New class for female preachers emphasises success of Moroccan experiment

2007-12-07

As Morocco's popular training class for female preachers gets ready to start, women comment on the innovative program's success.

By Imane Belhaj for Magharebia in Casablanca – 07/12/07

[Imane Belhaj] Mourchidates are beginning to engage in tasks that until recently were restricted to men and to the imams of mosques.

Morocco's campaign to modernise the religious landscape continues with the latest training class for morchidates (religious female guides). Registration for the fourth group opened late last month. Since the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs launched the programme in 2005 as part of the country's religious reform initiative, some 150 women have been trained.

Speaking at one of the previous graduations, Minister Ahmed Toufiq explained that these female preachers are primarily focused on instilling spiritual security and assurance in the souls of citizens, and on teaching tolerance and the rejection of violence.

Dr. Ahmed Khamlichi, director of the Dar el Hadith el Hassania religious institute noted that people have begun to understand the positive effects of women engaging in religious outreach previously limited to men.

The work of morchidates is not restricted to mosques; the women also deliver religious lessons and lectures at hospitals, schools and prisons when necessary. Their organised outreach ends the practice of women holding unofficial religious meetings. At some of these gatherings in private homes, women gave free rein to improvised fatwas, devoid of any scientific or religious basis.

The morchidates "enjoy qualities that make them distinct from men in certain fields of preaching and guidance", said dressmaker Fatima Sinnoune. "Therefore, a number of my friends and neighbors and I can today go to these morchidates without any embarrassment whatsoever in order to inquire about the things that we don't know in our true religion." She added that the morchidates are able to perform their tasks with no less competency, knowledge and understanding than the men.

One morchidate who preferred to stay anonymous said, "We often find major confusion about some concepts of Islam by the women who come to us seeking religious guidance. Although the correction of ideas is not an easy task, we are usually able, thanks to God, to convince them of the correct facts after we present them with the scientific and religious evidence of this or that matter."

The morchidates don't just give preaching lessons to women; they help to educate them about issues such as their rights under the Family Law. Women often ask about religious matters related to marriage. In the past, women used to hear that obeying their husbands is required in all cases. However, the morchidates say they help women understand when they have to obey their husbands, and when they are not required to meet demands that are above their will.

Some women who are required to wear the khemar – a veil covering the face except for the eyes worn by some Muslim women in public – grumble about the practice. The morchidates explain that while religious duty imposes decorum and decency in dress, it doesn't require them to hide behind a khemar that conceals the face.

Prerequisites for becoming a religious morchidate include memorising the Holy Qur'an and holding a license from a Moroccan university. The 12-month training covers the Qur'an, jurisprudence, sunna, Muslim history, geography, Arabic language and a foreign language. The training includes new subjects that haven't been taught in old Qur'anic schools, such as the media, social sciences and the history and culture of other religions.