Read more on my blog.

Thank you for pointing Hisham’s post on Ramadan. Great post, by the way.
I had very similar experiences in Marrakesh, coming from a very tolerant laid back community where people do not make a big deal of what you do for Allah. everyone is going to heaven anyway so why bother. I landed in society where you should do what everyone else does.

1- This is the issue: Allah says in the Quran that everything people do otherwise of for them except for fasting and it is for him and he rewards for it. it sounds like Ramadan should be the most personal thing ever. But apparently it is not.

2- Initially, before Islam came to Arabia, this was one the months ( ash’ur al hurum) where fighting was extremely forbidden ( ref. Husein Marwa)
If in the Islamic philosophy of morals is there to encourage people to bond, heal and be more tolerant, well how many people die everyday in conflicts round the “Islamic world” right now in Ramadan.

3- Now Ramadan provides many things that have absolutely nothing to do with religion. and that is the reason for the stigma or rather this is how I understand it.
As you say it is a “forced choice”, you have to fast because others do it. rest-a-definir who the others are but more importantly who they are not and whether the non-others walk the talk or not.

4-The head of the Olema (3ulama) group in Marrakech in a bar, Madame Plaza, has prayer beads in the table. Friends asks him if he was not afraid the beads would judge him in the hereafter. Oh my god you are right. orders a Flag. He puts beds in glass then pours beer on them and said. “now we in this together”.
Tolerance. But in day time the same person is going to be talking about religion and gives advice to people about what they should do.

5- As for you last question. “the pressure for social uniformity that follows, gives fertile ground for the Islamists to move in with their “hard” version of Islam” is exactly what I mean”. Morocco has always been a land of tolerance. Why? The version of Islam that dominated for centuries was “popular Islam”. That of the poor and the rich. It is also known for its marabouts, soufi masters, brotherhoods, “sects” and many other names. Now we have a lot of people coming to tell us that our Islam is bad and we risk to be non believers. I totally disagree with the wahhabi version of Islam being better. but I disagree more with imposed comparison.
There are some areas in morocco where classical Arabic is a more foreign language and people do not know anything about the Qoran, hadith in their classical Arabic forms. They do everything in Berber. But they are still Muslims. Maybe not for the fundamentalists. If anyone visits Ayt Abdi, Ouarzazet region and Berbers of the high atlas, they will see a different way of doing all the Islamic things. When these people more to cities for any reason, their adjustment package comes with Darija, Arabic, a new version of Islam, tv channels of the middle east… maybe a little dose of fundamentalism mixed with a bit of social mobility… etc
It aches a lot that when people talk about morocco they just mean the triangle Fes, Rabat, Casablanca.

Sipping tea all day and recitng poetry sounds like a great way to spend Ramadan! The next time I’m in Morocco for Ramadan, remind me to come see you in the Sahara (if you are there of course) ;D

You say, “It is not just a personal choice. it is a social obligation. if you do not fast, la quarantaine. people would not talk to you.” And you add, “The social stigma round Ramadan is becoming worse now as morocco moves towards ‘Urbanization’.” Have you seen Hisham’s post about this? It is a great story, but scary. I’ve experienced similar things when I was with my Moroccan friends who chose not to fast. The pressure for uniformity around cultural–religious issues in Morocco can be scary. Everyone spying on their neighbor to catch them in a gaffe. Where does this anger come from? The desire to impose the same values on everyone seems very un-Islamic. Anyway, read his story if you haven’t!

One question—I didn’t understand fully when you say, “This is preparing the grounds for an Islamist re-coloring of our spectrums.” Do you mean that the dislocation of the cities, and the pressure for social uniformity that follows, gives fertile ground for the Islamists to move in with their “hard” version of Islam? I know I’ve heard many young Moroccans insist that a lot of the Moroccan traditions like the tombs of saints or the lore of the fqihs or Sufi zawiyas are somehow un-Islamic. Are you getting at something like this?

thank you for allowing me the pleasure of posting your words in my blog. this is not flattery if it is Liosliath gets a lots of bags too.

anyway, i totally agree with sandmonkey’s take on Ramadan. i think productivity on Ramadan is very low and in morocco you can notice the fights and the crankiness of people before fotour. in Marrakech people shout “wa sh3al” which means “just light it” in reference to some smokers who get in your face as they need nico.
It is not just a personal choice. it is a social obligation. if you do not fast, la quarantaine. people would not talk to you.
Now this is ONLY in northern costal parts of morocco. in the sahara deserts ( most places I know), it is a whole different thing. i know people who do not fast at all and they are fine. This does not make them less muslim or more. it is just different.
They even do not understand why Northerners ( Ahl Ttell or Shamal) are making a big deal out of it. one of the poet from Laayoune says:

“The Northerners, a low tribe
The reason why they lost success in thinking well
Is: they have summed up the five pillars in “fasting”.
And got done. They already forgot others [pillars]”
(excuse translation)

My point is the social stigma round Ramadan is becoming worse now as morocco moves towards “Urbanization” and what that means is that Moroccan culture in its regional forms is going to be “standardized” in ONE that is originated from Fes and Rabat. You know the size of Ramadan in Fes and Rabat… so i think the sub-cultures of Marrakesh, Sahara, in its Arab and Berber forms have not made it to the top yet. maybe they won’t.
the standardization of language and culture are important tools in the hands of the system to rule structures that forget they were diverse. there are many examples: French parisians, the no-accent values in the US, the Moroccan Fes-Rbati alliances. what Darija do you speak, do you have an accent, do you fast… you are a 3robi, saharaoui, shleh/Berber….
However as long as Ramadan is lost between religion and culture, many people in the south are going to enjoy their “Atay” and say poetry.
This is preparing the grounds for an Islamist re-coloring of our spectrums.

@Liosliath thank you for the zween words. i am not a scholar i should say ana ghir simple sahraoui who likes to have Tea (everyday all year round).
I like your Ramadan posts by the way.
> I vote for this. Totally.

@Sorry for the length this comment.

You’re right that Burning Man was originally supposed to be a new way of accessing the spiritual despite the pressures of the modern world (it was originally a gathering on a beach, among friends) but now it, too, has succumbed to commercialization and the expectations of the crowd. So if I were one of the original organizers and still felt the urge, I would have no choice but to move on into uncharted terrain. My point is that the spiritual is a living experience, so going through the motions for the sake of others is, quite simply, meaningless. I think we agree ;D

Thanks for your kind words about my writing (and Bouba’s) particularly the comparison to Lounsbury since I have rather the same feeling about him. My point here isn’t to show off how clever I am (although there is that!) but to get other people to care and respond.

@leblase — “A ghastly medley of caricatural Republican comments,” exactly! Although David Corn of The Nation seems to be involved too. But if I’d really felt I was walking a tightrope while I was writing the article, I don’t think I would have been able to finish it. I just jumped in and said what I felt, following the same template I did here with Winners and Losers, only adding some background information such as quotes from M6’s throne speech (which turned out to be even more pompous than the impression I got from the Benchemsi article). My Pajamas editor was quite on the level with me, never questioning me on ideological grounds. That leaves me wondering if they’re more open minded than I thought, or just less observant.

@Hisham — “I think that Morocco is entering a critical phase of its history when confrontation is inevitable… unless the king… has the strategic intelligence to open up the system and avoid the backlash!”

I just finished reading Quand le Maroc sera islamiste and it addresses exactly this question. They are quite sceptical as to whether the king and his entourage have the strategic intelligence you describe, so they present a few scenarios of “What would happen if….” Their discussion of Al Adl Wal Ihsane is fascinating and fair. I’ll have more to say about this in my next post, inch’allah.

Meanwhile, Quand le Maroc refers several times to this report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “Morocco: From Top-Down Reform to Democratic Transition?” I haven’t read it yet, but it seems to make some highly accurate observations. For example, it pointed out that people were supporting the PJD mainly out of hope for reform rather than because of its Islamist roots, and predicted that people would grow disillusioned as the PJD grew closer to the Palace and became more like the other parties. This month’s elections are the proof!

- your Ramadan gif : I saw that one too, but I didn’t use it, because the moon was backwards, ha ha.

- Ramadan as seen by Sandmonkey : I’ve witnessed this behavior, and I think I know the cause. It’s because many Muslims think it’s a ticket into heaven – complete it, and you’re golden. Personally, I don’t think that God gives a crap, it’s not like he’s going to say “Oops, remember Ramadan in 2007? You missed a day. Sorry. Next!” I believe (and this is only my personal opinion) that Ramadan was created solely as a time for improving ourselves mentally, spiritually, and physically. Mohammed knew very well that no one would do it just for that, because most people are a bit lazy by nature – so he used the carrot on the stick method. Those Egyptians that Sandmonkey mentioned might as well quit fasting, because obviously their nafs are completely out of control.

- Burning Man : Once again, a great concept that’s been warped. A lot of people just go out there to ingest/inject/smoke every kind of substance they can, and look at naked chicks. They pretend they’re being “artistic” by bringing a silver painted bicycle and getting lots of “unique” body art.

- Pajamas Media : Congratulations, and good for you! Your knowledge of Moroccan politics is very insightful, and I hope at least some of the readers learned something from your article.

- You and Bouba : It’s really a joy to read contributions from both of you. (ha ha, more flattery coming) I always learn something new. You’re also both “gentleman scholars” which makes your opinions and views very easy to digest – in contrast to, oh, Mr. Lounsbury, who’s brilliant in his own right, but concealed behind a haze of trite invective.