Stories about Morocco from February, 2008
Morocco: On Moroccan Injustice
Blogger Eatbees discusses the differences between the American and Moroccan justice (or injustice systems).
Morocco: Blogger Quits
A popular and well respected university professor and blogger, Pr. Mohamed Drissi Bakhakhat, decided to stop blogging out of fear for his safety after what happened to Fuad Mourtada, writes A Moro in America.
Morocco: No Justice for Fouad Mourtada
Is creating a Facebook profile of a famous entity a crime? Although it's been done to nearly every major celebrity (a quick search for "George W. Bush" garners over 500 results), but when Fouad Mourtada chose to mimic Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, he was committing a serious crime.
Morocco: Learning Arabic
Evelyn in Morocco shares her struggles of learning Arabic.
Morocco: Health Care
Abdelilah Boukili of Regular Comments Based on Issues Raised by BBC World Haveyoursay questions the practice of Western countries recruiting health care professionals from developing countries.
Morocco: Hijab as a Choice
Much has been said about "the veil," or hijab. Perhaps too much - mention it, and suddenly everyone - Muslim or not - is an expert. In Morocco, hijab is certainly a choice. Young and old alike don the headscarf, and in big cities, seeing it is as common as not seeing it. Although in rural areas it is more prevalent, all women have (legal) freedom of choice whether or not to wear it.
Morocco: Facebook's fake prince could face five years in prison
Fouad Mourtada, a 26-year old IT engineer has been held under arrest in Casablanca since February 5th for "villainous practices linked to the alleged theft of the identity" of King Mohammed VI's younger brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, on the popular social networking website Facebook. Fouad appeared in court on Friday February 15th. The trial has been postponed until February 22.
Morocco: Bloggers Rally Behind Fouad Mourtada
In Morocco, francophone bloggers rally behind Fouad Mourtada, jailed for posting a Facebook profile that spoofed a member of the Moroccan royal family. Mourtada's arrest reveals the tensions between modern Morocco and Morocco of the Middle Ages, they write, while still holding out hope for an acquittal.
Morocco: Fun Day at the Fair
From Morocco, Maryam takes her little one to the fair – and shares some pictures with us.
Egypt: Free Moroccan Fouad Mourtada
“The arrest and brutal treatment of Fouad Mourtada, the young man who create a fake Facebook profile of Morocco’s Prince Moulay Rachid, is a sad testimony to the fact that things have not changed as much as the regime would like you to believe in Morocco,” notes The Arabist, from...
From Morocco, With Love
On this, St. Valentine's Day, the day for lovers, poems, flowers and romance, Moroccan bloggers are sharing their hearts. Few holidays have the ability to inspire both love and blog posts, but today's is certainly one of them.
Egypt: On Winning the African cup of Nation, Ghana 2008
Ask any Egyptian, he’d tell you that last Sunday night, February the 10th, wasn’t like any night.. a night like “thousand nights”.. Egypt won the African Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008 after a fierce match with Cameron 1-0. A marvelous score in a beautiful ditto between Abu Tarika and Zeidan. Egypt won.. Celebrations was almost every where on each and every street in Egypt, as well as in many other Arab countries.
Ghana/Morocco: Africa Cup of Nations was hacked
Soyapi Mumba writes about the hacking of the Africa Cup of Nations website: “Some angry ‘Moroccan’ has hacked the Africa Cup of Nations website after Morocco got beaten by Ghana, the hosts, 2-0 on Monday 28th January 2008.”
Moroccan bloggers call for education reform
When the World Bank recently announced that Middle Eastern and North African nations need to improve their education systems in order to reach their development goals and be competitive in a globalized market, it sent ripples through Morocco's Francophone blogosphere, prompting calls to improve the nation's ailing education system.
Morocco's coach sacked after Africa Cup loss
Moroccan national football team's coach, Henri Michel, was sacked following Morocco's poor performance in the African Nations Cup: unfair, francophone bloggers say.
Morocco: The Whole “Kitten” Caboodle
Cats are abundant in Morocco. Overabundant, even. One of my favorite things about living there was photographing the street cats - of which there would often be groups of up to 20. Judging by the spate of posts from the Moroccan blogoma (and even some recent travelers to Morocco) about cats, I'm not the only one who loves felines - and lately, even professional artists and photographers have found them to be a popular subject, reports Jillian York.
Morocco: Couscous of the Dead
Margot the Marrakesh Mystic has a two-part piece on Couscous of the Dead.
Morocco: Marrakech Marathon
Connie in Morocco shares stories from the Marrakech Marathon and water cuts at home.
Morocco: Kefta Tajine
SunnyRaindrops shares a recipe for kefta tajine, a Moroccan specialty.
Morocco: Author Honoured
The View from Fez reports that famed author Tahar Ben Jelloun was honoured by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
