Post by Jo Erickson

My Study Abroad, part 2/2: Morocco 🇲🇦 This week, I wanted to share some of my reflections on the 16 days I spent in four Moroccan cities. My colleagues and I had just finished discussing topics in feminist and migration studies in the context of Amsterdam history. The Morocco excursion disrupted any generalizations my we might have made, a move which I as an anthropologist appreciated. Though there are commonalities as to how gender and sexuality shape lives across contexts, Amsterdam and these Morocco cities demonstrated wildly different outcomes. Before my study abroad, I took a course with Lara Deeb at Scripps which helped shape my understanding of gender and sexuality in Muslim contexts. From that course, I became certain that at its core, Islam itself does not discourage women's agency nor the presence of queer people, and the systemic issue is when the religion is used to justify subjugating these voices. According to Islamic Feminist Amina Wadud, women’s subjugation in modernizing Muslim societies comes out of Qur’anic interpretations which prioritize patriarchal and state interests. Wadud and many other Islamic feminists follow their drive for social justice through projects of critical interpretation and contextualization of the Qur’an. Wadud’s book Qur’an and Woman is an easy read – just saying. My understanding was deepened by Drs. Abdessamad Dialmy and Souad EDDOUADA, whose work are a part of the localized academic canon. Dr. Dialmy explained the complex interweaving of Qur’anic exegesis, legal and penal codes, and queerness in Morocco. Dr. Eddouada explained how women’s groups like the Sulallyat are changing the terms of the women’s rights debate by linking gender to land rights, expanding beyond a co-opting, White feminist approach. The lectures were not my only site of learning. This was my first time visiting Africa, and the third country I ever visited. Between the Netherlands and Morocco, I started seeing all the ways that my home country values itself over others, and the way that American exceptionalist rhetoric has shaped my (inter)actions. While still far from perfect, the Amsterdam municipal government and Moroccan state listen to and respond to the needs of civil society in a way that the States generally do not. Taha Laroussi was our teacher in residence who graciously spent time with us in and out of academic contexts. He shared his local expertise and helped us understand the politically powerful role of civil society in Morocco. As I return to a home with a shifting governmental structure (to say the least), Taha’s outlining of international activism propels me to focus more on my own local organizing. I have a long way to go in becoming the person I want to be, but this trip brought me experience and insight that I never could have imagined. 🥙And some of the best food I have ever eaten.