Saddam Hussein's hanging was also a hot topic in the Blogoma, and based on the emotion that “dominates” some posts, the former president of Iraq seems to have been “canonized” in Morocco. . . or at least by some Moroccan bloggers.

Grim Laugh

Eatbees calls the trial of Sanaa Elaji and Driss Ksikes a black eye for Moroccan freedom. He believes the situation looks grim for the magazine and its two journalists.

What is uppermost in my mind is the human side of this story, the possibility of Driss and Sanaa losing their freedom, and the chilling effect on Moroccans who believed that things were opening up

The Morocco Report thinks that the Moroccan government is hell-bent on catering to Islamists, rather than continuing its short run of open discourse.

“All I did was report to readers what Moroccans are seeing in jokes and anedoctes,” said Sanaa Al-Aji, on trial in Casablanca. She also stated that she has a deep respect for religion.

Larbi bitterly says that the whole situation should be a wake up call for Moroccans (Fr).

The stick treatement is back, and it will hurt.

Mohamed El Kortbi regrets the fact that Sanaa and Driss jumped on the sensationalism (Fr) of a subject related to sex and Islam while “they could have opted for more important Moroccan issues to analyze.” Adds El Kortbi.

… je tiens à préciser que dans tous les pays, il y des lignes rouges à ne pas trangresser : au Maroc, c'est la religion, la monarchie et l'intégrité territoriale. en France et plusieurs pays européens, c'est l'histoire juive au début du siècle dernier. aux USA, c'est le terrorisme musulman…

…I'd like to point out the fact that each country has its own red lines that no one should transgress: For Morocco it's the religion, the monarchy and the territorial integrity. For France and many other European countries it's the Holocaust. In the USA it's the Islamic terrorism…

For El Glaoui, Morocco is losing the plot over Nichane's trial.

According to our readers, instead of grasping the opportunity to stand up to the Islamists, Moroccan authorities are continuing to fumble the Nichane issue.

Abdelilah Boukili writes that Nichane crossed the red lines when its two journalists tackled Religion, a sensitive subjet in the Kingdom of Morocco.

The Moroccan government is trying to curb the influence of Islamist extremists. By allowing such publications, it will give them an opportunity to win public support as for them the Moroccan government is pro-western.

Atmani hopes all this story is a scary nightmare (Ar) he'll get to wake up from it, while M.S Hjiouj considers this whole thing (Ar) a déjà vu.

Saddam Hussein…a Hero!

Prof.Naim considers the way Saddam was executed barbaric and is definitely in the favor of the late president of Iraq, who’s starting to be considered a martyr and a hero (Fr) by many in the Muslim world.

Yassine Benhida considers Saddam to be “the myth of Babylone”. He writes that because the execution was widely broadcasted, Eid Ul Adha had a taste of mourning. He decided not to show the pictures of the execution and posted instead the no bravery song by James Blunt.

Maryamchawki posted the video (Fr) showing the execution of Saddam, the way Hanane did calling Saddam a martyr (Fr).

Noura thinks that the end of Saddam won't end the violence in Iraq (Fr), while Raja Abdelkader considers the “death” of Saddam to be the beginning of Iraq as an alienated country (Fr).

In a more balanced article, Bla Francya condemns the vengeful way (Ar) Saddam was executed.

Gossip…Gossip…Gossip

Najlae turned 26 (Fr) and Amine proved (Fr) to Mao that he is indeed a real man.

Congratulations to both of you! ;)

Anima quits (Ar) blogging while her friend l'autre cote starts her first blog (Ar).

Kahina starts 2007 with a very cute post, while the enigmatic Tazart gives her readers advice to succeed in their love life (Fr).

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah;)

Let's joke about…Baby!

The controversy over Nichane continues its escalation. Actually, and according to Farid it's virtually escalating since only the Moroccan blogs are concerned whith no major Media support(Fr).

The view from Fez writes about the “disturbing” silence off the major Moroccan media.

A very well coordinated campaign by conservative forces has been pushing for the baning of the satirical journal Nichane. Disturbingly a number of journalist “fellow-travellers” decided to abandon ethics and principals and join the campaign. Freedom of the press should be a non-negotiable, but for some it appears that at the first sniff of trouble they opted for self-interest. Thus they fueled the traditionalist camp and gave no support to the government who found itself in a difficult position caught between the highly popular reforms on one hand and the rising tide of political Islam on the other.

Eatbees posts the petition to defend Nichane which he considers “not just a statement of support for Nichane, but a call to change the laws governing the press in Morocco.”

Foulla asks her readers to react “wisely” to this unexpected situation.

You may not agree with the approach The Magazine Nichane choose to cover the subject, but I'm sure you do believe censorship is not the solution . Nor is throwing a bold and talented writer to jail !

Samir posts Mohamed Ashab's article about the controversy.

However, the banning of a newspaper could have serious impacts on the country's records regarding human rights, and freedom of expression. This raises serious problematic issues about the freedom of the press: where it starts and where it ends?

You can read all the blogs about the ban of Nichane in Le magazine des blogs au Maroc (Fr).

The blank day

Bloggers from Tunisia decided to protest against the censorship of some tunisian blogs. Many Moroccan bloggers answered the tunisian call and left their “e-paper” blank on Monday the 25th.

eatbees wrote an interesting piece about it, wondering what would be the most efficient way to express opposition to censorship.

The ones and the others

Ms Hjiouj wonders(Ar) if Mecca can be independant of KSA while Issam complains from the sexism of some Moroccan women!(Fr)

Rayhane posts about the new Moroccan rap star BIGG while antiphon regrets the fading(Fr) of Mohamed Rouicha(Fr), a star of the Moroccan folk music.

Rafiq addarb posts a review about Carter's new book Palestine Peace not Apartheid(Ar) while Said Ben Jebly reminds his readers of Mehdi Ben Barka(Ar).

In a musical footnote I urge you to visit Amine and Loula and enjoy their music boxes.

I'll start with Farid and his interesting numbers (Fr) about blogging in Morocco. Then comes Reda who found out, thanks to Shimon Peres, that there is a connection between laziness and Islam(Fr).

The European Union is a great success and a great failure. Why? Because the Europeans have become lazy – they don’t have children […] There is more old age, less youngsters. In Europe there is work, but no workers. In Africa it's the opposite. That is why they brought the Muslims, and Islam made its way into Europe.

Amine, a big fan of Tom and Jerry, like most of us, posts about the legendary cartoon-maker(Fr) Joseph Barbera who died Monday at 95.

A sour laugh?

Nichane is under attack. The reason? A cover story published by the satirical magazine about the most popular jokes in Morocco. Well, it turned out that Moroccans like to laugh about Power, Sex, and Religion. Nothing really specific to Morocco since that's mostly what jokes are about all over the world. Some jokes were about God and the prophets (Ar), and for Khorafa's(Ar) visitors, that was worse than the Danish cartoons(Ar).

The Moroccan journalist and blogger Mohamed lachyeb(Ar) is asking his visitors to condemn(Ar) Nichane.
Koweit is also mad at Nichane(Ar), and Driss Ksikes, Nichane's director of publication, may apologize to his readers next week.
A law suit is about to be filed against the magazine, and for M.S.Hjiouj all this is simply ridicilous!(Ar).

What about those who laughed at them?

Muslim Santa!

Laila Lalami posts about a Muslim Santa living in Casablanca! And that is not the only thing that is surprising her.

There is still, fifty years after independence, a persistent association of anything French with “better.” People are driving themselves into the poorhouse trying to send their kids to French lycées. A few department stores and private schools here in Casa also throw Christmas celebrations, complete with trees, trimmings, and multicolored lights. It's bizarre.

Morocco has proposed the construction of a mosque in the Chinese capital, writes Samir one of the authors of the View from Fez.

The mosque, according to the minister, is meant to help revive the symbolic dimension of the journey of famed Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battouta to China.

Do you feel like sharing your thoughts with a very “popular” president? Well, eatbees has exactly the right e-address for you. The blog of the Iranian president is ranked 204th in the world, and it seems that Ahmadinejad reads each message personally.

Is Ahmadinejad sincere in his desire to communicate with the West, or is he just a cunning propagandist searching for ever more innovative ways to pull the wool over our eyes?

Attareq blogs mostly about his daily life, and it's written in a simple yet eloquent style. The post about the death of his unborn baby(Ar) is sad and touching and the latest one about the accident Attareq witnessed in the morning(Ar) is surreal!

Adil R. who usually blogs from Washington D.C is in Morocco for a short visit. He is surprised to witness new “behaviors” taking place in his neighborhood's cozy cyber-cafe.

You can hear some speaking Moroccan while others speak other middle eastern ,Gulf to be more precise, accents.Talked to my friends about this little phenomenon and they even told me about the private cyber sex sessions that often take place.

Gossips…Gossips…Gossips

Abdellatif Mossadeq is celebrating(Ar) his first year of blogging, congratulations.

Label ash is paying a tribute(Fr) to Ibrahim Ferrer and le mythe is celebrating Al Aloua(Fr), a Moroccan folk genre of music.

Anima is back and happy! She received an email promising her love and passion and…marriage!

Blafrancya is delighted to blog about Sherbel Rouhana(Ar), a singer who does not understand why some Lebanese insist on using French or English words instead of Arabic ones. Congratulations Lebanon, you have your own Blafrancya;)

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah;)

The red city of Morocco looks more beautiful with all the glamorous actors taking part in its sixth edition of the International Film Festival.
The very good Laila Lalami posts about the event and points a very interesting statement said by Mohammed Majd a Moroccan actor honored by the festival.

the interesting bit is that Mohammed Majd was quoted in the 22 November issue of the newspaper Assahifa as saying, “It would be a mess if the organizers of the Marrakech film festival were Moroccans.” The quote was reprinted by a couple of magazines, but without anyone really disagreeing or taking offense.

Maryam can’t stop from stuffing herself. She needs her daily dose of films, and she's more than served with the festival taking place in her city.

Is this the kind of thing that sounds appealing to you? If so, start planning for a little trip because next year there will be the seventh International Film Festival of Marrakech (Aren't you impressed with my ability to count sequentially?)….And I already can't wait. Will I see you there?

Bluesman would love to enjoy the festival, but he would not buy the official dress(Ar) required to take part of the event. He is asking his readers to find him one to borrow for one week. Practical!

bastanews posts some pictures of the festival. Well, black is definitely beautiful!

They had the scoop!

As usual, Larbi has the scoop. While surfing in the net, he found the website of The former King(Fr) of Morocco, Mohamed V.

Manal, the doctor who blogs was invited to Jordan to take part in a special program held in Amman. It was about the religion and politics in the so-called middle east.
No news yet about the event itself. Manal is still traumatized by her “journey” in the Jordanian embassy in Rabat. So traumatised that she posts about it(Fr). Hang in there Manal, you'll get over it!

It seems like some dead people are actually not that dead. And that is getting on Myrtus's nerves!
She wonders what's going on with Moqtada Al Sadr.

First there was this rumor saying that Al Sadr was dead and now he's supposedly having a fatwa issued against a bunch of wicked women who are deliberately trying demoralize his army with mass orgies??????

Gossip…Gossip…Gossip

Do you remember Mouloud Chelh(Ar)? Well, things are going better for him.
He will no more have to write while standing(Check the coup de coeur). Al Massae, a popular Moroccan newspaper offered him a full time job(Ar).Congrats Mouloud and Thank you BlaFrancia(Ar) for the tip;)

Despite her will, Najlae witnessed(Fr) the suicide of a young man.

Steph is launching a new rendez-vous in his blog(Fr). And it's funny!

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday,Inshallah;)

The Moroccan blogosphere (Blogoma) is very angry. Why? Well a Moroccan blogger qualified the Moroccan blogging as being still in the “teen aging period”(Fr). Mohamed Lachyab, a Moroccan journalist who's decorating his blog with …his own pictures, gave an interview(Ar) to the Moroccan newspaper Almasae, and expressed his opinion about the Moroccan blogging.

The reactions were interesting and most of the time disapproving of whatever Lachyab had to say.

It turned out that the journalist meant “some”(Ar) Moroccan blogs. He also used “some” excerpts from Hjiouj's blog(Ar) without mentioning his source(Fr)!

“It’s an insult to the Moroccan bloggers”(Fr), writes Farid referring not only to Lachyab's interview but also to a column written by another journalist who stated in the Moroccan Arabophone newspaper Al Ittihad Alichtiraqui(Ar) that The Moroccan blogs are mostly futile(ar).

The interesting part in this entire “Imbroglio” is that it shows how fast the Moroccan bloggers react and how active is the Moroccan blogosphere.

So active that the journalist of Alittihad Alichtiraqui(Ar) had to retaliate today, and wrote another column expressing his joy over(Ar) the “healthy reaction of the blogoma” and explaining that he only meant “some” blogs!

“Moroccan bloggers, you have a spokesperson” says Manal sarcastically(Fr).

La question que je pose : de quel droit X ou Y se permet de juger une poignée de gens, sans même parcourir leurs blogs ! Après tout, ce blog c’est pas un espace libre, où chacun peut mettre ce qu’il veut ?

Well, her post had many angry commentators who condemned Lachyeb, while some more balanced comments reminded Manal's visitors of the necessity to respect everyone's opinion.

And I can't help but write what Noam Chomsky said one day, “If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise, we do not believe in it at all”.

By the way, Marocblog(Fr) or the Magazine of blogs in Morocco is a premiere in the Blogoma and it's launched by Farid, a Moroccan journalist interested on “the revolution of the Moroccan blogs”(Fr).

They blog in English

As Monarchy Falters, Islamism Rises writes Aboubakr Jamai, the publisher of Morocco's groundbreaking weekly newspaper Le Journal Hebdomadaire and its sister publication, Assahifa al-Ousbouiya.

In other words, the reasons the PJD is commanding such lead in this poll are related to the failure so far of Moroccan political forces to meet Moroccans' expectations of good governance.

Jamai publishes his posts in Postglobal, the blog about conversations on global issues moderated by David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria.

Morocco: How the heck did I get here, anyway?, asks Maryam whom blog has been chosen Bestest Blog of the Day.
Maryam and her family are staying in Morocco and seem to really enjoy their journey in tis North African country.

Morocco is a beautiful country with a fascinating history and hospitable people, not to mention the wonderful food, shopping and music. And did I tell you? The weather is INCREDIBLE — sunny and warm most of the year. Morocco is also a great place to raise children. We love the idea of raising our two children, Tristan and Skylar, in a multicultural environment and teaching them to be world citizens.

Liosliath's spouse has to provide a notarized letter stating that he gives his permission for her to participate in the Peace Corps program.
Morocco Time's author definitely does not like the idea!

Excuse me? I understand the sentiment behind it, but this is ridiculous.

25 officers from The Hague Police(D)are in Morocco to familiarize themselves with Moroccan culture.
Well, Myrtus thinks that the Dutch Police is going a bit extreme.

You can go to a Moroccan ghetto pretty much in any big city in Holland and get even faster results….

Gossip…Gossip…Gossip…

The talented Sanaa quits the world of blogging. “for some times”(Fr), she says.
I had an interview with her while in Morocco. You may read it next week.

Moonlight posts a review about Good Bye Lenin, the movie that makes you laugh, cry and think(Fr).

The one and only Tazart keeps the suspense on in her captivating posts about the nostalgic Almanouzi(Ar), and FatimZahra say yes to her cousin and accepts to marry him in some very strange circumstances(Fr)…
Adel is happy, and his “baby” Maroc Blogs is doing just fine.

Strangely, I feel happy today, I have no idea why, just
happy, actually I was dancing at some moments… ah! that child in me..

Coup de coeur

After surfing through the Blogoma, I felt so good when I ended my journey in Blaise Llorca's(Fr) blog(Fr).
Interesting for the advices Blaise offers, the blog is also Zen and its ambiance very welcoming.
I personally love the way he talks about food, life, hygiene…Actually, I love everything about this very serene blog. Enjoy!

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah;)

The patriotic Caftan

Label Ash posted(Fr) about Albert Ouaknine(Fr), The Moroccan Haute Couture stylist who made sensation in the mystical Caroussel du louvre by presenting a Moroccan collection of caftans representing the multicultural Moroccan identity.

Mohamed El Kortbi was touched by the lesson of tolerance(Fr) in Oiknine's show.

Thou shall not fast or pray or wear the veil!

Many bloggers opt for sensationalist titles, omitting to consider that some of their blog’s visitors would not be up to reading any further than the title. The result is that they end up having a wrong idea about a critical situation. That is what happened to many bloggers when they have run into this title “After the veil, Ramadan and the prayers are under fire in Morocco” (Ar).

In fact, Said Ben Jely(Ar), the author of the blog(Ar) was referring to the latest HOT news in Casablanca: Morocco's state airline Royal Air Maroc has banned its staff praying at their offices and headquarters. The veiled women who work in the company’s commercial agencies were also targeted, but nothing else (yet?) about Ramadan.

Samir expressed his opinion about this issue in a more balanced article .

If some workers are found to be abusing the prayer privilege, it shouldn’t be used against others to take away their right. Perhaps a fixed time break for prayers may solve the problem. There may be other ways too to resolve the issue, if only the airline bosses care to look. Preventing people from observing their religious beliefs and duties is taking secularism too far.

The decision of the Royal Air Maroc (RAM) was soon followed by a “virtual jihad” claimed by some so-called “Islamists Hackers”.

It is uncertain how effective the attack has been, writes Samir,” but when The View from Fez tried to access the RAM website, it was not functioning. However the company may have closed its servers in order to limit damage”.

The author of Morocco time was wondering why she couldn’t get to RAM’s website, then she found out about the “virtual jihad”.

Go and do something useful, scriptkiddies.

It turned out that the Royal Air Maroc didn't ban prayer time for employees. Well, that's at least what Samir reports.

Or…Does it explode?

There is a strange virtual epidemic spreading among the Moroccan bloggers. Let's call it the “see you soon disease”.

We first have Larbi, whom blog(Fr) is one of the most visited in the Moroccan blogosphere. He screams his frustration in a poetic way.

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Then comes Houdac(Fr) who's expressing her need for an absence(Fr) in order to renew her longtime complicity with the world of rhymes!

Je reviendrais surement avec un peu plus de poésie dans l’âme et beaucoup de lumière dans les yeux…et dans le cœur.
M’attendriez-vous ?

I'll surely come back with more poesy in my soul ..With light shinning in my eyes…and in my heart.
Would you wait for me?

Najia or Myrtus does not explain why she leaves. She just… leaves

It's been fun, but I have to go now.

Take care,

Kugelschreiber(Fr) takes some vacation, while we can almost hear admin_word screaming I'm fed up(Fr)!
Of blogging, that is…Well, among other things!

By the way, Laroussi had already announced his departure from the blogging world in a very articulate post(Fr). Fortunately, he's back(Fr)!

So, after all, the “see you soon disease” is not that strong .To my biggest delight, and surely yours too!

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah;)

The Green March

Moroccan bloggers(Fr) discussed the Green March, and remembered the euphoria that went along with the spectacular event, 31 years ago.

Samir explains why is November the 6th a holiday in Morocco.

So today the Moroccan people have been celebrating the 31st anniversary of the Green March that helped the country peacefully retrieve it southern provinces from Spain under the Madrid accords signed in 1975 by Morocco, Spain and Mauritania .

As usual, Too Banal plays with the words, and the green March which in Arabic is “AL Massira Alkhadra” becomes La mass ira(Fr), which means the crowd will go.

Laurent Bevas posts(Fr) an article about the Sahara issue published in Le Monde Dipomatic(Fr). But the “copy-paste” of the article made Imane, his first commentator uneasy(Fr).

Mohamed Laroussi's father died 14 years ago, and it was on November the 6th.

Laroussi celebrated Monday a march, not the green one, but the one his father took toward peace and eternal rest. He posted(Fr) a touching letter to his late father asking him to enjoy life in heaven.

It's a big mess down here, my beloved dad.

Saddam …WHO?

To my not so big surprise, only few Moroccan bloggers(Fr) posted about the Saddam Hussein's death sentence.

Admin-word warns(Fr) that it's just a matter of turns.

Ze3ma a moula nouba , li massadch fomo(Moroccan dialect) yatkhayat lih !!!

Myrtus calls the sentence The verdict

That is all I can think of calling this, the conviction of Saddam Hussein for the murder of 148 citizens of his country. Their crime? Being unlucky enough to live in a town where some tried to assasinate Saddam Hussein. They were murdered in reprisal.

Even though Attayeb entitled(Ar) his post not for the defense of Saddam, the words he used to describe the sentence show sympathy and affection for the Ex president of Iraq.

Agadir's blog meeting

Neither Saddam Hussein nor the Green March was as popular for the Moroccan bloggers as the first blog meeting in Agadir. Many(Fr) enthusiastic posts(Fr) about the event(Fr) that became Moroccan-Tunisian(Fr) with the presence of Adib(Fr) and Amine(Fr).
Ahmed wrote a long post(Fr) describing in detail the meeting, he definitely had very good time.

Bettar Nadia was as nostalgic as Ahmed, and depicted in detail(Fr) the two days meeting.

All those who participated in the meeting wrote the same sentence:

Merci les amis et a très bientôt, Inshallah

Gossips…Gossips…

M.S.Hjiouj is finishing his first novel which took him one night to write(Fr).

Ahmed(Fr) celebrated his birthday yesterday and loulou dedicated(Fr) a whole post for the event.

Label Ash has a new look, more elegant and with more captivating posts.

Moudawanat aloustad 's latest post is an interesting(Ar) short anecdote about improvisation.

Coup de coeur

Thanks to a tip from Bla Fransya(Ar), I discovered an interesting blog with quiet a unique story. Miloud Chelh(Ar), the author, used to write funny posts about his different jobs: painter, waiter..

Lately, he started writing for Al Massae(Fr), a popular newspaper launched by Rachid Niny(Fr). Miloud writes mostly standing up .He doesn't have time to seat, he explains. He still works as waiter.

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah;)

It's even more interesting to meet the bloggers(Fr) in person, and I had the privilege(Fr) to talk(Fr) to some(Fr) of the stars(Fr) of the blogoma. I discussed with them and I was amazed by their way of thinking and their emancipation especially that most of them were women.

I have interviews I'll be sharing with you every week, but for now let's have an updated look on the Moroccan blogosphere.

Blogo ergo sum

It's now evidence that Morocco is taking seriously his bloggers. After the Jankari scandal, the Moroccan Media is stressing(Fr) the growing number of the blogs in the country. And while some of them tend to not give credit to what they call “a perishable phenomenon,” most of the Moroccan journalists applaud(Fr) the emerging of the blogs as another form of journalism in a country avid of more forms of expression.

A growing number of Moroccan Internet surfers have become bloggers this year due to cheaper Internet access, the general availability of ADSL and the launch of a number of local blog platforms. Current developments in the already diverse Moroccan blogosphere include the creation of an Arabic-language blog platform and an Internet portal combining news, a subject directory and a blog platform.

According to an article published by Magharebia.com, the increased access has encouraged a number of Moroccan businesses to launch their own platforms. Blogjahiz.ma(Fr) is the major Moroccan platform at the present. The immense popularity of blogs among young people has led to the recent launch of Marblog.com(Fr) by Multimedia Studios(Fr).

“The dominance of French in the Moroccan blogosphere is beginning to lessen as Arcanes Technologies' recently-launched Blogjahiz is the first Arabic-language Moroccan platform.”

Says the writer of the article.

Larbi,Star.. against his will!

We all know by now that Larbi(Fr) would love to be a more normal blogger. But hey, when it comes to blogging, the readers are the only judges. And they decided(Fr) Larbi was a special(Fr) blogger.They are not only Moroccans(Fr) but from different countries(Fr) with their interest for Moorcco(Fr) as a shared quality.

The reason of this consensus is that Larbi launched Maroc blogs.com an aggregator of Moroccan blogs. And it's already gaining a big audience and is of a big help for me.

Gossips..Gossips..

Many things happened while i was in Morocco. Nadia(Fr) married Blaise(Fr), and M.S Hjiouj'blog(Ar) changed the look.

Hjiouj is posting a series of interviews(Ar) with some popular Arab bloggers(Ar), among them Ahmed Bla Fransya(Ar)and Haitham Sabbah. Yes, it turned out Haitham has fans even in Morocco!

By the way Hjiouj is among the Arabic blogs selected(Ar) for the final of the BOBs, along with Rachid Jankari's blog(Fr).

Sonia(Fr) is back after an absence of some long seven months while Chigaf(Fr) didn't updated since her voyage to Paris, three months ago.

Black is beautiful, says(Ar) Anima and Manal promises to never try herself as a chef(Fr).

Soumiaz is back and smoking, while le baroude wants a Rolls royce(fr).

The View From Fez confirms the already widely known huge popularity of Hayfa Wahbi and announces that Brazil's international soccer player, Ronaldo Luiz Nazario De Lima, is visiting Morocco in December, part of a mission in favor of children.

The Real Madrid player told on Friday the Spanish daily “ABC” he will visit Morocco to try help children by his presence. “I was not born in a Favela (slum), but I grew in a very poor community and I know what poverty means,” he said.

Before leaving you, I would like to thank all those of you who took the time to send me emails asking for the reason of my absence. Being missed feels good.

That's it for today, see you next Wednesday Inshallah;)

I don't know yet why no one can access M.S Hjiouj's blog(Ar) since last week, and I sincerely hope it has nothing to do with censure.
I already feel that the Moroccan blogosphere is missing one of its very interesting members. Hjiouj is asking for help to explain and solve “error 400″.

The Muslim Democrat of the Year

Soumiaz is asking what does the Moroccan Government want? And she refers in her post to the Moroccan independent newspaper Le Journal hebdomadaire(Fr) accused of defamation, and condemned(Fr) to pay $340.000.

What is the message here, I really don’t get it. Do they or do they not want us Moroccan to evolve?

Karim, one of the contributors to ARAB OBSERVERS doesn't seem to approve the choice of Saadeddine El Othmani as the Muslim Democrat of the Year in the Arab world by the Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID).

To me, the choice was a bit of a surprise. But I have to admit that I don't know much about the guy to be able to make a judgment…

Did you say Tamazight?

Moh has a blog(Fr)! That was my good news of yesterday morning. Who's Moh? Well, I don't know much about him except the fact that he makes sense when he comments (Fr) to controversial debates.
I like his blog, although I don't think he's even trying to get the reader's attention since he doesn't even allow comments. It seems that he just writes for fun, and it's really nice. Too bad for those of you who don't read French , you are missing an occasion to laugh loud the way I did when I went through Moh's post about his mom's journey in an international American airport. It's hilarious!

Moh's mom is Amazigh(Fr) and she only speaks her native language. The custom woman doesn't seem to understand that Tamazight is not Arabic, nor it is likely to be any other language she could think about. Still, she doesn't accept that Moh translates for his mother, which leads to some funny situations. At the end, Moh's mom, amazed by the imbroglio that she was causing, couldn't help laughing in a hysterical way. So hysterical that the whole situation became comic and ludicrous rather than offensive…

Ghasbouba is posting about the Royal institute for the Amazigh culture(Fr) and the Moroccan Government who got together to decide(Fr) what to do about introducing Tamazight in the Moroccan Media.

let’s see how that goes.

Sex, love and nostalgia

Do you think sex is important before marriage(Fr)? Asks Nadia in her post trying to get some statistics on how her blog's visitors see an active sexual life before tying the knot.

Najlae's hot chocolate has the taste of the future. And her post has the taste of a hidden fear of the future(Fr) far from Le Campanile(Fr).

Hujaina lives a nightmare when she realizes that her family's guest refuses to eat(Fr) if he has to share the meal with…women!!

Selwa celebrates her 31st birthday with a nostalgic(Fr) note. Happy birthday Selwa, and you really look…23!

Bsima wants to burry her souvenirs(Fr) and shed her tears…Come'on Bsima, cheer up!

In a very melodious note, Jihane shares her love to her father(Fr) with the visitors of her blog.

Coup de Coeur

I'm not going to introduce you to my new favorite blog today, but I want you to discover Samir, a very special blogger. He's one of the contributors to the very interesting blog THE VIEW FROM FES and he's no one else but Sandy McCutcheon, the prominent Australian author, playwright, actor, journalist and broadcaster.

His latest novel Black Widow has been described as one of the most important novels of the year.

That's it for today, and since I'm flying to Morocco for a long vacation, I won't see you before 6 weeks. But I promise to come back with fresh news about the very interesting Moroccan blogosphere.

So see you soon, Inshallah!

Jewish vs Muslim..again!

Slix writes about Matisyahu, the popular Hasidic Jewish reggae artist and asks if a Muslim singer with beard and turban would have had the success(Fr) Matisyahu is enjoying. Except for Mchicha(Fr) who answered yes to the question, all the comments agreed that the Muslim singer won't stand a chance because of his displaying of his faith.

I couldn't help reading Slix's post again and again and going through the comments again and again. And I simply think it's scary to realize that young graduate intellectual Moroccans are starting to consider what USA think as the one and only reality in the world. I mean, why would a Muslim beard turbaned singer reach the approval of an American audience with a Christian-Judaic religious background instead of performing in the huge Islamic world?
We have many examples of religious singers with big audience, isn't enough?
What about the Muslim observant singer Sami Youssef whose albums have taken the Islamic world by storm!!

Or is it that important to receive the approval of the American critics, to finally feel secure and accepted..

Matisyahu is popular in the USA , his country, he didn't go to Morocco or Indonesia to beg for attention!!

However, a good and well planned medication campaign would help anyone succeed and be famous in the United States. But this means money. It also means that our dear Muslim rich investors should pay more attention to singers with “real” lyrics instead of promoting songs with bizarre words , such as bah,bah! and oua oua..

Talking about the new wave of famous Arab singers, Samir posted about Haifa Wahbi who requested that her business manager cancel all trips to Morocco and to refuse all requests to hold concerts or interviews with the Moroccan press.

Apparently Haifa’s decision is due to what she thought was the mistreatment she faced during her recent visit to Morocco. Haifa claims she was searched in an inappropriate manner by a female security officer at the airport. When Haifa asked why she was being mistreated, the officer said that she simply does not like her. Well, Haifa dear, not everyone is an adoring fan.

Nadia Yassine vs Descartes..

Descartes's famous statement was “I think, therefore I am”, but Nadia Yassine doesn't seem to be satisfied with it. She prefers to say “I think, therefore I am..who?”. You'll read more about Nadia's Washingtonian journey in Najlae's post “Heard in Washington”(Fr).

Adel explains in his post the reasons behind his displaying of the “Defend Freedom” slogan with the Danish flag in his blog. He says that he's not against Islam and that he's simply defending freedom(Ar) through defending Denmark.

I do believe that people and freedom are much precious than any religious belief.

Karim is urging the visitors of his blog to read Ghassan Sharbal 's editorial(Ar) about Iran's nuclear ambitions, and how these might affect neighboring Arab states, while Lemrina is remembering the victims(Fr) of Chernobyl.

Tazart vs her readers..

As usual, I was moved by Tazart's post. Her words are so simple yet they have the magical power to take you directly to your childhood . And even if you don't understand Tifinagh, the sound of the little voice(Ar & Tifinagh) coming from the podcast won't leave you indifferent.

And it's clear that I'm not the only one charmed by Tazart's texts since even the comments she receives are nothing less than nice poems making of Hajitk(Ar, Fr and Tifinagh) the best place to enjoy Talghatin which is a form of poetry competition between women and men of Amazigh tribes.

That's it for this week. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah.

The first one: Morocco is among the four African countries which count the biggest numbers of internet users in a continent where only 22 million people use the net, that is 2.5% of the 900 million people living in Africa. But, this number has increased by 400% since 2000.

The second one is the marriage of two Moroccan bloggers. Houda (Fr) and Kamal(Fr) tied their knot last week. Congratulations!

The third one is about Lillytwill (Fr) who celebrated her birthday last week. Happy birthday to you Lilly!

The bad news is about Lynn (Fr) who decided to stop blogging. And according to her readers' impressions, her decision has to do with some annoying and disturbing comments she started to get lately in her blog. Sad!

Palestine remembered

“We need to help the Palestinian people to carry on”, says M.S Hjiouj (Ar) in a message he displays in his blog, asking his readers to help break the Financial embargo imposed by the EU and the USA on Palestine.

M.S Hjiouj launched this Palestine solidarity campaign(Ar) the way many other Arab (non Moroccans) bloggers did. And although I can't tell if it was successful to generate the support it aimed to provide, I salute M.S Hjiouj's commitment to help make a difference.

Soumiaz hails the Iranian decision to help the Palestinian authority deal with the budget crisis caused by the withdrawal of aid by western nations .

I went through as many Moroccan blogs as I could, and except for M.S Hjiouj and Soumiaz, no other blogger posted about Palestine's newest crisis. And I just cannot help asking, why is it that the Francophone Moroccan blogs don't show interest when it comes to Arabs' political problems which are not overmediated in the international level? While many of those blogs react immediately to events happening in France or Canada and the USA?
Does the choice of the language determinate the nature of subjects that are to be treated?

Being a Berber

Samir posts two interesting articles about being a Berber in Morocco:

What rights should the Imazighen have? Should they be allowed to teach their languages in the schools? How compatible is Imazighen culture with Islamic culture? Which identities are to take precedence—Moroccan, Islamic or Imazighen?

By the way, Samir is one of the authors of The View from Fez . Zany and El Glaoui are also contributors to the blog.

Loulouzip wrote some jokes about men(Fr), Crucivore retaliated with “funny” anecdotes about women(Fr).

Lawyers and priests wear robes because they're as liars as women..

bla francya is back to his favorite subject(Ar), which is the way some Moroccans speak, mixing their dialect with French words.

I can understand this phenomenon if it only concerns specific words or if the discussion is about the French literatture. But it also concerns simple greetings expressions.
What's the reason behind that?

Answers, anyone?

Blogs swap

With no previous notice, Larbi(Fr) launched an uprising against the image of “ideal” young Moroccan many of his readers have forged of him. It started with a post full of cursing expressions(Fr) that he entitled “it's not me,ok?”, than a comment in Nadia's blog(Fr), where he expressed his concern(Fr) about the way he, sometimes, acts.

How can I reclaim more freedom for others when I'm not even capable of enjoying the small amount of freedom I have..
Then I say that I'm not credible.

Hmm..Deep, isn't it?
Last week, Larbi switched his blog with Adel's one. Not all of Larbi's fans enjoyed this swap thing , especially that Adel was, in their eyes, the opposite of their beloved Larbi.

Adel speaks his mind, and when you blog that way you cannot please everybody. But this young Moroccan blogger doesn't seem to care. He however gives his impressions about the swap.

so my experience is:

1.the good… they are good example of community
2.the bad… by the time you start to blog for them not for yourself
3.the ugly… that's enough reason (2) to shut down the blog

Larbi came out of this experience with a deep awareness of the challenge facing bloggers and which is to practice what they claim to believe. He was disappointed and hurt by some remarks and he's more than ever decided to become a simple blogger, with no specific considerations.

When you break down all the barriers, the best in human beings comes out.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, I think that the Moroccan blogosphere is starting to look exactly like the Moroccan society with the VIPs, the covetous, the rejected, the ins and the outs.. And that's alarming!

Blogs were never meant to duplicate the social system that shapes our “real” lives.

Coup de coeur

Nadia Lamlili(Fr) is the Moroccan journalist who won the CNN Francophone General Award, an annual prize in recognition of African journalists. Lamlili won the award for an article published on 24 September 2004 on migration to the north shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The piece focused on the intentions of migrants, the difficulties they encounter and the groups that profit from the human tragedy.

The good news is that Nadia has a blog, and I urge you to go discover it. You'll be impressed by her boldness.

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah!

Yes, Manal is a student-doctor who blogs and wants to make a difference. Her blog Manal Carpe Diem (fr) is a very special one with original posts that show authenticity but also boldness. I was curious to know more about her trip to Denmark (fr), so I asked her some questions. Her answers were so simple yet so inspiring that I decided to share this interview with you.

I read in your blog that you went to Denmark to make a difference, tell me more about it..

I went to Denmark to participate in a week of dialogue between Muslim and Danish youth. I wanted to give them an other image about Islam rather than burned flags and embassies, because this is not Islam. Unfortunately, the image conveyed by the media is totally wrong, and I’m happy that I could change some of the prejudices about my religion and I could prove to the Danes that Islam calls for peace and tolerance, calls for respect and freedom not for violence and terrorism. Thanks to God, I could read in the eyes of many of them a lot of amazement and surprise, and I’m sure that they won’t be influenced anymore by the wrong ideas spread about Islam.

Was it a personal initiative ?

Well, the week in Denmark was an initiative taken by Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke , to deepen the relationships between Danes and The Muslim world. The program was a combination of cultural meetings and exchanges of views with politicians, media and opinion makers. There were about 42 young Muslims from different countries, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan, Kenya, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Palestine… The experience was really great, and the Danes showed a real will to mend this big wound that is still bleeding, and to repair this big mistake. Of course, no official apologies have been made, but all of those who were with our group, politicians and the average Joe citizens were sorry about what happened. They were all preaching the freedom of speech but they also realized that publishing such cartoons was a big mistake. I believe that respect should be a rule if we really want to live peacefully.

What about the visit you paid to Jyllandsposten?

One of the most important steps of the week was the visit to Jyllandsposten, the newspaper that published the cartoons. They refused to see the BBC, the CNN, the Danish TV, but they agreed to meet us. It was a good point, even if we had a unilateral dialogue. The media convey some of the truth but not the whole truth. The media didn’t show to the Muslim world that there are some Danes who protested against the publication of the cartoons, and they showed to Danes that Muslims only burned flags and embassies… this is not the whole truth…
Fortunately, they’re some Danes who took some concrete initiatives like creating a website anotherdenmark or inviting some young people to get to know more about the Danish culture and promote dialogue, I believe that misunderstanding is the result of ignorance.

Now, let's try to know more about you. Why do you blog?

My blog is a space where I can express myself freely and spontaneously. It’s a great experience since it allows youto meet people from different backgrounds. It also gives you the opportunity to talk about many issues and share your opinions with the whole world without censorship and with only “a click”. I don’t like to share my intimate life with the others, I prefer to talk more about my daily life in the hospital or about my different experiences with NGO’s but from time to time I do post about private matters.

What do you think about the Moroccan blogosphere?

I see it as an extraordinary melting pot, exactly the way the Moroccan society is. Every day, we “witness the birth” of more and more , from different backgrounds and fields. Each space is unique and each blog brings a fresh air to the blogosphere. I had the opportunity to meet many bloggers and I was really amazed, some became very close friends…

How do you explain the fact that most of the Moroccan blogs are in French instead of Arabic or Moroccan dialect?

Most of the Moroccan bloggers have a high educational level, there are a lot of university students. The Moroccan universities teach in French, then the majority find it easier to express themselves in this language. One other reason that can explain this fact, is that we blog to transmit a message, and the choice of the language shouldn't really be an issue, it is only a tool! The most important thing is that my readers get my messages..

What do you “hope” from your blogging experience?

Learn more and more, meet new people and enjoy the experience of sharing…

Who reads your blog?

Lots of people (laughing) bloggers and non bloggers. Actually many readers send me e-mails to encourage me and congratulate me for the choice of my subjects, or sometimes to express their disagreement. I know trough the statistics that a lot of visitors come to see me…

—–

Well, I do know that I am a regular visitor of “Carpe Diem”, and she amazes me everyday for the choice of her subjects, and many times, for her boldness. So good luck Manal and thank you.

That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah.

To fire or..not to fire!

It's a “premiere” in Morocco. A blog about a misuse of the Moroccan money leads to the resignation of the misuser(French). But, the good news end here, since no good deed goes unpunished. Rachid Jankari(French), the journalist blogger, author of the scoop had to delete the post about the scandal from his blog , or to loose his job! .
The blogger deleted the post only to find it published in many other Moroccan blogs as a form of solidarity.

Othmane Boumaalif(French) who was among the first bloggers to express his support to Jankari(French) received an email from the employer of the journalist blogger stressing that he has never threatened Jankari(French). Still, the boss wrote in his email that blogging is not that private.

As long as your music is not loud , no one would bother disturbing you. The minute it gets out of control, your neighbours will knock at your door asking you to adjust the volume. They're not kicking you out of your place but asking you to respect the neighbourhood.

Hmm..Got it Jankari?

Mohamed Slimani received the same email(French) and he says that the “neighbourhood thing” inspired him for his next post!

Bla francya wonders if the Moroccan blogosphere will have the same fate as the Chinese and Tunisian ones(Arabic) , where bloggers get fired as a punishment of their boldness.

M.S.Hjiouj says he had a hard time understanding the “problem” since all the posts about it were in French. And he asks his fellow bloggers to start thinking of posting about important matters in Arabic(Arabic) since not everybody in Morocco reads French.

The only positive point of this scandal is that it shows that blogging in Morocco is becoming influential.

United we..blog!

Larbi wrote about the unprecedented solidarity action in the Moroccan blogosphere in a post titled Fresh air(French).

We express our support to Jankari..

Bluesman posted the “scandalous” article(French) to show his solidarity with Rachid Jankari.

Mchicha is very angry about the whole situation(French), she posts the article deleted from Jankari's blog and says:

I'm fed up ! They are chasing the freedom of expression even in the blogs!!

Although she realizes that this whole affair shows the new influence of blogging in Morocco(French), Nadia states that Rachid's family is going through a tough situation.

Adnane says that Jankari's article had a bomb effect, and shows his solidarity by republishing it in his blog(French).

Wadih is waiting for the reaction of the National Union of Moroccan Journalists(Arabic). He writes that the Moroccan journalist works in difficult conditions and needs more juridical protection.

Eulogies to Fadi

The Moroccan blogosphere is still mourning Fadi who died earlier last week.

Loula dedicated her latest post to the late blogger(French).

It was an honour to know you!

Salma cries her friend Fadi and pays him a tribute(French).

Your are the blogger who had the bigest impact on me!

Manal learned a lot from Fadi's wiseness(French). Her latest post was a farewell to a cherished friend.

Coup de coeur

I am definitely under the “charm” of the teacher's blog(Arabic). I find the idea very interesting and even though there is not much to say about the author, since he doesn’t display any information about him, I cannot help thanking him for the services his blog is providing to the Moroccan high school student .

The title of the blog made me smile. The content made me laugh. It's hilarious!
Hamida Mentoufa(French) (Hamida with uncombed hair) is a Moroccan young woman who's trying to go on with her “normal” life in the big , noisy and cosmopolit Casablanca. The posts are endless anecdotes about her depressing misadventures. It's really funny especially for those who, like me, used to live in Casablanca and went through “almost” the same misadventures of the one and only Mentoufa. Have a good laugh,everyone!

That's it for this week. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah!

It is our decision that your site does indeed stand above others in its graphic quality, site design, and overall attractiveness. We appreciate the existence of such sites on the Net, and hope that through this award, your site will become more visible to the public.

So congratulations to our last week's coup de coeur.

Farewell Fadi !

Fadi died last week(French), and the Moroccan blogosphere is already missing him. My sincere condoleance to his family and friends .

It's hard for me to switch from death to celebrations, from sorrow to joy but aren't life and death neighbours nigh!

Well, believe it or not, M.S Hjiouj is only 24! I used to think he was older than that since the content of his blog shows a maturity and a sens of analytical thinking you rarely find in young bloggers. Anyways,Happy(Arabic) birthday(Arabic) to you(Arabic) !

Another popular blogger in the Moroccan blogosphere celebrated his birthday April the first. Larbi doesn't tell his age , he doesn't even blog about his birthday. I found out about it thanks to one of the numerous comments(Arabic) Larbi leaves in most of the Moroccan blogs. Happy birthday to Larbi!

Political blogs?

Can we start talking about political blogs in Morocco?(Arabic) Asks Bla faransya(without French), author of the blog Without french, talk to me in my language, fellow citizen(Arabic).
Bla Faransya is very optimistic about the future of blogging in Morocco. He even believes that it will become a powerful tool the way it's starting to be in some countries like the US and Iran(Arabic).

Bluesman denounces the way corrupted police officers use horrific methods to get innocent people confess to crime they didn't do (Arabic).

Amine criticises France for being scared of the future and sceptical of reforms (french). That's at least the image he's getting especially after the very mediatic confrontation between the French government and the unions about the First Job Contract (CPE) that gives firms the right to summarily lay off the under-26s any time during a two-year period.

Much ado about (almost) nothing!

Read a blog or..listen to it!

From now on, you can listen to the View From Fez, so enjoy it!

Every now and then technological advances take me by surprise. Today it was because of AGORAVOX - On this site I found I could actually listen to the posts on the View From Fez! The electronic voice was a step ahead of what I have experienced before - so worth a listen, especially if you are sight impaired

One picture of Djemaa_el_Fna posted by Anima made all nostalgics of this magical place whisper their wish to go back ,for a second, taste and smell the great food you can only find in this popular area in Marrakesh .

Karim posts a poem i would like you to read. It's called Dreamer, by Brian Moses.

I dreamt I painted a smile
on the face of the earth
for all to see.

coup de coeur

When Issam says that Mohamed choukri's “For bread alone” is only a best seller because of its sexual content(Arabic), I deeply disagree. But I do like visiting Issam's blog(Arabic), for it's interesting posts, nice presentation and amazingly sarcastic style.

That's it for today. See you next week, Inshallah.

Casablanca..Angel or Demon?

Thanks to the daily updated list of Moroccan blogs offered by Larbi, I had no problems finding the Arabic ones.
My first remark is that they are a minority in the blogoma who obviously prefers French, since even the English ones are a tiniest minority!

Issam is sarcastic. And his latest post is an ironical critic(Arabic) of the way some Moroccan police officers take advantage of their positions to terrorize the “average” citizens..

We hear more and more about a negotiated political solution to the Sahara conflict, and hjiouj is reacting(Arabic) to this new development in his blog called M.S Hjiouj(Arabic).

Morocco used to sue whoever talks about the independence of the Sahara..Tomorrow, whoever refuses the idea of the independence of the Sahara will be sued..!

Legnaoui is fed up with the insecurity and the “moral dirtiness”(Arabic) of Casablanca, and he's posting about it in Arabic with some expressions in Moroccan dialect.

Casablanca is the main subject in another blog, The world of Ihsan Baghdadi(Arabic). And again, the city is loved and hated at the same time. It's even called the city of contradictions.

Lalla Nisrine the lion's heart(Arabic) is a nice but deserted blog. And that's really surprising especially that it received an international award(Arabic) as “the reader's choice”.

What is hell?

Samir writes about the Second Arab Civil Forum that expressed its disappointment over the failure of the majority of Arab nations “to meet their promises in regard to political reforms”.

However, the final communiqué, released in Bahrain yesterday, called on Arab governments to remove all legislative and administrative restrictions imposed on creation and administration of non-government organisations, trade and labour unions, and political parties.

Jallal applauds the decision of CAIR to call for the release of Afghan Christian convert Abdul Rahman.

Apostasy is one of the serious issues that the Moslem world has yet to come to terms with. Many Muslims cheer the conversion of new converts to Islam and, at the same time, back the common idea that Muslims who reject their faith should be sentenced to death! There is an coherence problem here.

soumiaz wants to know more about hell and heaven, about her religion..Or what she supposes she can call, her religion.

I am Muslim myself I don't have answers to some of her questions. I just now put my finger on one of the things that are behind the issues and contradictions we suffer from in the Muslim world. It is not Islam we practice, we haven't–at least I know–I haven't studied the religion as deeply as my friend is now doing. I have inherited the religion but I have never taken time to build my own understanding of it is principles.

Coup de coeur

M.S Hjiouj(Arabic) is a blog I've discovered last week and really liked it. First, I think it has this “literary” look that makes it a warmth place to be. Second, the subjects of the posts are interesting and the author, who by the way is journalist, has a special way to deal with headlines news.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights in Tetouan has a blog(Arabic), and I do like the idea -which is pretty new for such associations in Morocco- since it will help spread any information or new development about the social and the political environment in the area.