Morocco vs. Casablanca

Lynne Jones (2008 Mini

Term)

History of Morocco Pre-Arab Rule• The Berbers, often considered the native population, entered Morocco between 4000 and 2000 BC from the Sahara

and South-West Asia• In the late first century BC the Roman empire reached Morocco; made a province in the first century AD called

Mauretania Tingitana • The Vandals invaded Mauretania Tingitana in the 420’s AD and took power from RomeArab Rule• The Arabs took power in the seventh and eighth century AD bringing Islam and Arabic, which became the language of

the Moroccan ruling class• Power was passed from Sultan to Sultan peacefully until 1728 in which there was a civil war• America used the port at Tangiers so often that the Continental Congress had John Adams and Thomas Jefferson sign

the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship in 1786• In 1878 Europe began to focus on Morocco and four years later France declared that le Maroc was in its ‘sphere of

interest’France and Spain• In 1912 a treaty was signed making Morocco a French protectorate and a small area was set as a Spanish protectorate

in the North and South • WWI brought a halt to the effort of the French and Spanish to fight off Berber rebels, but in 1920 the Spanish and

French subdued the Rif rebellion and in 1934 the French subdued the Atlas Berber rebels• In 1944 Allal al-Fasi and Sultan Muhammad V started the Istiqlal (Independence) political party Independence• Morocco gained independence on March 2, 1956 and in 1961, after Muhammad V’s death, Hassan II was crowned king• Hassan II wanted Morocco to control the Western Sahara as well and after several failed attempts to conquer it

himself, he signed a treaty with Spain and Mauritania ( another country vying for control of the region) that granted him the power to rule the northern two-thirds of the country

• The POLISARIO, Western Sahara rebels, engaged in guerilla warfare with Morocco until 1991, when the UN negotiated a ceasefire

Islam and Rural Moroccan Culture• The vast majority of Moroccans are Muslim (98.7% - 2006 estimate) - that

is, they practice the faith of Islam• Muslim is Arabic for ‘submission to the will of Allah’ • The five pillars of Islam are: prayer five times a day (salah), fasting during

the month of Ramadan (sawm), tithes of 2.5% of your wealth (zakat), pilgrimage to Mecca if you can afford it (hajj), and the testimony which is a statement of faith and belief in Allah as the one true God (shahadah)

• The Qur’an (meaning ‘the recitation’) is the Muslim holy book that contains suar (pl. sura)

• The Islamic religious law is strictly enforced in rural life- more so than in the larger cities of Marrakesh, Fez, and Casablanca

• In Moroccan law, it is illegal to try and change someone’s religion; religious discussions are allowed, but it is illegal to go out and try to change peoples’ religion

Islam and Gender• “‘And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze

and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear therof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss.’ (Quran 24:31).”

• In Arabic, the word hijab means modesty and refers to the manner of dress of both men and women; hijab is also often used to refer to the headscarf that women wear

• Men have to cover from their navel down and women must cover everything but their faces and hands

• Hijab can range (for women) from the full body burka to the simple headscarf and long sleeves

Moroccan Arabic• Moroccan Arabic a.k.a. Darija is the official national language of Morocco• The type of Darija must be stated or be clear since the word darija simply means dialect and

can refer to any of five different Arabic dialects • Darija is made up of Arabic (Modern Standard and Classical), French, Spanish, and Berber• It is the native tongue of approximately twenty million people, but it is not used very much in

literature (usually written in Classical Arabic or MSA), big business(usually conducted in French or Spanish), or religion (the Qur’an is written in Classical Arabic)

• The resulting lack of written Moroccan Arabic is one of the reasons for the low rates of literacy ( total pop. – 52.3% , men – 65.7% , women – 39.6% ) (2006 estimates)

• Moroccan Arabic has (generally) a more simple grammatical construct than MSA or Classical Arabic

• The pronunciation and vocabulary of Darija differs greatly from region to region and from class to class

• Code switching (using words in another language) occurs in the language quite frequently; depending on the region and class of the speaker Spanish, French, Berber, MSA, and Classical Arabic are switched in for Moroccan words

The “Capital” Cities of Morocco

• Rabat: political capital; pop. 1.2 million• Fès (Fez): religious and cultural capital; pop. 1 million• Marrakech (Marrakesh): Berber/traditional capital;

pop. 840,000• Casablanca: business/economic and French capital;

pop. 3 million• Tangeir: tourist and Spanish capital; pop. 700,000

2005 pop. estimates

History of CasablancaPre-French• Casablanca was originally the tiny Berber kingdom of Anfa (seventh century); its importance as an African port

grew; it became a safe port for pirates• The Portuguese destroyed the city and rebuilt it, naming it Casabranca, which means ‘White House’ in Portuguese• Casabranca bounced between Spanish and Portuguese ownership until an earthquake destroyed it in 1755 when it

was abandoned• Between 1756-90 it was rebuilt by Mohammed Ben Abdellah al-Qatib Sultan of Morocco, who was an ally of

George Washington; he renamed it Casa Blanca and Dar el Beida (‘white house’ in Arabic) Under the French and Spanish Rule• In 1912 the population began to skyrocket: 1914- 40,000 and by 1930- 250,000• In 1914 Henri Prost was given the task to design Casablanca; he built up the city by incorporating the older Arab

building styles with new French styles• European immigrants had started to come to Casablanca in large numbers bringing French socialist politics• The Casablanca Conference took place in 1943 during WWII in which the ‘progress of the war’ was debated among

other things; Casablanca also served as an American air base during the war• During the 1940s and 1950s when the Istiqlal party was emerging, the fight for independence became more and

more violent in CasablancaPost Independence• Four years after Morocco was given its independence, the population of Casablanca had risen to one million; by

1970 the population was 1.8 million• A period of politically radical behavior forced Casablanca into a state of emergency from 1965-70; housing and

circumstance were some of the main factors; the French socialist politics helped lead to radical politics at the time • In 1968, ground was broken for the Hassan II Mosque and it was inaugurated on August 30, 1993

Modern Casablanca

• Casablanca is a major port city and often called the unofficial capital of Morocco, and the business capital of Morocco; the real capital is Rabat, which is north-west of Casablanca

• It is the current driving force in the Moroccan economy • One of the biggest and most important “Casablancan exports is phosphorate”• “Other industries include fishing, fish canning, sawmilling, furniture making,

building materials, glass, textiles, electronics, leather work, processed food, beer, spirits, soft drinks, and cigarettes”

• Casablanca is a fusion of traditional Arab and Muslim ways of life and the more Western French and European ways of life

Quotes from Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East

The Languages of CasablancaFrench: the language spoken by many of the foreign citizens living in Casablanca - The ordinary person in Casablanca speaks French with some level of fluency- Housekeepers in Casablanca usually speak some French so they can work for wealthier families- The majority of French used in common situations is informal rather than the usual formal Parisian French

Spanish: spoken by a small number- Mostly spoken in areas of the city where Moroccans from ‘Spanish Morocco’/Tangiers etc. have moved to

Moroccan Arabic: the language spoken by the poorer citizens in Casablanca - The streets, which had had French names, have been renamed in Darija -Code switching is very common in Casablanca – mostly with French--Primary language in the medina

English: somewhat common in Casablanca- Surprisingly enough most speakers don’t have accents - The better educated, the more English you know

Quelque mots du français

• French is not an official language of Morocco, but it is the ‘unofficial official’ language of the government and big businesses

• Many of the upper class members of Moroccan society speak French • French is also taught in schools, so the amount French you speak (and your accent)

are often used to determine the level of schooling a person has had without asking them

• Moroccan French is spoken in a range of accents from completely unintelligible to native French speakers to accents that are practically Parisian

• French is also used in Raï music; a somewhat more modern genre of music that is popular among young people in Northern Africa

• In France, the Maghreb population is of moderate size; somewhat concentrated in Southern France

• Maghreb: the former French African countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia

(Some words about French)

Casablancan Culture• The culture in Casablanca is rather different than that of Morocco as a

whole• It is more liberal; women’s clothing, religious observances, and women

working are some of the major points of difference • There is a looser interpretation of Islam: for instance, drinking is

prohibited in the Qur’an but alcohol is easily purchased in Casablanca, bribery, women can be seen in mini skirts and halter tops, prostitution

• The Ramadan Exception • There is more of a focus on moving forward and becoming more ‘Western’• French influence – new words (mechanical, electronic), clothing, etc. • Business is a large part of life in Casablanca; it affects the culture of

Casablanca by bringing in new influences (like words and music) and cultural experiences to Casablancans(foreigners come to Casablanca to do business)

Music and Morocco

• There are many different kinds of folk and traditional music in Morocco

• Most are influenced by Arab culture or Islam• In Spanish’ Morocco (Tangiers etc) and ‘French’ Morocco,

there is an influence on music from those cultures • Andalusian Classical, Berber, Chaabi, Ladino, Gnawa, Malhun,

Rai, and Sufi are popular kinds of music in Morocco- especially the rural parts and the traditional sections of large cities

Music and Casablanca • There is, of course, the presence of traditional Moroccan music

– especially during Ramadan• There are clubs and ‘discos’ in Casablanca but hotels are also a

big place to go to hear live music• French music and the French language are more predominantly

featured in music• Some of that is to favor wealthy Moroccans and immigrants

who speak French • Thé À La Menthe: Nikkfurie and Hi-Tekk are two Moroccan

brothers that grew up in Paris, specifically Noisy le Sec, a rather violent suburb that is comparable to the suburbs and slums of Casablanca. They sing about their Maghreb culture and growing up in the song “Thé À La Menthe”

Thé À La Menthe Lyrics (link) • Boy, I remember Mrs. Nicole

A teacher who thought a raghead wasn't made for school!I wore ragged velour, and red boots made of plastic,A wool jacket, a t-shirt or cheap shoes.The barber didn't even know that I existed.

• But surely the first people who saw us withdrewHowever young and innocent, the snot on our noses with no Kleenex,we squatted in the sandbox with our Buds and our ideas,born to vandalize never even knowing it!Our parents didn’t have much so we wandered without having.According to our neighbors, blatant racists, to put it best,we were badly raised and [their German shepherds better dressed].Me, I don't believe it, and I never didbecause love from my parents is the only love that I never had!Thus for not being nervous, what puts me on the mend:The virtues of [Naanaa] or some tea with mint!

• First generation slum, violent environment in a bar in Barbès:tea with mint, couscous and tagines a la carte.More scopitones for Mouloud and Said Abdullah.With a dirty accent, no "Peace to you" said Hassan the athleteoriginally from Algiers, from Hollywood to Tamanrasset.More tea with mint, just bitter words!

• Like a mental illness, I have a headache, I cavortin stan-smith adidas, 501 jeans, it's O.K., I'm stuck with them.Here, there's the assault, for a dozen more, there will be blood in the air.This France tears me apart: an Arab is classed as a [bandy-legged barbarian]![ ] the culture of barbecue, steak and fast food!In the bled, it's djellaba and sandals, from Oujda to Casablanca,it's banal at the bottom of the city, I'm [ ] and I don't give a [ ].It slashes at the base of my home; my pain and my joy are mingledand that's all that remains of our cultural heritage.

• An adolescence "Nastase and 501, Pento, funk cassettes and Daron in 505".But as soon as the word "Problem" comes with a capital P,in the face of which all the world trembles or deceives!After innocence, pessimism takes rootbefore incandescence, the right road bends,I took his hand and my happiness cramped me,along the lines of "only money and honor can make me real!"But here, one can accuse you of things that if you did them, you would hang!They need an Arab, a black, what you will, in short something concrete! One is lucky never to be taken seriously . . .Approach vice without ever going over the edge.Modeling our long life on the flight of an angel . . In school, we, vultures, against the albatross of Baudelaire!One finds oneself in rap despite every real expectation . . .The recipe: Sampler, pen, and tea with mint!

By the way…Casablanca was filmed in Hollywood and LA.They never once set foot in Casablanca.

Bibliography• en.wikipedia.org (Search Terms: Casablanca , Morocco , Islam , Hassan II

Mosque , Qur’an , Moroccan Arabic) • http://www.soundvision.com/Info/news/hijab/hjb.quran.asp• CIA Factbook- Morocco

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mo.html

• Moroccan Culture Series http://french.about.com/library/travel/bl-ma-index.htm

• Simon, Mattar, and Bulliet, "History of Casablanca, History of Morocco ."Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East. Volume 1, 3. 1996.

• Helmke, Matthew. Humor and Moroccan Culture. 2007.• Thé À La Menthe Lyrics:

http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/la_caution_lyrics_10753/peines_de_maures_-_arc_en_ciel_pour_daltonien_lyrics_33986/the_%C3%80_la_menthe_lyrics_368146.html

• La Caution background: http://www.discogs.com/artist/La+Caution• Background Pics: Google Images