During my time in the Duke in Arab program, I had the privilege of visiting two countries: Morocco and Tunisia. Our time was primarily spent in Morocco; we spent a total of five weeks in Morocco and one week in Tunisia. Our time in Morocco was a full cultural immersion: we stayed with a host family and learned Darija, the Moroccan Arabic dialect, which allowed us to converse with the people of Morocco. We also took a citizenship and governance course, where we learned about political Islam and where its problems stem from.
In Tunisia, the citizenship and governance course was the only course we focused on. We were unable to converse with the people unless they spoke English, since they don’t speak the Moroccan dialect in Tunisia. We learned about the Tunisian Revolution by having lectures by those who were directly involved in it. Both experiences allowed me to think critically about the issues that the Middle East faces and connect to my Islamic roots.
Reflecting back, even though Morocco and Tunisia have stark differences in terms of citizenship and governance, the two countries do share a few similarities. Citizens of both countries feel as if their governments have been progressive in terms of women rights. This is quite new in the Arab world as a number of Middle Eastern countries do not treat women as full citizens, giving them the rights of a minor.
Both are Muslim-majority countries and the citizens were unsatisfied with their governments during the time of the Arab Spring to the extent that they revolted to try to enact change. Citizens in each of the countries feel as if their needs aren’t being met. The economic situation in Tunisia still hasn’t improved – the unemployment rate is still around 15% – even though that was one of the main factors that sparked the Tunisian revolution. Likewise, the economic situation in Morocco is not well either, and citizens believe that it will not get better because of the corruption in their political system.
In Tunisia, the government itself is secular. It does not use the principles of Islam in order to make laws. They government promises religious freedom for all and believes that religion is personal – it should not be integrated into law. Since religion is personal instead of part of the law, religion and its relationship with culture doesn’t play a big role in the definition of citizenship. Instead, being skilled and being able to contribute to the community and country economically is vital in order to be a useful part of the Tunisian society.
There is a great sense of unity, and that was one of the key reasons Tunisia was successfully able to transition into a democracy. People are outspoken and unafraid to voice their concerns to the government. Elections in Tunisia are viewed to be transparent with little worries of corruption. Citizens feel a bit unsafe in the country, because ISIS terrorist groups have started to take over the land by the borders of Tunisia, making areas that were once an agricultural hub now yellowed grass. The land riddled with bombs that could denotate underneath you and have taken the lives of a number of civilians. Although the country has come a long way, especially sparking the Arab Spring and becoming the first democracy in the Arab world, it still has a long way to go to meet the needs of its people.
In Morocco, citizens generally respect the king. One of the reasons he gets much respect is due to his support for women’s rights, which allows women to work and live meaningful lives. However, citizens believe that elections are corrupt, because it’s common to hear that political leaders bribed and exploited citizens who don’t have anything, giving them money in exchange for votes. In contrast to Tunisia, terrorism isn’t a big problem in Morocco. There are some occurrences of terrorist attacks, but not a number out of the ordinary. An interesting idea is that being part of the culture in Morocco is important to being a citizen. This is because culture and Islamic law is highly integrated and confused for one another in law making. Therefore, citizenship usually accompanies following cultural norms. To the citizen, having citizenship is not so much about being legal and having papers, but being able to successfully integrate into society. Anyway, what good is having the right to vote if corruption overwhelms the country?
I am grateful for being part of Duke in the Arab World 2019. I have been able to reconnect with my identity as a Muslim and have grown to become more confident as a person. This experience affected me greatly, I am deeply considering changing my course of study to focus on matters that are more real to me. I highly encourage students to take part in this program. Although I never really had an interest in politics, this program has changed my perspective on politics, the Middle East, and how I view the world. It’s been good. -Safa
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