Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges

by Marvine Howe

In Morocco, Marvine Howe, a former correspondent for The New York Times, presents an incisive and comprehensive review of the Moroccan kingdom and its people, past and present. She provides a vivid and frank portrait of late King Hassan, whom she knew personally and credits with laying the foundations of a modern, pro-Western state and analyzes the pressures his successor, King Mohammed VI has come under to transform the autocratic monarchy into a full-fledged democracy. Howe addresses emerging issues and problems--equal rights for women, elimination of corruption and correction of glaring economic and social disparities--and asks the fundamental can this ancient Muslim kingdom embrace western democracy in an era of deepening divisions between the Islamic world and the West?

Genres: Morocco, Nonfiction, Africa, Islam

442 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Zakaria Bziker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Morocco from the perspective of an outsider. Interesting as a book. Being Moroccan, I still feel I am discovering the country for the first time while reading this book.

[Elizabeth Theiss Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read about Morocco, ever. Recommended to me highly by the Center for Cross Cultural Learning in Rabat, I was not disappointed.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howe, a journalist who's been reporting on Morocco since the 1950s, has turned out one of the few introductions to the country in English that cover the modern period (and even fewer since the ascension of Mohammad VI to the throne).

The book does, however, suffer as much from the author's perspective -- I won't call it a bias because she is clearly a product of her generation, and more power to her. However, for someone trying to describe the modern state of Morocco, her methodology is very highly rooted in the past.

For example, while she never outright admits it, she clearly does not speak Arabic (or very much) as indicated by her inability to articulate the difference between Moroccan Arabic and the classical variant of the language taught in schools ("I understand that it is substantial," she says, in what may be the understatement of the century). Hence, she's doing most of her work in French, which may be "good enough" for a journalist but maybe not quite here for someone trying to plumb the depths of Moroccan society by asking people to speak in a second or third language. Children are educated in Arabic now, not the French of the author's own heyday.

Her insistence on reiterating that, just because Moroccan women wear the veil, this does not mean that they are apolitical or uneducated begins to wear on after a while -- whose stereotypes is she trying to overcome? The reader's? or her own? By trying to knock down this stereotype, she winds up reinforcing it.

As a journalist, Howe is at her best when delving into politics, and here the book shines. From her candid assessment of the reign of Hassan II to the deepening disappointment with the current monarch, to an insightful discussion of the situation in Western Sahara, this is where journalistic instinct takes over, and show's the author's true talent as a writer.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

now dated

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it's a bit out-of-date now, I learned a great deal about Morocco's recent history and challenges. The best parts were when the author talked about social issues; the worst were the parts that felt like she was name-dropping about her close association with the palace and the previous king.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book to read before traveling to Morocco!

[Linda Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very accessible account of recent Moroccan history/political struggles.

[Beth Johnson]

Very helpful for my trip to Morocco