前途: A Year in Morocco

When I get up, the first thing I do is check my email. Today, there was a message from my mother, the first piece of news I saw about Osama bin Laden, and since then, I have been watching news sources, but also the reactions of the masses on Twitter and Facebook. For many, this is relieving news which brings closure to the many victims of violence he orchestrated.

Obama rightly pointed out that Muslims as well as non-Muslims have suffered at the hands of bin Laden and his ilk. We must remember that people like him are not viewed as representatives of “Islam,” nor can he represent the diverse views of a billion equally diverse Muslims, from Indonesia to the West. Indeed, according to Gallup world polls, nearly identical portions of Muslims and non-Muslims condemn violence against civilians, and similarly equal (and much smaller) portions condone such violence. I recommend reading this book in full for data concerning the views of Muslims.

I think Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua sums up my dilemma quite well: “I believe that in the first place it is an ethical question from the human point of view to celebrate death as an instrument of resolution of a problem.” Click here for the statements of many world leaders.

Due to the threat of reprisals and repercussions, the State Department issued a worldwide warning for Americans abroad. I did wear a headscarf all day, just to be a little less conspicuous and draw a little less attention because I just wanted to have a normal day of going to work, paying my rent, and doing my shopping. Two good things happened.

I got into my morning taxi in my scarf and was immediately engaged in conversation in Arabic, then French as he realized I was a foreigner. When he asked me where I was from, I hesitated and almost claimed Canada, but then I decided to be honest and say American. We had a very reasonable conversation mostly in Arabic, about his daughter and her studies and his job (25 years driving a taxi) and my job, and it was only five minutes later that he mentioned Osama was gone (with the requisite gun motions to make sure I understood). I nodded and said, yes, I’d heard, and that was the end of it. At some point, he pulled over to buy a cigarette from a guy selling them alongside the road, and then he told me since I was American, he’d wait to smoke it until after I got out, insha’allah. Pretty chill dude.

Later as I was walking to the store, I had a group of girls run up to me from behind to let me know that the back of my (long, loose) shirt was tucked into my pants instead of hanging loosely over me. They didn’t realize that I was a foreigner until they caught up with me, and when they did, they didn’t leave, but stayed until I understood them and untucked the shirt into its proper place. It was a comforting interaction, clearly a case of women protecting other women from the potential for negative attention.

Everywhere you go, there are good people and there are bad people, Moroccans tell me. To be able distinguish the good from the bad is imperative. To recognize that a thing can be good and bad at the same time is a little more difficult and subtle, but is ultimately equally imperative.