Christian in a Muslim World

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre

I’ve often heard that Islam is not a religion, but a way of life.  I think that after only a month in Morocco, I’m beginning to understand why.  The way Moroccans greet each other, interact with each other, and say good-bye to each other is infused with and inseparable from Islam.  For instance, every time Moroccans great one another, they ask “Labas?” (How are you?), and respond with “Labas, lhmdo lilah” (Fine, thanks be to God).  When I’m with my host mom, it feels like she says “lhmdo lilah” every other sentence – when she’s done eating, drinks a glass of water, finds out someone else is doing okay, etc… 

            Society in Morocco, like all other Muslim countries, is also punctuated by the call to prayer that’s broadcast from all the mosques in the city to remind everyone of the five daily prayers that all Muslims are supposed to pray.  I thought the call to prayer would have a more commanding presence than I’ve found it to have; part of the reason may be that I don’t live or have classes close to a mosque, so I often only hear the call to prayer as a distant song.  Some nights at about 4:30am I do hear it, but it seems more like a dream than reality.  Another weakness of the call to prayer is that the mosques are often out of sync with each other, so just as one mosque finishes another will begin.  But probably the main reason is that I almost never see Moroccans responding to the call to prayer – while being reminded to pray, most Moroccans just keep on with whatever they’re doing.  There are some who make their way to the mosque to pray or get down on a rug or piece of cardboard on the sidewalk, but these people are often older men.

            The above commentary in one way is meant to suggest that Moroccans aren’t good Muslims (that’s not for me to judge) or never prayer (although I’m sure there are a substantial number of Moroccans who don’t pray, especially younger, westernized Moroccans like my host brother).  My host mom still does her daily prayers on the carpet in the fancy sitting room, but she does them at her own time.  This seems to be a general, almost paradoxical theme in Morocco – Islam is everywhere and absolute, but it is not rigid (although that could change if Moroccans aren’t careful). 

I’m probably exaggerating quite a lot and much of what I'm saying probably isn't true, but the Islam Morocco has now appears to me, the outsider, to be a living religion, which Christian churches in the US would give anything to achieve.  I’m not claiming that everything is perfect in Morocco, but the poor on the street are almost always fed, either a few dirhams or a bag of food from people passing by (I saw one man buy a bag of prickly fruit from a fruit cart and turn right around and hand it to an old woman and her grandchild).  There are still many unsolved social problems, but at least people are treated like people, and not like they don't exist.  In general, the main difference between religion the US and Morocco is that Moroccans know they have problems and try to fix them despite their limited resources, whereas the Church in America has the resources to solve its social problems but doesn't have the drive to try.

Living in a Muslim country for the four weeks has been interesting as a Christian.  I haven’t been able to find a Protestant church in Rabat, so I’ve been going to the Cathedrale Saint-Pierre.  Even though it’s mass and it’s in French, I still feel like I’m being transported by home from the moment I step into the cathedral to the moment I leave.  The congregation is probably 90% African with the other 10% Europeans and always seems to be on the verge of dancing during all the hymns, which are lead by an angelic choir of African women.  I can follow most of the service, and even if I can’t follow exactly what’s going on, I use the time for reflection and meditation and my own prayers.  The hardest part is not being able to partake in Communion, which I haven’t had in over five weeks.  I just have to keep reminding myself that I wanted to come to Morocco and be part of a minority of 25,000 Christians.