Letter to Myself

My trip to Morocco was an impeccable experience for a multitude of reasons. Not only was it the first time I have been outside of North America, but it also pushed me out of my comfort zone and showed me a world that I never knew about. 

One of the main things that I would like future me to take away from this experience is what we learned about Islam. Today, many Americans have many misconceptions about what Islam is and the basic beliefs of the religion. While the media largely perpetuates this idea, many Americans do not bother to actually look into the facts or go to Muslim countries and experience the culture. From the very first lectures we had in Morocco in addition to reading Dreams of Trespass, we learned that the media is incredibly inaccurate in its portrayals of Islam. In fact, not only are there Sunni and Shia Muslims, but there are also many different schools within Islam that can determine one’s individual views and beliefs. For example, Morocco follows the Maliki School and Sufism, which emphasizes spirituality and is considered a moderate, flexible interpretation of Islam. Moreover, Islam is one religion that is actually incredibly individualistic, allowing for a variety of different views and beliefs from one person to another. I believe that this is one reason that many Moroccans are incredibly tolerant of others’ ideas, beliefs, religions, etc. The idea of tolerance is emphasized even more by the fact that Morocco used to have a very large Jewish population. Many did not considered them even “Jewish Moroccans” but rather just “Moroccans.”

















The second thing I want to take away is the breathtaking architecture and art that is found within Morocco. Much of the art within Morocco follows the fundamentals of Islamic art in that it is incredibly geometric. I was beyond amazed at how much time and energy went into just one simple work of art within Morocco. On all of our trips to mosques and funduks, handmade woodwork, metal work, plaster, and tiles were always in abundance. In addition to traditional Islamic art, we also saw Amazigh and contemporary art within Morocco that was just as breathtaking. The importance of art and architecture within Morocco is noticeable due to the prevalence of such (see pictures above from the Hassan II Mosque).


The last thing that I never want to forget is how amazing my host family was. Even though we lived thousands of miles apart and did not speak the same language, we bonded in a way I hope to never forget. The ways in which we were incredibly different and yet similar, helped me learn just how incredible it is to experience other cultures (see pictures below). 


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