Of pork, paella and critical thinking

Last Sunday my friends Ahmed and Meriam invited me home for lunch with them and their two children, Atimad (age 12) and Hatim (age 9).* Highlights from the meal that nearly knocked my pants off for their sheer abnormality:

1. We didn't eat Moroccan food. Instead, Meriam made a tasty Spanish paella.

2. They served me alcohol. Offered me beer, wine and caramel-flavored liquor imported from Spain. "We're not alcoholics," explained Ahmed, "but we do like a nice beverage with our meals." Although it's not unusual to find Muslims who drink, Ahmed and Meriam's openness about it and okayness with it was refreshing. They weren't ducking out to shady bars and imbibing under the cover of darkness; they were chilling with a glass of wine during a family lunch on the terrace.

3. It emerged in conversation that they will eat pork, which is basically unheard of among Muslims. Their logic was that the prohibition on pork back in the prophet Muhammad's day derived from concerns over diseased pigs. Given that the pork Ahmed and Meriam would eat comes from healthy pigs, they see no reason to avoid it. I did a super quick internet search on this topic and came across at least one site that upholds this argument. Most initial hits, on the other hand, are Islamic sites that emphasize the need to obey God's law and list off scientific reasons why pigs are unclean and pork is bad for you. There appear to be about four mentions of the pork prohibition in the Qur'an, none of which offer an explanation for it. (Then again, neither does the Old Testament.)

4. They are teaching their children to think critically about religion. Much to the disapproval of Ahmed and Meriam, all Moroccan schools oblige students to take an Islamic Studies course year after year, beginning at the elementary school level. "It's too young for them to be exposed to this kind of dogma," they told me. Kids should be taking languages, math, history, music, sports -- not undergoing indoctrination. So, when Atimad and Hatim come home from school, the family talks through what they learned in Islamic Studies, picks it apart, explores other perspectives. "We want them to able to choose for themselves when they're older what it is they want to practice."

"Are they even Muslim?!" Cath demanded, once I described the lunch to her. Fair question. After all, there are a handful of closet Christian Moroccans, even though it's dangerous for them to make their faith known publicly. I don't think my new friends belong to this minority, however. My impression was that they think along the same lines as their and my friend Mustafa,* with whom I went for a short hike this morning...
(talking about personal beliefs)
Me: "Are you Muslim?"
Him: "I'm Mustafa."

You have to understand that this kind of thinking outside the Moroccan system and religion is a rarity amongst the local population. Not only that, it's risky, both socially and legally. Ahmed, Meriam and Mustafa all stressed the importance of hiding these views from Tetouani society, as well as from their own families. As for the legality aspect, one example of subversion being punished was Ramadan 2009, when a group of Moroccans staged a public picnic to protest mandatory fasting and were arrested.

My real excitement over the lunch lay not in the family as an interesting case study, however, but rather in making friends. These are basically the first Moroccans I've met with whom I feel a genuine affinity, whose company I enjoy for significantly more than its value as a cultural-linguistic exchange. The several hours I spent at their place were comfortable and easy: playing mini-foosball with Hatim, admiring the posters of Twilight and High School Musical hunks that Atimad had up on her wall, sympathizing with Meriam about the dog tearing up any garden she'd try to put on the terrace. I didn't feel used, either linguistically or monetarily, as is so often the case in interactions with Moroccans. And, to be fair, I didn't feel like I was using them. It was just a pleasant summer lunch, replete with wine, paella and good conversation.

* I've changed the names of the people mentioned in this post and not included pictures of them because some of their beliefs and behavior should not, as I explain above, be aired publicly in Morocco.