April 21, 2025

On our trips to Casablanca, (most recently read blog 11/22/2024), this Muslim country and especially the city of Casablanca has always been much more welcoming than other Muslim countries/cities we have visited most notably Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt and Tunis, Tunisia. I wanted to try and figure out why that was the case.

I think I have discovered the answer.

In a quiet corner of Casablanca tucked away from the bustle of the port there is a small museum most tourists never see. No giant signs just a small plaque: Musuem of Moroccan Judaism. The museum is in site of a former Jewish orphanage. When you visit the museum’s website inside there are photos of Jewish weddings held in the streets of Casablanca long passed. There are currently Jewish Street signs in Casablanca that would seem more in place in cities like Tel Aviv, Israel or Montreal, Canada. The museum is a keyhole to a Morocco that most people don’t know existed. I wanted to visit the museum today, but it was closed perhaps do to the dwindling Jewish population in Morocco that I will explain later.

To many of you Morocco conjures up pictures of sandy deserts, hummus, strong coffee and mint tea. But what if I told you that this country was for centuries one of the most multi-cultural societies in the world, operating as a patchwork of different cultural identities.

The Berbers were first, then came the Arabs in the 7th century. In 1492, a Catholic Spain started its reconquest, and many Jews fled across the Mediterranean and found a home in Morocco. Jewish people worked as merchants, court advisors even diplomats and they celebrated Moroccan holidays. Christian Churches and synagogues had services openly. In the 20th century, Morocco became a French protectorate, French schools were built, and Casablanca became a major trading hub. You could hear five languages being spoken on the street: Berber, Arabic, French, Spanish and Hebrew. Cafes served French croissants next to Hebrew dishes with traditional Moroccan mint tea. Morocco became a model of how multi-culturalism might actually function. For centuries it worked. Until it didn’t. Then the curtain began to fall.

After Morocco gained independence in 1966 the National Identity Project began. There was a movement to claim Moroccan identity which meant narrowing the definition of what Moroccan meant, leading heavily toward Arab/Islamic identity. At the same time global politics were shifting. Many Jews felt unwelcome or unsafe and with the founding of Israel from 1948 through the 1970’s 250,000 Jews left Morocco. Today only 2,000 remain perhaps one of the reasons why the museum was closed. One closed shop, one neighbor relocating, no more Jewish weddings in the street, fewer church services, fewer languages spoken and soon the Christians left along with the French and Spanish. Once a richly layered society became more monotone. The cultural mosaic had changed.

The Church of Notre Dame still holds mass; a Moroccan synagogue still exists but the street names in Casablanca no longer match the people walking on them. But the reality is that Casablanca held its multi-cultural identity together longer than most Muslim countries and I believe that there is a certain nostalgia for once what was. As evidenced, that during this visit when I was walking through the Medina Souk, the traditional shopping stalls of Casablanca a merchant was sweetly singing a traditional Moroccan song. I commented on his voice, and he encouraged me to sing a song. I boldly belted out my rendition of “My Wild Irish Rose” to the amusement of those in harm’s way. I assure you I would not have felt comfortable doing that in Tunisia!

What helps us understand each other? It begins by learning about your neighbor the one who lives next store or a continent away. It takes empathy, tolerance and quite honestly a bit of courage. But most importantly, it takes intention. You have to choose how to relate to those different from you as every generation does.

That does not mean that I shy away from my Christian faith. I want everyone to experience the life changing, redemptive nature of faith. Chongae and I openly pray before meals (read my blog Eating with Gratitude 2/25/2024) and we are willing to engage with others whenever possible to share the good news of the Gospel.

In the atrium of the Volendam there is a mosaic of a Holland America ship.

As I’ve shared with you many times before it is not the places you visit but the people you meet that makes travel enjoyable. On the ship there are many people from vastly different backgrounds that work and live together harmoniously. Our two stewards, Mus is Muslim, Bakri is Hindu. Mus celebrated a 40 day fast for Ramadan, Bakri did not. Yet, we could see that Bakri was concerned for Mus that he was losing too much weight during his fast. When Bakri’s mom passed away and he had to return to Indonesia for a few weeks, Mus texted him frequently to make sure he was ok. Chongae and I do a Christian devotional daily, sometimes with Mus and Bakri close by. Danial the cruise director is British, Floren the ship manager is Romanian, Rens the captain is Dutch, Cliff the food manager is German, Ian the engineer is Scottish and all respect and work together closely. A human mosaic.

One of the lessons life has taught me is that people can’t receive our love if they think we don’t see them for who they really are. In our desire to convert someone to our way of thinking we often times end up negating the person we are trying to encourage. We can’t give away love freely if we’re secretly wanting something in return.

My daughter-in-law, Kayla, recently sent me a photo of our new twin grandchildren Olivia and Eden. When I looked at the photo I was touched by how easily and innocently Olivia lent her brother a hand. We all need someone to lean on.

Thanks for traveling with us.