I am a Moroccan

Submitted by Najib (Malaysia), Oct 17, 2012 at 09:13

First, i am truly sorry for what you had to go through, I was born and raised in morocco and i pretty much understand the mentality of some Moroccans, and i know for a fact that sadly your story is one in so many others, and i can write pages arguing and debating the motives, but i totally understand where you're coming from; however, there are few points i feel that i have to clarify:

1) the claim that Islam allows him to cheat and steal your money as long as he'll be sharing with the poor and helping his family is False, it is not, and he will be asked about every cent he took from you, and you shall be rewarded from his good deeds (if any) in the judgement day (i am not sure about your faith and whether you are religious or not, but that s as far as His religion is concerned)

2) Morocco is not the perfect country nor do Moroccans, even brothers tend to be so different let alone 30 million + Moroccans. Meaning that it is illogical and unfair to generalise that all Moroccans are the same (not claiming that all Moroccans are honest, but just like any other nation there are good and bad people)

3) the title on your post can t be right, as when you say Muslims, you are talking about a billion and half people, and i am sure that you have not met then one by one.. and trust me when i say that there are many Muslim/non Muslim couples that have worked out just fine, and i also know of many non Muslims that do the same thing to western women (Sub Saharan Africa), and for your information, there are many non Muslim Arabs and the vast majority of Muslims are not Arabs.

4) In the Moroccan society, the family and friends do have influence in each others lives, but they absolutely do not control it, and have no right to decide on each others behalf. And the arranged marriages are not as common as you think, although they do exist is some places, and for your information, in Islam a women has the absolute right to accept or reject any proposed husband, sadly it is not the case in some places, but it surely is not the general rule.

Myself as example: my family is a very conservative family, i joke with my mother from time to time and ask her to find me a good wife, but my mother gently rejects the idea, my sisters cousins, and all the women i know have never been forced to marry somebody they did not want.

I do not mean to offend you or question your intelligence in any way, but i think that you have been a bit naive with that guy; you should have cut him off a bit earlier.

And lastly, I and a million others in morocco do not think that western women are spoiled people, and we do not resent you nor anybody else.

Regards

First, i am truly sorry for what you had to go through, I was born and raised in morocco and i pretty much understand the mentality of some Moroccans, and i know for a fact that sadly your story is one in so many others, and i can write pages arguing and debating the motives, but i totally understand where you're coming from; however, there are few points i feel that i have to clarify:

1) the claim that Islam allows him to cheat and steal your money as long as he'll be sharing with the poor and helping his family is False, it is not, and he will be asked about every cent he took from you, and you shall be rewarded from his good deeds (if any) in the judgement day (i am not sure about your faith and whether you are religious or not, but that s as far as His religion is concerned)

2) Morocco is not the perfect country nor do Moroccans, even brothers tend to be so different let alone 30 million + Moroccans. Meaning that it is illogical and unfair to generalise that all Moroccans are the same (not claiming that all Moroccans are honest, but just like any other nation there are good and bad people)

3) the title on your post can t be right, as when you say Muslims, you are talking about a billion and half people, and i am sure that you have not met then one by one.. and trust me when i say that there are many Muslim/non Muslim couples that have worked out just fine, and i also know of many non Muslims that do the same thing to western women (Sub Saharan Africa), and for your information, there are many non Muslim Arabs and the vast majority of Muslims are not Arabs.

4) In the Moroccan society, the family and friends do have influence in each others lives, but they absolutely do not control it, and have no right to decide on each others behalf. And the arranged marriages are not as common as you think, although they do exist is some places, and for your information, in Islam a women has the absolute right to accept or reject any proposed husband, sadly it is not the case in some places, but it surely is not the general rule.

Myself as example: my family is a very conservative family, i joke with my mother from time to time and ask her to find me a good wife, but my mother gently rejects the idea, my sisters cousins, and all the women i know have never been forced to marry somebody they did not want.

I do not mean to offend you or question your intelligence in any way, but i think that you have been a bit naive with that guy; you should have cut him off a bit earlier.

And lastly, I and a million others in morocco do not think that western women are spoiled people, and we do not resent you nor anybody else.

Regards

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".