air every evening for l’ftour - kind of like a whole month of Christmas Eves.

Well, seems like the missionary post won’t die. There’s a new comment by Shane, and here’s a key snippet:

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“I have invited many people to discuss this topic, and the fact is that most people are uneducated in their opinions. I don’t say this to disrespect anyone, but in a world of information-flow at our fingertips, we are sadly lacking in critical thought. We are offended at the idea that someone else might know better, that we might be wrong, that what I’ve been taught is flawed.

I am a Christian. I believe that there is only one way to heaven, and that is not through doing good deeds, being nice, making amends, or being ‘religions, but is by accepting Jesus Christ (the perfect, holy, and willing sacrifice) as our personal satisfaction for payment of our sins. I invite anyone to converse with me on this, and maybe we can seek the truth together.”

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Sigh. OK, here we go.

- “Uneducated in their opinions?” In whose judgement, yours? A bit on your high horse, aren’t you?
- I’m not offended in the slightest by someone knowing more than I do. The thing is, there’s no way to say who knows more when it comes to religion.
- As for you believing that there’s only one way to Heaven, great, good for you. Maybe you should look up the definition of “belief” again. There’s no way for you to prove that your way is the right way. What’s that? You say you DO have proof? OK, let’s go over what you have to offer.

1. The Bible = Useful tool, yes. The word of God, maybe. Still not proof that only one way is the right way.
2. The holy spirit inside you = Erm, lots of religions have a similar concept. Sorry, not proof.
3. You speak in tongues/have healed or been healed/felt a calling to minister = Not proof, just evidence of man’s enduring desire to make experiences more meaningful.

You see, it’s impossible to have a conversation with an evangelist. You try to bring up historical and logical points, and all they want to do is tell you that they have to spread the Gospel because a pink unicorn visited them and dropped off a personal invite to Heaven. (ok, I made a bit of that up) Talking about religion defies the very notion of critical thought, Mr. Shane. That’s why it’s an intensely personal experience, because it’s about belief, and things that can’t be proved, and mysticism, with a little bit of theater thrown in for effect. ‘

Frankly, the very idea of being re-born makes me laugh. Seems like a lot of the born-again Christians took that as a great opportunity to start racking up mortal sins again, you know what I mean?

And the last thing - “Don’t be so “right” that you lose your justification.” I’m not claiming to be right. I believe that the mystery and love of God is far beyond the ability of us mortals to understand, and I try to keep an open mind concerning all religions as practiced by individuals.

I’ve had several prior entries about how much I detest missionaries. Another thing that infuriates me has occurred about four out of the five times we’ve met Moroccans here in the States…one of their first questions is
“??? ???????”

When the answer is “no” - my husband is a bit lax on observing the 2nd pillar - they don’t stop there. They continue to push and pry, asking “When will we go to jemaa together?” I’ve met them, and told them I’m Catholic, and they try to convince me that converting would be in my husband’s best interests. These people know little more than our names, and they’re trying to interfere in both our marriage and our relationship with God.

And that’s where my annoyance with religion lies. If the missionaries were in Morocco simply to set a good example, that would be fine by me - but their goal (as much as they try to disguise it with “good works”) is to convert others to their own religion. The same with the Moroccan Muslims we’ve met here, they consider it their spiritual duty to bother my husband - even though he probably has a much higher moral standard than they do.

I’m going to have a t-shirt made that says:


???? ??? ???????
?????
???? ???


“The Justice and Development Party, Morocco’s increasingly popular Islamist political party, has led the charge against “Marock,” claiming that it breaks a Moroccan law forbidding offense to Islam. The party plans to press the government on whether it has fully upheld the law.

“It’s a mockery of Moroccan spiritual life,” said Abdelkader Amara, a member of the PJD’s general secretariat. “It presents Moroccans as if they don’t adhere to their religion. But that’s not true.”

O RLY, Mr. Amara - you have intimate knowledge of how every Moroccan practices their religion? Somehow I doubt that.

“The most revolting scene, according to attackers of the film, is that Leila Marrakchi preferred to make her heroes discuss religious issues in bed, which is considered an unforgivable offence to Moroccans’ feelings.”

So, the next time my husband and I are having a discussion in bed, I should remind him that we can’t discuss religion because it will hurt his feelings? He should have a good laugh about that.

Rest of the story here.