The Moroccan Society of Houston would like to wish all of our members and friends a very happy and peaceful festive season, and a successful and prosperous New Year 2010.
Tags :2009, MSH, 0001

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton answers a question on Morocco during a Global Town Hall with Civil Society to kick off the 2012 Summit of our Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society from the Department of State in Washington, DC on May 16, 2012. [Go to video.state.gov for more video and text transcript.]
Tags :hillary rodham clinton, civil society, morocco

www.atlanticonnection.com presents Old pictures of the Moroccan Jews, wedding celebrations and daily life, Morocco has always a multicultural country that respects all religions and all races
Tags :Morocco, jews in morocco, moroccan jews, religions in morocco, islam, judaisme, moroccan believes, sexy moroccan woman, sexy moroccan women, moroccan society, moroccan culture, Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Jews in Marrakech, Jews in Rabat, Jews in muslim countries, Jews in arab countries, berber jews, berbers in morocco, moroccan berbers

www.atlanticonnection.com presents the Imilchil Marriage Festival. The festival is one of the most popular of all the Morocco festivals & events, it attracts the rank romantics from all over the world.
Tags :Moroccan Wedding, Imilchil, berber Weddings, berbers in morocco, berber women, moroccan women, moroccan caftan, moroccan festivals, moroccan culture, moroccan society

In the television drama The Team, Search for Common Ground has merged the global appeal of soccer/football* with soap opera to help transform social attitudes and diminish violent behavior in countries grappling with deeply rooted conflict. The television series addresses the very real divisive issues facing Moroccan society, using sport as a unifier to surmount barriers. The Team follows the characters on a football team who must overcome their differences -- be they cultural, ethnic, religious, tribal, racial or socio-economic -- in order to work together to win the game. Learn more at www.sfcg.org
Tags :search for common ground, common ground productions, the team, morocco, sfcg, koora, mazagan, conflict resolution, theme song, conflict, transformation, peace, peacebuilding, team, teamwork, sport, drama, music, cooperation

At her reading, organized by Algonquin Books, Washington Moroccan Club and Border Books, in Washington DC, Moroccan American Author, Laila Lalami, described the central character of her second novel in English, "Secret Son", as a poor young man in contemporary Morocco, his aspirations of education and escape from the Casablanca Slum where he lives with his mother, the revelation that his father is still alive and doing well and his sub-sequential adventures. In a lively Q&A session following her presentation, She refused to be seen as anything but a novelist, "I am not pretending to know my native country Morocco any more than anyone else". She said that she does not necessarily aim to do social criticism, or write about any particular issue, her main focus as a novelist, is to write a story as best I can. And since her characters live in Moroccan society, that society's characteristics, contradictions and shortcomings are laid bare to the reader to ponder. What emerged from her second book, Secret Son, is ambiguity, and that, for Laila Lalami, is normal providing her upbringing, education, experience both here in the States and in Morocco. In an interview with MoroccoBoard TV, Laila Lalami took issue with her comparisons to Moroccan Writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, as the marquee Moroccan author in English. She said that she couldnt start believing all the hype that is being written out there. "It is dangerous for an author to do that". She also confessed that she has been ...
Tags :moroccoboard.com, maroca, marocain, marokko

www.instablogs.com writer_block.instablogs.com Moroccan New Year Eve Unlike all the capital cities of the world that celebrate the coming of the New Year. There is no such public celebration in Morocco because of cultural and economic reasons. Moroccans only celebrate some religious and national festivities and also because the majority of Moroccans are poor the last thing they think about is such celebration, they have much more interesting things to think about. However, there are some people who celebrate the coming of the New Year for eg Some families make family reunions and have dinner together and exchange gifts whereas others go to the night clubs to dance and drink of the whole night. Then there is another section of Moroccan society that is rich people with European life styles and celebrated just like Europeans in case they celebrated in Morocco and didnt travel to Paris or London or any other famous city. Generally, most of the Moroccans do not celebrate New Year and according to them the best about this is the holiday. They think its a good chance to relax and take rest before they begin to spend another long New Year in their lives.
Tags :New Year Celebration, travel, gift, Paris, London, Morocco, Instablogs

Morocco's royal family is using the institutions of the state to "coerce and solicit bribes" in the country's lucrative real estate sector, according to a leaked report from American diplomats. www.facebook.com www.facebook.com Information about high-level corruption involving the rulers of Washington's closest ally in north Africa was brought to the attention of the US consulate in Casablanca, Morocco's commercial capital, by a businessman in 2009, leading diplomats to describe "the appalling greed" of those close to King Mohammed VI. According to the US report, decisions involving Omnium Nord Africain (ONA), a holding company owned by the king, are made only by the king and two of his powerful associates. "To have discussions with anyone else would be a waste of time," the head of the company is quoted as saying. Royal involvement in business is a hot topic in Morocco but public discussion of it is sensitive. The US embassy in Rabat reported to Washington in a separate cable that "corruption is prevalent at all levels of Moroccan society". Mohammed, who succeeded his father, Hassan, in 1999, is said to have cleaned up the royal family's act, but it appears he has not done enough. "While corrupt practices existed during the reign of King Hassan II ... they have become much more institutionalised with King Mohammed VI," one cable quotes a businessman as saying. Institutions such as ONA -- Morocco's largest conglomerate, which clears most large development projects ...
Tags :wikileaks, morocco, king, war, sahara occidental, iraq, iran, Palestine, attack, royal family, ONA, corruption, us ambassy, Rabat, US Army, Mohammed VI, arraested, africa, Moroccan society

National Network Anna Lindh Bulgaria, Common Action between Bulgaria, Morocco. bulgaria delegation visted morocco ; and moroccan delegation visted bulgaria , exchange action common
Tags :MOROCCO, Bulgaria

The Moroccan Parliament opened its doors for the first time in its history to 30 young Moroccans who hope to shape their country's destiny by participating in the legislative process after the next elections. This initiative is the result of the peaceful struggle by the youth who wanted their voices heard in a legislative institution. They welcomed the decision of having youth members of parliament as it gave them the opportunity to speak for the largest segment of Moroccan society. "The youth in the Moroccan parliament will have a strong presence and reflect its representatives' concerns. We are living in a young country, and a large segment of the population is young and their voices will be strongly represented as will be their hopes for the Morocco they want," said Dr. Cherkaoui al-Roudani, a candidate of the Authenticity and Modernity Party on the youth list. Moroccan parliament will now have a percentage of its seats reserved for the youth. "The youth cannot play the role of the "accelerator" outside the institutions, said Dr. Ben Younis al-Marzouki, a professor of constitutional law. "It is not just about getting them into Parliament but about removing negative connotations that surround the legislative process itself," he said. Social movements in Morocco over the past two decades have pushed youth to play a role in calling for reforms. They hope to create a framework for reforms in the next parliamentary elections. Original report: Adel Zobairi Adaptation: Sarah ...
Tags :abdullah madani

A fundraising at Morocco's ambassador's official residence fo Mr. salman Belayachi who is preparing a walk of a thousand miles, starting from Laayoun ending his walk in Tangier. Mr. Belayachi said that the purpose of the walk is to engage directly the citizens along his path and stressing the values of citizenship, active participation in the process of development, discarding negative feelings, regaining hope and taking responsability for one's faith. The fundraiser was heavily attended and donations were above what was expected by Mr Belayachi and his " Le citoyen Marocain" team that converged on the nation's capital from New York, Texas, Florida, Maryland and other states. Members of several associationssuch as the Moroccan American Coalition (MAC), Washington Moroccan Club(WMC), SOS Morocco, the Moroccan Society of Houston(MSH), Friends of Morocco worked hard to make the event successful. for more coverage and photos of the event visit moroccoBoard.com www.moroccoboard.com
Tags :moroccoboard.com, citizenship, youth, generation, optimism, human, economic, ownership, walking, western sahara, provinces, democracy, support, marocain, marokko, fundraising, ambassador, residence

In the television drama The Team, Search for Common Ground has merged the global appeal of soccer/football* with soap opera to help transform social attitudes and diminish violent behavior in countries grappling with deeply rooted conflict. The television series addresses the very real divisive issues facing Moroccan society, using sport as a unifier to surmount barriers. The Team follows the characters on a football team who must overcome their differences -- be they cultural, ethnic, religious, tribal, racial or socio-economic -- in order to work together to win the game. Learn more at www.sfcg.org
Tags :search for common ground, common ground productions, the team, morocco, sfcg, koora, mazagan, conflict resolution, theme song, conflict, transformation, peace, peacebuilding, team, teamwork, sport, drama, music, cooperation

A Peace Corps Business Development Volunteer talks about living in Moroccan society as an Asian American and his project of assisting artisans in marketing their wood crafts. Learn more about Peace Corps Business Development Volunteers at www.peacecorps.gov
Tags :Business development, Diversity, Morocco, Small Business, Peace Corps, Volunteering Overseas, Public Service, Community Leadership

www.memritv.org
Tags :Berber, Jewish, Beber-Jewish, Morocco, reform, mideast, MEMRI, MEMRITV, memriblog

I noticed many times in Moroccan society the people could get very passionate with each other about some disagreement or other but I never saw things go beyond the oral and become physical and I was always very impressed by this. And so too this was one such case. I was on my way back from Ouarzazate back to Marrakech. I couldnt get the SupraTours coach so I had to take the bus most Moroccans use which I dont mind but they tend to be a bit more shall we say haphazard (but unmissable moroccan experience). In this case we had just left Ouarzazate and I was at the back row next to this guy and his wife and daughter. His wife was not well, and I think he wanted more room for her but there was no spare seating in fact some passengers had to stand. Anyway it all blew over in and things settled down. The husband was very nice to me, even offering me cookies, though I wasnt sure I should have accepted bearing in mind his wife was obviously not very well ......
Tags :Arabic, Argument

Aïcha Ech-Channa is founder and president of Association Solidarité Féminine, providing services in Casablanca, Morocco, to help unmarried women with children gain the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure their own livelihoods. During the 1980s, Ech-Channa worked in the Moroccan Ministry of Social Affairs, where she was confronted by the ordeals these women and children faced on a daily basis. "I was coming back from maternity leave and I was still with my baby," she says. "I was in the office of the social worker and I witnessed a baby being abandoned. This mom was breastfeeding her baby, which means she never wanted to abandon it. And at the moment when she forcibly took away her breast from the babys mouth, the milk sprayed all over the babys face, and the baby cried. This cry was in my head. And that night I did not sleep. I swore to do something." In 1985, Ech-Channa established Solidarité Féminine to assist mothers in similar situations. The goal was to allow single women to keep their babies and to promote the rights of mother and child. The association opened a modest canteen where women could work, learn skills, make money and take literacy classes. More than 50 women receive training every year in literacy, human rights, cooking, baking, sewing, fitness services and accounting. Participants also receive daily child care and medical treatments in addition to social, psychological and legal support and counseling for better re-integration in their society. A ...
Tags :University, of, St, Thomas, paul, minnesota, campus, life, as, tommie, twin, cities, higher, education, learning, catholic, intellectual, tradition, Opus, Prize, Aicha, Ech, Channa

MOROCCO: Bridging Tradition and Modernity; a look at Moroccan modern society through visual and acoustic arts, traditional Moroccan music coupled with scenes from Moroccan cities and neighborhoods. This presentation shows a beautiful country that is increasingly playing the role of the gatekeeper of African and Islamic traditions and European cultures. Produced for Professor Souaiaia courses on the Modern Islamic World. MAROC: Bridging tradition et la modernité, un regard sur la société marocaine à travers les arts visuels et acoustiques, la musique traditionnelle marocaine avec quelques scènes de quartiers et les villes marocaines. Cette présentation montre un beau pays qui est de plus en plus de jouer le rôle de gardien des traditions africaines et islamiques et les cultures européennes. Produit pour le professeur Souaiaia des cours sur le monde islamique moderne.
Tags :Maroc, Rabat, Casablanca, Moroccan Society, Ahmed Souaiaia, Moroccan Cities, Moroccan Palaces, Moroccan Food, Moroccan Beaches, Société marocaine, les villes marocaines, palais marocain, marocaine alimentaire, marocaine Plages

A meeting which took place in Morocco where frustrated muslim youth cry out for the 'Ulama to come out from their libraries and teach the people and teach them the Deen. The topic of the meeting was how the muslim youth should navigate in a society with is corrupted and morally far away from the teachings of islam, Din al-Fitrah. In a society where unislamic morals and behavioural patterns is prevalent the youth cry out for the 'Ulama to take responsability to act and react.
Tags :The, muslim, youth, cry, out, outcry, an, appeal, to, 'Ulama, morocco, speech, Islam

Women's rights in Northern Africa are changing for the better. CNN's Seema Mathur reports.
Tags :Child Brides, Uswa Hasana, Prophet Muhammad, Revelation, Quran, Sunnah, Sharia, Islam, Traditional Society, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Emancipation, Fez, Morocco, Illiteracy, Innumeracy, Patriarchal Authority, Tribal Society, Delusional Disorder, Unnecessary Suffering, Emotional Extortion, Natural Rights, Social Inferiority, Seema Mathur, CNN, Reports