I'm from Morocco, so I get a lot of surprised reactions when I tell people...

I'm from Morocco, so I get a lot of surprised reactions when I tell people where I'm from. The biggest misconception I run into is that everyone here is Arab and speaks Arabic as their first language. People picture camels and deserts, and they don't realize that Morocco is incredibly diverse. We have Amazigh (Berber) communities who've been here for thousands of years, with their own languages like Tamazight, which is actually an official language alongside Arabic. A huge part of the country, especially in the Rif and Atlas mountains, speaks it at home and in daily life. So when someone assumes I'll just automatically understand Egyptian Arabic or Syrian Arabic because "you're all Arab countries," it's like expecting someone from Texas to perfectly understand a deep Scottish accent. It's not that simple.

Another big one is that we're all religiously conservative in the same way. Morocco has a very different vibe from, say, Saudi Arabia. We have wine from local vineyards, women wear whatever they want in most cities, and there's a strong café culture where people sit for hours talking and smoking. We're Muslim, yes, but the practice is personal and varies hugely between families and regions. One of my cousins doesn't pray, another is a Quran teacher. People outside don't see that nuance. They just see "Muslim country" and fill in the blanks with whatever news story they last heard.

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Stewart Everett @everettstewart1890

ok wait the Texas/Scottish accent analogy is PERFECT. i'm from Pakistan and i get the same thing with 'you're all Muslim so you must be like Saudi'... like no?? my aunt wears a crop top?? reminds me of how people act shocked when i say my family doesn't even speak Urdu at home half the time. the diversity thing is so real and nobody outside the country sees it. do you ever get people asking 'but where are you REALLY from' after you tell them Morocco?
5 days ago

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