The Workshop. (Rabat 19-26)

The main purpose of my visit to Morocco at this time was to meet with the research team that had been organized in the aftermath of my visit to the Sahwa Convention a year ago. At that time I had outlined a very general research agenda identifying the main areas of inquiry of concern to the Chair, and left the rest to an active young liaison whom I had won over to the cause. In the meantime, we managed to keep in sporadic touch throughout the year, enough to receive two full fledged reports and to have some general orientations sent back to keep the work going. I also tried to put the group in touch with Cairo in the hope that the latter, with its greater experience and open lines with me, would spur on the Morocco team, and relieve me of some of the responsibility. However, by the summer it was evident that if I wanted the project to continue, I had to make a field trip to interact with the group and give some hands on orientation and training on the purpose and objective of their work. It was imperative also to attend to some organizational matters, and resolve some of the problems to assure the viability of the research circle.

Fifteen to twenty members participated in the workshop that met in the precincts of the Muhammad V University, Rabat, between 19 - 26 November. The event I believe was hosted under the sponsorship of the Association of Graduates of Islamic Studies of the University. This was an invaluable service rendered us by the hosts, through some personal contacts, and it provided us with the legitimate cover without which it would have been difficult to conduct our meetings. To recall, our researchers are operating on a purely informal initiative on my part, and doing so in a setting where all group activities are closely monitored, or at least require some formal endorsement from the authorities, is one of the administrative problems that sooner or later will need to be addressed. This is particularly pressing since I am trying to have the researchers work as a team: and am trying to go beyond the personal and one on one relationship that seems to have been the case so far. The first step in this direction was accomplished by my visit, when for the first time the different researchers came together as a team, interacting and sitting in on the same lectures / orientation sessions.

The general format of the sessions took place in terms of three full days and two half days. The first part of each of the three full day sessions was devoted to reports from the individual units, and the second half was generally reserved to my comments, orientation and discussion. The active team is divided into four units, with about three members each. They work on select sources / themes in the fields of hadith, tafsir, fiqh, as well as waqf. There is in addition one dynamic 'free lancer' with a background in sociology. She is working on the track of contemporary social problems, attempting to do some field work on 'prostitution' which we have identified as one of the conspicuous problems plaguing contemporary society in Morocco. One other research track targets a survey of the relevant contemporary literature. It is only just beginning its work and will be organized round a team working out of Quneitra. Its recruits were active participants throughout the workshop and did not miss one session, making the daily 30 mile trek without fail.

Meetings followed the typical two-shift schedule: 9.30 - 1.00 pm, to resume at 3.30pm -7.00pm. which seems to be universally observed by all businesses, including schools and universities. The trouble is that people there literally have to leave the 'workplace' to lunch elsewhere, before flocking back to resume their afternoon shift. Weekends (Saturday & Sunday) are off, biding the French calendar, although we got a dispensation for one of our scheduled activities in another auditorium on Saturday morning 20^th November. On Sunday I invited the group to a meeting in my hotel room, only to be told about three hours later by an alarmed hotel official that this was off bounds, a breach of security restrictions!

In one of our full day sessions we are fortunate enough to have Dr. Taha who was in Rabat for the day attend. This was extremely helpful for those working on the classical Islamic sources, for he could provide the much needed technical and scholarly guidance and know-how through that kind of literature. His participation was extremely appreciated by attendees and served as a perfect supplement to the more general and intellectual perspectives that I brought to the field.

Another of the highlights of this workshop was the participation of a researcher representing the Women's Study Circle in Cairo. This was a last minute decision taken in the course of preparing for my trip and, in retrospect, it seems to have been well worth its expense. At least in terms of its immediate impact in Morocco, it has paved the way for a more active exchange with Cairo - once we have resolved the communications problem. There was considerable interaction on a personal level, exposing as it were, the relatively inexperienced freshmen and sophomores to their juniors and seniors. I believe that it will also bring back to Cairo new perspectives, and give them a more concrete sense of the continuities in the project and overcome any incipient insularities to which the Egyptian psyche might be prone. On all counts, it contributes to us as a Chair trying to break out of our provincial setting in Leesburg, (as well as to turn to advantage our marginal and unique place in the American academy); it is also a way to beat our all too modest resources by consolidating our own backyard anchors in the vision of an open academy without borders, to which we aspire. In this instance of inviting a researcher from Cairo, it was gratifying to have her report first hand on the mission of the Chair and on how the work in progress in Cairo contributed to its growth. I believe that it served as a practical example to the Moroccan participants challenging them to rise to their mission, as well as enhancing their self-esteem as members of a growing 'school of thought'. However, it may be too early to speculate on the effects of such a modest move for both Cairo and Rabat. In the meantime, I am expecting a general report from Cairo reviewing her experience there and reactions to her trip, as well as summing up the proceedings of the visit.