Comments on: Morocco: Hands off my Muezzin!

By: Morocco « Morocco Class Project

Morocco « Morocco Class Project — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:52:42 +0000

[...] Muezzin [...]

By: leiloula

leiloula — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:21:16 +0000

Hi,
you can find the official disclaimer on the first page of her website :
http://www.nouzhaskalli.net/
Unfortunately, it is the french version but I’ve read the english version and it is the one that jean posted.

By: jean

jean — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:06:05 +0000

Madame La Ministre est totalement correcte

Suite à la parution d’articles dans différents quotidiens, hebdomadaires et sites électroniques, m’attribuant des propos fallacieux, concernant une prétendue interdiction de l’appel à la prière d’Al Fajr, je me vois dans l’obligation de démentir catégoriquement et formellement avoir proféré ou même songé à de tels propos.

Malheureusement, certains organes de presse ont livré à l’opinion publique nationale et internationale des informations fausses, calomnieuses et irresponsables, sans même avoir pris la peine de procéder au plus élémentaire devoir d’un journaliste qui est la vérification de la source d’information. Il est en effet inconcevable de laisser croire qu’un (ou une) membre du gouvernement d’un pays musulman, depuis des siècles comme le Royaume du Maroc puisse même songer à l’idée d’interdire l’appel à la prière d’Al fajr

By: Lydia Beyoud

Lydia Beyoud — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:33:32 +0000

Leiloula and Jean,
thank you for bringing Ms. Skalli’s statement and disclaimer to the forum. It would be lovely if you could please include the source of these statements.

I’m glad to have this other side to the story, however, my principal duty with GV is to translate what the francophone Moroccan blogosphere is talking about, which is what I did with the resources I had available.
Thank you for reading and commenting.

By: jean

jean — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:13:44 +0000

DISCLAIMER

Following the publication of a number of articles in different daily and weekly newspapers and on some electronic sites attributing to me unfounded statements on an alleged ban of the call to Al-Fajr prayer, I deem it necessary to, categorically and formally, deny having uttered or even thought of such statements.

Unfortunately, some publications have delivered untrue, defamatory and irresponsible information to national and international public opinion, without even taking the trouble to abide by the most elementary duty of a journalist which consists in checking the source and veracity of this information. It is indeed unconceivable to let anyone believe that a member of government from a centuries-old Muslim country such as the Kingdom of Morocco may even consider the very idea of banning the call to Al-Fajr prayer.

By: jean

jean — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:58:53 +0000

You must read it..

By: leiloula

leiloula — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:06:43 +0000

Nouzha Skalli only asked another minister if the intensity of the call was regulated. She never talked about tourists or anything like that. She issued a disclaimer that you should read. She’s a really responsible woman and never would have said such a thing

By: Ibn Kafka

Ibn Kafka — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:20:48 +0000

“Ideally the government should work to benefit its citizens, and not visitors”. Hear, hear, that’s what bothers me most about Nouzha Sqalli’s remarks – this tendency to adapt laws or build infrastructure not for our own benefits, but for that of tourists, as if we only exist through them.

I don’t mind the call for prayers resounding at all times, as long as it doesn’t imply using loudspeakers for salat al fajr. There’s no single city-dwelling Moroccan who doesn’t have a cell phone or a wake-up clock through which s/he may get up to pray in at dawn, so the loudspeakers play no functional role. Yes to the moueddin, no to the loudspeakers – and I am certainly not an enemy of religion or of prayer…

By: Nasamat

Nasamat — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:22:41 +0000

@ MarkDM:

Islamic Call to Prayer :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EAvlimEYEpQ&feature=related

By: docteurho

docteurho — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:01:33 +0000

Thanks Lydia,
There’s just a point that i want to explain…By some people, i meaned SOME MUSLIM PEOPLE… That’s what i wanted to say!
And there is where the difference exists… Muslims HAVE to respect their religion, and if some of them make the choice of not practicing it, they shouldn’t cross over some limits that hurt others feelings. It’s betyeen them and god Back and forth.
Concerning the moroccan governement, there is no way they can hurt islam as far as the king is the guarantee down here… the belance as you said, it the only way to do it well…

By: Lydia Beyoud

Lydia Beyoud — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:28:02 +0000

Docteur Ho- Thank you for your comment and creating the original post; However, (and you can chalk this up to me being a liberal Westerner nsraniya if you like) I feel that the degree to which people practice their faith is a matter best left up to them. As people so often say “it’s between me and God”. That is a personal issue.
Also, “some” of those people you mention might be Jewish, or Christian or secular. They might like hearing adan; they might not. No matter, they’re still going to hear it every day -but don’t they deserve the opportunity to at least express their opinion on the issue?

What I felt your blog post was really about was government officials seeking to dictate how religion should be practiced in the Moroccan Kingdom, particularly to accomodate non-citizens, rather than whether or not people “respect” their religion. Ideally the government should work to benefit its citizens, and not visitors. I think this minister thought she was doing that in a round-about way by promoting a peaceable environment to increase tourism, which hopefully would increase Moroccans’ incomes. However, as others have duly noted, most people come to Morocco WANTING to experience what makes Morocco unique and different and not a place that just reminds them of home.

Islam is the official state religion under the constitution and King Mohammed VI is the Commander of the Faithful -so in a way, whatever he decides is what goes. This means that already the government does meddle with the way religion is practiced in Morocco. The key is to find a balance between what works for the masses and what works for individuals.

By: docteurho

docteurho — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:58:05 +0000

Hello every body,
I’m Realy glad to see my post down here, and to read those comments.
SOME People here is morocco don’t respect their own religion, and thnk that all faces of it , that might not please some hypothetic tourists, or their own egocentrism, should be prohibited… I know it’s not all the truth, but none of this will happen… we yill keep fighting against that kind of “cancers”!
Thanks for the post Lydia

By: Lydia Beyoud

Lydia Beyoud — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:49:14 +0000

Ibn Kafka – Indeed, I’m pretty sure Muadan Bilal did not have access to a loudspeaker in the eighth century :) and simply relied upon the resonance of his voice. I admit I would be all for a return to this former practice, especially as in most large cities there are enough mosques for each neighborhood to hear their call to prayer. There is a recent New York Times article about the extreme loudness of Cairo’s streets -which is predominantly because of honking cars- but also due to mosques turning their loudspeakers up full blast to be heard over the next one down the street. I would hate to see a similar situation arrive in Morocco.

By: Ibn Kafka

Ibn Kafka — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:32:32 +0000

I think the real issue isn’t the call for prayer per se, but the fact that loudspeakers are used, sometimes at a very loud volumes. I’m not sure these were used at the time of the Prophet (saws)… But then this shouldn’t be regulated to please some squeamish French tourists, but rather to let those Moroccans who do nat pray at fajr to go ahead with their sleep…

By: MarkDM

MarkDM — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:03:26 +0000

I’m a non-Muslim American, and if I travel to a Muslim country such as Morocco (which I hope to do), I’d love to hear the call to prayer whenever it happens. It’s part of the culture, and it’d be worth losing a few minutes of sleep to hear that stirring sound.