Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dear Saim,
I hope that this finds you well, bi idhnillah. The early part of my week was quite
busy and stressful, so I was quite exhausted. Then, I remembered that the one
thing that gives me peace of mind and pleasure is reading, so I made sure to
make time for my books. Alhamdulillah, I felt much better!
You mentioned H orrid Henry and funny books. I confess, I have not read that
series. I do enjoy funny stories though! I like some books by Dick King Smith. His
most famous work is The Sheep Pig - it is about a little pig who is raised by a
sheep dog. He learns how to herd sheep and is even more successful than the
dogs because he is unfailingly polite and sweet!
We are travelling to Morocco now... It is a
fascinating country that is famous for many things
like:
➔ its delicious cuisine
➔ the atlas mountains
➔ the desert
➔ the majorelle garden
I hope you are excited for this journey, because I certainly am!
Since we are nearing Ramadan, I chose this book, T he Butter man. It teaches us a
lot about not only the blessings of food, but also the importance of having hope
and the special ties of family.
Let’s go!
Shirin
Morocco - A Kingdom Of Marvels
I am not sure which countries you would like to travel to, but the kingdom of
Morocco has always been on my bucket list! It looks simply intriguing.
One article I read said that Morocco is “a feast for the traveller’s senses”. This is
because there is so much to experience. I looked up pictures of Morocco and ma
shaa allah, it is a place of vibrant colours and breathtaking sights.
It is a country of variety - I think we could get wonderfully lost in the many
things to discover and explore. There are mountains, deserts, beaches, kasbah
valleys and historic cities, not to mention different cultures, languages and
foods.
Traditional Moroccan leather work… I love the feel of leather!
What are we waiting for?
Let’s grab our passports and go!
THE BUTTER MAN /1
Mapping Morocco
Morocco is known officially as the kingdom of Morocco. In Arabic, it is called
اﻟﻤﻐﺮﺑﯿﺔ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ (al-mamlakah al-maghribiya) which can be translated as “the
kingdom where the sun sets” or “the kingdom of the west”.
It is located in northwest Africa. It borders Algeria to the east, Western Sahara
to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the
northeast.
Can you spot Morocco?
This time, I’ve zoomed out so that you can better see Morocco’s place in this
world. Do you notice how it is a gateway to both Africa, Europe and beyond?
I’d like you to mark the location of some major cities in Morocco in the blank
map i’ve given you.
THE BUTTER MAN /4
Check an atlas and look for these places:
➔ Casablanca
➔ Fez
➔ Marrakesh
➔ Tangier
➔ Rabat
➔ Salè
We will visit some of these cities, in shaa
Allah!
Morocco’s flag
Do you own a flag of pakistan? Do you hang it out in early August when you
celebrate your country’s National Day? As you know, I come from Singapore. Like
Pakistan, Singapore was once ruled by the British. Both our countries’ national
days are in August, so I hang b
oth the Singapore and Pakistan flag. I think i am
blessed to have two homes.
Have you ever thought about your country’s flag design? I am sure you have. Why
do you think flags are so important? Why do countries put so much thought and
effort into the design of their flags?
Well, it is because a flag is so much more than a piece of fabric to fly in the air. A
flag is a country’s way of portraying itself to the rest of the world.
A flag can be a portrait of a country’s
historical past. The American flag, for
example, still has 13 red and white stripes,
signifying the original 13 colonies. Some
other countries have their flags split into
quadrants that contain parts of other
countries’ flags, particularly if the country
was once a colony. One example is Australia - it was once a British colony. Take a
look at its flag - it has its own design, but a corner is reserved for the British
flag.
➔ The Sahara covers much of the south and southeast. It is a
sparsely-populated region.
➔ Around 75% of the population lives on the coastal plain, north of the Atlas
mountains, in cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech.
The People
Having read The Butter Man and A li, Child of the Desert, you now know that there
are a people called the Imazighen or B
erbers in Morocco. A
mazigh (the singular
of Imazighen) means “free man” or “noble man”.
THE BUTTER MAN /9
What do you notice about the list of countries? Do you see how many of them are
located in Africa?
French is used in many African countries today because of the history of
colonialism. France and Belgium colonized West and Central Africa and brought
the French language with them. Morocco was not colonized, but it was a French
protectorate. (This means it still had some control over its government.)
The Atlas Mountains
In T
he Butter Man, Nora’s father remembers his childhood in the Atlas
Mountains.
The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range that stretches around 2,500 km
through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
Young Ali lived in the High Atlas where his parents made a living through
farming. You must know that life can be very difficult in the Atlas Mountains.
They face extreme weather conditions. In winter, the mountains are covered in
snow; in summer, the sun scorches the crops. So, how do these farmers cope?
First of all, they try to protect the soil by growing different crops at different
times of the year. This is called crop rotation. This ensures that the soil does not
run out of nutrients. Next, they have a special system of getting water from
underground sources.
That’s the Antarctica and it is the largest cold desert. ↑
Let’s go back to the Sahara :) It is اﻟﻜﺒﺮى اﻟﺼﺤﺮاء “The Great Desert” in Arabic. It
might look like there is nothing but heat and dust in the Sahara... however, this
is not true. The Sahara has natural resources like oil and natural gas. There are
also fossils and beautiful crystals and minerals.
Moroccan Amethysts (cut)
Aren’t those gems beautiful? Imagine how they lay hidden for years and years.
Then, they were unearthed and had to be cleaned, cut and polished before their
beauty is evident.
In the story of Ali, we find that there are indeed gems in the desert. These are
the beautiful people who show courage and generosity and have hope no matter
how difficult things are.
Ali is travelling with his father through the Great Sahara to get to the market in
Rissani. (Mark it on your map!) A sandstorm whips up out of nowhere, separating
them.
I told you earlier that I’d tell you about an inspiring Moroccan. His name is
Hicham El Guerrouj. He is considered by many to be the greatest
middle-distance runner of all time, ma shaa Allah.
El Guerrouj had always longed to win an Olympic gold medal and trained very
hard for years. What made him stand out from others was his unrelenting
courage.
Listen to what his coach, Abdel Kader Kada, said about him:
“In 1992, we won the World Junior Championship. At that time,
I noticed his courage in competition… because talent alone
is not enough. You need the right character as a runner. I
knew this boy would go far.”
Do you remember what I said earlier about gemstones? It takes a lot of time and
effort for a gem to become beautiful. It has to undergo cleaning and cutting and
polishing.
We are like gems too… we all have our own special talent. It will take time and
effort before our beauty can emerge.
It will take courage. Lots of it.
2. In Ali, Child Of The Desert, Abdul says that Ali has “the heart of a warrior”.
Why does he say this?
3. Do you think that being courageous means that you are not afraid?