I gained a lot of insight from the sessions we had today. Personally, I was most fascinated by the session on religion, but learning more about the political system and the role of women in society was very informative. Despite the patriarchal interpretation of Islam, I have definitely noticed how women here are treated more equally than I expected before arrival. It is amazing to see and learn how women are working in the government, going to college, and freely traveling, and it’s very promising to hear that women are still fighting for more! The women who spoke today were passionate, smart, confident, and beautiful, which made their words even more powerful to me than if we had learned this from a video or an article (or a man, hehe). Rather than leaving me with clear or definitive answers, these sessions have made me more aware of the depth and complexity of what I still don’t understand. Instead of feeling frustrated by that uncertainty, I find it surprisingly valuable, and it has shifted my perspective from wanting simple explanations to being more comfortable sitting with difficult, unanswered questions.

Furthermore, learning about the duality of the king was very interesting. I am amazed that the king can make both political and religious decisions respected by the vast majority. This is observably influenced by something, which I think I touched on in a blog before, how Islam isn’t just a part of most Moroccans’ lives, it is their life. The way they dress, eat, and live is all heavily and noticeably determined by their religion. And becasue mostly everybody lives this way, the country as a whole can successfully function by the terms of the Quran. This sort of religious lifestyle uniformity will never be seen by the US becasue of our religious freedom, however it is widely seen in Greece, where practically everyone is baptized Greek Orthodox. What we would consider religious holidays/observances in the US are considered national holidays or feastdays in Greece, and they call for specific church services, hymns, prayers, and iconography. From what I have observed in Morocco so far, I get a very similar vibe between how Islam leads the Moroccan lifestyle and Greek Orthodoxy leads the Greek lifestyle. Which brings me back to my question which I had asked Farah this morning about the presence of confession in Islam. As a Greek Orthodox Christian, confession is of utmost importance. We are told that the way into heaven is through forgiveness and cleanliness of the soul, which is the result of taking the sacrament of confession through a Priest. The Priest acts as a window to God and provides guidance and advice on how to navigate life. This is why it was so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Sunni Muslims have no intermediary between people and Allah. This leads me to wonder, do Muslims simply pray their sins away? Who holds them accountable? Who guides them and gives advice? How can you enter Islamic heaven without being rid of sin? I tried looking up some of my questions, but I unfortunately couldn’t find clear answers, so I plan to save my questions for a wise muslim or religious scholar that I can hopefully ask in the future!