The Political Coherence of Educational Incoherence: The Consequences of Educational Specialization in a Southern Moroccan Community

Abstract

This article is based on an ethnographic study I conducted in southern Morocco during 2004. I explore the historical, ideological, and cultural background behind educational specialization among Moroccan university students. I describe how French colonial educational policies and postindependence Moroccan national schooling ideologies have created a national system of double standards that: (1) privileges French-educated urban middle-and upper-class students, (2) emphasizes the Arabization of the national education system, and (3) discriminates against Arabized, largely rural students, which have exacerbated regional educational and socioeconomic inequalities. I finally contend that educational specialization in noncompetitive degrees such as Arabic language and literature, Islamic studies, geography, and general law is the result of an ideological matrix I have termed political coherence of educational incoherence. Political coherence of educational incoherence naturalizes the reliance of certain disfranchised regional groups on a traditional preschool Islamic education that is largely based on memorization and inefficient pedagogy and is unsuitable for the modern educational requirements. [Islamic education, school ethnography, Arabization, school failure, minority education]

The Plastic Eye: The Politics of Jewish Representation in Moroccan Museums

“…Since the first Intifada, there has been an emerging anti-Israel feeling within some sectors of the general Moroccan public. This attitude conflates Israel with Jews and accordingly Moroccan Jews are occasionally targeted as supporters of Israel and its anti-Palestinian policies (Boum 2006). The Jewish community of Casablanca is extremely sensitive to these issues.…”

“…At the same time, they are foregrounded when manfa'a siyasiyya (political The 'plastic eye' is not limited to relics from the broader material culture of Moroccan Jews, but is part of the state's broader stance toward other ethnic groups and cultures. For instance, Berber folkdances have been at the center of national celebrations to mark the hybrid aspects of the nation, despite the fact that some Berber linguistic and cultural demands have been rejected by the government (Boum 2007). The relationship between museums and tourism has encouraged such attitudes of political expediency.…”

“…Yet, he claims that 'this project is local and regional' and that if local children become aware that 'Jews and Muslims lived once in Akka as neighbors and shared mint tea and exchanged bread', he has succeeded in delivering his educational message. When I met Ibrahim, he expressed his concern over the loss of the memory of past Jewish -Muslim relations in Morocco (Boum 2006). He argued that museums have a social mission to create a less prejudiced social context:…”

“…I am a native of the southern Moroccan oasis, but perhaps a slightly uncommon one. Until I began anthropological fieldwork on generational differences in Muslims' narratives and memories about their erstwhile Jewish neighbors, I had never ventured deep into the Sahara (Boum 2006(Boum , 2008.…”

“…Although my work on Moroccan Jews partly draws on historical manuscripts, I use mostly a generationally stratified sampling method (Labov 1972). I conducted interviews to understand how four generations of Muslim cohorts from southern Morocco think of and represent Jews (Boum 2006). One of the persons I came across in my interviews was Ibrahim Nouhi, also a quite uncommon native.…”