The hope is to build a permanent campus in a Moroccan city during the next several years. The guiding themes of this new campus will be multinational cooperation, conflict resolution, technological innovation and sustainable development in North Africa and the Middle East. Their intelligence and passion resulted in many lively classroom debates and discussions. Our bus resonated for hours with the singing of Arabic popular songs, telling of jokes and teasing of classmates. My impressions of Morocco are varied and intense.
Rapid urbanization is underway, especially in Casablanca.
The mass migration from villages to the cities result partly from severe drought in agricultural areas, but also from the allure of urban images beamed via satellite TV to the entire country. Casablanca boasts the largest mosque outside Saudi Arabia, a huge project pursued a decade ago in order to cement the claim of the Moroccan king that the monarchy is the faithful servant of Islam. Morocco is a fascinating cultural stew. In addition to the obvious influence of the Arabs, the original Berbers still retain a strong cultural identity. The educated elite is still heavily oriented to France, but younger Moroccans are eager to learn English.