Morocco+Culture

Morocco's Culture
 * History ||  Economics ||  Politics || Culture || Geography || Activities || Classroom Info || Teacher Info ||

**Population:** 34,859,364 (as of July 2009) **Ethnic Make-up:** Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2% **Religions:** Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%

**__Moroccan Society & Culture__ ** Deepest among the montage of cultural influences are the country's Berber and Arabic roots. The cultural dialogue between Arab and Berber culture is at the core of Moroccan national identity and culture. **Berber** <span style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,san-serif; font-size: 120%;">The Berbers, or //Amazighs//, have been in Morocco for at least 4000 years, practicing sedentary agriculture in the mountains and valleys throughout northern Africa. Some Berbers have always engaged in trade throughout the region, and such practices certainly had a tremendous influence on the history of the African continent. (Trade routes established from western Africa to the Mediterranean connected the peoples of southern Europe with much of sub-Saharan Africa thousands of years ago.) Berber culture resisted assimilation for millennia, and is unusual in other ways as well: for example, it is matriarchal, and women play a very different role in society than in many other cultures around the world. With its roots in the mountains and in the desert, Berber culture flourishes in the interior of Morocco, where Berber crafts remain alive and strong tribal structures still predominate.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Islam** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Islam is practiced by the majority of Moroccans and governs their personal, political, economic and legal lives. Islam emanated from what is today Saudi Arabia. The Prophet Muhammad is seen as the last of God's emissaries (following in the footsteps of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, etc) to bring revelation to mankind. He was distinguished with bringing a message for the whole of mankind, rather than just to a certain peoples. As Moses brought the Torah and Jesus the Bible, Muhammad brought the last book, the Quran. The Quran and the actions of the Prophet (the Sunnah) are used as the basis for all guidance in the religion.



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Moroccan Family Values**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The family is the most significant unit of Moroccan life and plays an important role in all social relations.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The individual is always subordinate to the family or group.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Nepotism is viewed positively, since it indicates patronage of one's family.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The family consists of both the nuclear and the extended family.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The elderly are revered and respected and often exert a great influence on the rest of the family.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Meeting Etiquette** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Dining Etiquette** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">If you are invited to a Moroccan's house: Information from [|Kwintessential]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">__Etiquette and Customs of Morocco__ **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">When Moroccans greet each other they take their time and converse about their families, friends, and other general topics.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Handshakes are the customary greeting between individuals of the same sex.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Handshakes may be somewhat weak according to western standards.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Once a relationship has developed, it is common to kiss on both cheeks, starting with the left cheek while shaking hands, men with men and women with women.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">In any greeting that does take place between men and women, the woman must extend her hand first. If she does not, a man should bow his head in greeting.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">When entering a social function, shake hands with the person to your right and then continue around the room going from right to left.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Say good-bye to each person individually when leaving.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">You should remove your shoes.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Dress smartly. Doing so demonstrates respect towards your hosts.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Check to see if your spouse is included in the invitation. Conservative Moroccans may not entertain mixed-sex groups.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Shake everyone's hand individually.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15). Nevertheless, many children--particularly girls in rural areas--do not attend school, and most of those who do drop out after elementary school. The country's literacy rate reveals sharp gaps in education, both in terms of gender and location; while country-wide literacy rates are estimated at 39.6% among women and 65.7% among men, the female literacy rate in rural areas is estimated only at 10%.
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Education __**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Morocco is home to 14 public universities. Muhammad V University in Rabat is one of the country’s most famous schools, with faculties of law, sciences, liberal arts, and medicine. Founded over 1,000 years ago, Karaouine University, in Fes, is the oldest center for Islamic studies in the Maghreb. Morocco’s most prestigious private English-language university, Al-Akhawayn, was founded in 1993 by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia in Ifrane. Its curriculum is based on an American model. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">[|U.S. Department of State]