I love Morocco, absolutely love it. I love Moroccans too. I think I made that very clear in this post. They’re warm, fun and lovely. But they also make me want to kill myself. Or them. Am I talking about all Moroccans? Of course not. But it’s a fact that patience is very often required when dealing with the Moroccan crowd. Here are some reasons why dragging along a punch bag may not be such a bad idea.
1. To begin with: organization. Institutions or services that are organized and professional are RARE. The standard is to be irresponsible, unreliable and to not keep to agreements. They just don’t have any work ethic. They work hard though. They work hard on testing people’s patience!
2. They are not effective. They hardly get anything done in a tremendous amount of time and then they act like they worked very hard. They can only do one job a day, top. I don’t know if this is just a northern thing but it’s a serious problem.
3. Quality is a word they don’t know. Moroccan products are made by rip-offs. You pay big bucks for things that apparently can’t handle rays of light, oxygen, soundwaves or just about anything, because even watching at them makes them break. If something survives a year without breaking you can count yourself lucky. And the product of their ‘work’ is terrible. They seriously make the dumbest mistakes.
4. They drive left. And in the middle. And they cut corners. They are jerks on the road but they don’t even notice it. They just can’t drive!
5. They are superficial and materialistic. Step into a room with normal, educated people and they’re probably talking about how the sister of yesterday’s bride was prettier than the bride and how wealthy the groom is. Money, beauty and people: their favorite topics. When you subtly criticize this they don’t get it. They honestly don’t get why it’s rude to say that about the bride or why they shouldn’t be obsessed with money. There is a reason why soaps are so popular in Morocco and it’s stated in the first sentence of this paragraph.
6. They spend their money on houses and other visible things only. This says something about their show mentality and stingy lifestyle. What’s the point of having such a big home when the kitchen is always empty, resulting in kids drinking as much juice as they can in someone else’s house? Juice! What’s the point of buying your son/daughter one outfit a year to be able to buy a second house? I get that some people like simplicity and a healthy lifestyle, but these people have different motivations. They live uncomfortably so that they can buy big things, or as they put it ‘to create a future for their kids’. While fantasizing over big things they forget to create a normal youth for their kids. It pisses me off. Poor kids. I don’t blame them for attacking our table.
7. They watch your every move. They’re just always observing you and judging you in the back of their minds. Whatever you say, do or wear, it won’t go unnoticed.
8. They think you’re not intelligent if you haven’t studied physics, chemistry or maths. I assume there is a gap between the level of bèta subjects and alpha subjects in Morocco, but that still doesn’t give them the right to underestimate people.
9. Store owners don’t care when someone is cutting in line, because guess what: there are no lines! ”This is Morocco” they always say. If you want something, fight for it. That’s the law of the concrete and tiled jungle called a Moroccan city.
10. Employees that don’t get tips are not friendly to customers. I get that they don’t get paid well, but come on, they can say ‘hello’ for crying out loud. Sometimes they don’t even say a word unless you ask something. They do that when the price is self-evident in their opinion. In supermarkets employees are usually too busy flirting with each other to even look at the customer. It’s not even that they aren’t nice people. Being overly friendly to strangers is just something they were never taught to do. When you do that to the opposite sex they will most likely think you’re flirting.
11. Speaking about flirting, guys hit on every girl they see. She can be pretty or ugly, skinny or fat, tall or short, covered or uncovered, it doesn’t matter because no girl will escape the (not so) smooth talks of Moroccan guys. It’s a shame that this is part of the male culture in Morocco.
12. Officers are extremely corrupt. ‘’You were talking on the phone.’’ ‘’No I wasn’t.’’ ‘’Yes you were.’’ ‘’No I wasn’t.’’ ‘’My colleague saw you too.’’ ‘’Well my phone is in my closed bag on the backseat so whatever you saw was not my phone.’’ ‘’Shut up, you’re getting a fine. Unless we can get a deal…’’
13. Actually everything is one big pile of corrupt trash. You can bribe anyone. You want a dorm room? Pass some money. You don’t want to be examined by a doctor to get that marriage contract? Pass some money (how dangerous!). You want to renew your passport? Well, if you don’t pay them you can really just forget about city hall employees doing their work. You want to complain to their boss? He’s in the game too. Poisened souls. There are even teachers who do this, in a less extreme form. They don’t help students that are not registered in the tutoring center they work in. They are supposed to help students but they don’t, unless they receive money! There’s just no stopping to Moroccan corruption.
14. The sound of slippers being dragged, oh it’s everywhere. They don’t lift their feet when they walk. To me this sound is equally annoying as having a buzzing fly around me the whole time I’m outside. It makes me want to smack people.
15. They look down on people of lower social status. They won’t smile to people ‘below their level’ for example. Bosses look down on employees (forget about democracy, just keep your mouth shut). Employees look down on interns. Upper middle class people look down on chaabi (popular) people and it goes on like that. Especiallly as someone born and raised in a Dutch culture this is something I notice and hate.
16. Guests stay too late. This is probably a thing of my city where summer life is night life. Sometimes it’s 2:00 am and there are still people in our living room, because you know, la vida loca. They come in at 00:00 expecting food, not thinking ‘hey, maybe she doesn’t have enough groceries to cook for six extra people’ or just a simple ‘maybe she wants to sleep’. Nope, they’re thinking ‘I like this house. I wish I lived here. I’m gonna stay here until I get tired :D’. It’s that I love them; otherwise I wouldn’t open the door.
17. Quite a lot of people are tired of life and their presence makes me tired of life. They make me want to sit with the kids.
18. At an individual level they suffer from severe superiority madness. They are rather racist (anyone outside their city/area is bad) and they have inside knowledge of everything…they think. Along with their drive to mind your business they will bother you by telling you how to do whatever you’re doing. God give us patience…
19. At a collective level they suffer from the opposite of superiority. They have no love for their country. They complain about society, but they won’t change their own behavior. ”This is Morocco” is their excuse again for being uncivilized.
20. These feelings of inferiority bring about the phenomenon ‘wannabe French people’. They can’t say a sentence in Arabic without using French. There are even people born and raised in Morocco who don’t even speak the language of their country. That is just… I have no words. They take over the useless things of the west – doggies, 50-year-olds in bikinis and sometimes even bottles of wine – but professionalism and friendliness are things they skipped. The irony is that their ‘modern ways’ only prove how backward they are.
Sometimes I just need to sit down and take a moment to try to understand how retarded their way of thinking is, but I never seem to succeed at understanding how their minds work. So then I stop trying to understand their way of thinking and I start thinking about a possible cause of these weird traits.
What I think
For a big part, I blame the educational system of Morocco. I have a feeling the pedagogical aspect of elementary school is lacking and that individual needs aren’t taken into account. This is not to be underestimated! I also suspect students in high school and college don’t get to practice independent and critical thinking and to deal accordingly in a professional manner. I feel that perhaps the focus lies more on reproduction, knowledge of facts and subject specific skills than on development.
I noticed they all go to tutoring centers. All of them, the smart ones too. That can mean several things: their teachers don’t deserve their paychecks (they don’t help students), people nowadays have some kind of Asian mindset (minus the professionality) or the tree they have to climb is way too high. But what about the fishes?
These are just speculations based on people’s behavior. I’ve never researched Moroccan education so I can’t tell what’s wrong, but there are obviously some issues. Such a waste of talent.
I also think shortcomings in their Islamic upbringing form an important cause of the problem. They may learn to pray and they memorize surahs, but apparently they’re not provided with Islamic morals in an appropriate or effective way. Maybe they are exposed to wrong examples. Maybe they never learned why some things are bad. Maybe it’s a combination of both and maybe there is another reason. Whatever may be the cause, it is incredibly sad that Islamic values are barely visible in an Islamic society.
Morocco is a beautiful country that has developed very fast in the past ten years, but its people don’t seem to follow the same trend. I think they still need a few decades to be civilized. But you know? Morocco is such a magical place that its colors shine despite its shadow. It’s a land of extreme sensations that give you a rush of life. Just don’t forget that punch bag, that’s all.
Any thoughts?
As a Moroccan I would like to thank you for the love you showed to Morocco and Moroccans. Understood that you did not mean all Moroccans. However, I found your analysis superficial and lucking subjectivity. Moroccans are the most modest and humble people in the world. what you said about showing off culture, I guess its you who did not get it right and you missed many fundamental details in Moroccan culture. You focused only on negative sides of some of the Moroccans and made appear like if it was the norm and the rule of all nice, hospitable and altruistic Moroccans even if you tried to highlight that you do not mean all Moroccans at the beginning. But you did not succeed. I lived in different cultures and I saw terrible things done by other nationalities. We read every day about big crimes including Islamophobia and Arabophobia including some of your commentators here and that is really a shame on all those who consider themselves civilized.
My advise as Moroccan: Don’t visit my beloved country and its people if you don’t like them.
Peace…
This is so true. I met a Moroccan man online, he’s very arrogant. He doesn’t read books but pretends to know everything. He’s racist towards black people, believes in the race hierarchy. He’s very dirty too. Doesn’t take a bath, pisses on his living room instead of the toilet. He calls me names, and his family thinks im lower class. Whenever I point out his mistakes, he wouldn’t admit them. But he keeps on pointing out my mistakes all the time. He asks me inappropriate questions, sexual questions and blames me if I don’t want to answer him. He thinks he’s superior to others when in reality he is very poor. He sits in his house the whole day too doing nothing. He is very lazy. He thinks that if you are not good at Math or Physics, you’re very stupid. I thought it’s only him because he’s mentally ill but I’m surprised it’s most Moroccans as stated in this article.
me and my husband, are French people living in Morocco with our two daughters, for more than ten years … And to this day, it is the best decision that we have taken in our life … Your article is of incredible indecency, which says more about you and what you are, than about Morocco and the Moroccans … your father and your Moroccan family will surely be proud of you !!! , shame on you …
Omg everything you said is 100% accurate. I hate Moroccans like no other countrymen. They are just so retarded ,in actuality very religious but since they have a superiority Complex,they act as if they’re western haha. One thing I would like to mention is that their women are the biggest sluts. They have extramarital affairs and do anything for money. They also are extramarital loud. I’ve lived in many countries and I noticed that Moroccans are the trash become they’re always so loud and want to make them self feel important by trying to be center of attention.
Hello,
I am Moroccan, and I can confirm that a great proportion of my fellow citizens behave like full blown sociopaths.
However, you guys are biasedly generalizing those behaviors . I have experienced violence, bullying, and cunning manipulations during the 13 years I lived in my country. And yet, I have also met good people endowed with integrity, authenticity, and generosity. They are rare, but they exist, and they are enough to fulfill one’s life.
It’s all relative, unfortunately, you need to be highly selective about your friends in Morocco. Although unfair, socio-economic discrimination is a tool of survival in my country. But even the wealthy can behave in a dishonest manner, you need to look beyond their economic status. Where someone is born, where their family comes from, what school they went to before university are all variables to take into account to know what behavior to expect from a given person on the long term. I know that in Western countries those factors are irrelevant, but in Morocco it’s a different story…
Here are a few rules to abide by if you wanna make your life easier:
1)Avoid popular areas
2)Learn the local tongue ASAP (Just for expats obviously, you will look less “scammable”)
3)Make acquaintances (A must have if you want to seek justice and win in a timely manner)
4)NEVER show empathy to a stranger, they will use it against you (That includes someone seeking a direction, that’s how I got mugged)
5)Be wary written agreements, those can become meaningless if your counterparty does not foresee significant consequences for dishonoring them.
6)Whenever possible, go to younger police officers if you have a complaint. Some of them are actually principled enough to turn down a bribe and do their work humbly.
7)Make your peace with bribery, it’s essential if you want any paperwork to be done in a timely way.
I would emphasize on point 3. Here is a quick example of how it can be useful: An Egyptian investor tried to set up a tire recycling business in Morocco, so he went to our ministry to get the necessary licenses. Once he gave his (profitable) idea, he waited for a call that never came. Meanwhile, he learned that some upper-rank official gave the idea to his friend along with the necessary licenses and subsidies… Had it been someone who knew the minister personally, I am sure that things would have been different.
Point 5 is essential! There are countless con men who wrote cheques that bounced, and then took advantage of their dual nationality to flee in a Western country where extradition was impossible. This has bankrupted one of my relatives ‘firm.
In short, you need to be or know someone important for the rules to apply to you. Hang out with people from “good families”(Which entails more than just wealth), those can be found in fancy spots, you can recognize them by their manners and how nicely they dress.(And I am not talking about Gucci sweaters and other such extravagant items)
My main theory on the matter is that most of my countrymen were subject to some kind of trauma and repeated deceptions at every step of their lives. This may have led them to weaponizing their personalities and becoming proactive in their interactions with other people (i.e Game theory).
On a final note, please do not mistake a rotten society for a bad culture. In fact, as disheartening as the behavioral trend may be, our culture contains strong values such as hospitality, unity, and solidarity. Our people are fucked, so are our public institutions, but our country was built on honorable foundations.
Extra tip: Don’t fall for the “woman who needs money to feed her toddler” act. The lady would most likely have rented kids and hurt them before meeting you to make them cry and get a better grasp on your conscience.
You just made me remind how Saudi is. I can say 90% same mentality they share.
BTW, what do you imply with ‘Asian mentality’ in the 4th paragraph from the end?
Making me reading this makes me feel so happy. I tought I was crazy for noticing this. This is all so true.
Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim. I would like to first acknowledge that, yes, your article is a bit dated now (writing in 2023). I do, however, would like to point the “elephant” in the room, as some would like to call it. The website’s name is “Seeking Rahma.” I do find that ironic, considering the title of the article is: “20 things I hate about Moroccans.” The irony is that your website is meant to promote, assumingly, positive practices that are promoted in Islam. Yet, you write an entire article about how you “Hate” things about a certain group of people with little to no actual points being made; with many of the points just being fillers. For instance, point 3 when you say, “And the product of their ‘work’ is terrible. They seriously make the dumbest mistakes.” Like what is that supposed to even mean? With all due respect, but this sounds like an argument a third grader would make. If you research just a bit, you would know that one of the many handmade things in Morocco are renowned for there quality, such as “Zellige Tiles” and many, many more.
When I stumbled on the article, I expected someone making points with references to more than a one person’s perspective, considering the economic state most Moroccans are at (This is mainly talking about Point 3 since Chinese Rip-offs always go to the less wealthier countries). Regardless, the irony reaches it’s peak when you say at the end, “whatever may be the cause, it is incredibly sad that Islamic values are barely visible in an Islamic society.” Do you not see it? If not, I will walk you through it. You claim that it is incredibly sad that the Moroccan Society is lacking Islamic values, when Morocco was and is the Islam hub for many and many centuries; with many scientist, philosophers, mathematicians, physicist, and most importantly Islamic scholars and warriors come from Morocco after Islam spread throughout the country. It is you who are not following what you are preaching. Talking of hate and despise, things that are against our core Islamic beliefs, even though you made the most blanket, and most narrow sighted arguments about Morocco. And from these things alone, it is very probable that you went to Morocco with negative thoughts and not an open mind, and that you have what would be classified in math as 0 knowledge about Morocco, its tradition, and its people.
The article is not wrong at all, but as a foreigner who has lived in Morocco for 7 years, I am very surprised no one talked about the way they treat the animals and just the overall lack of humanity and kindness in Moroccans. This is the number one reason why I hate this country and have been moving from city to city. I have never seen evil around me as much as in Morocco. Then there is of course all the shit done to me in these 7 years, like a random stranger beggar trying to kill me by pushing me down the mountain for not giving him money (I’m only alive because a Moroccan girl that spoke Amazigh stopped him and helped me), poisoning my dog, or kids cursing me and throwing stones at me because I told them to stop throwing stones on a stray dog. This said, I am married to a Moroccan who is nothing like this and also absolutely hates and despises Moroccans as well.
WHAT I HATE ABOUT MOROCCANS IS THEIR CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL APPROPRIATION.
they would do anything for tourists and they don’t only scam them when it comes to money but also in culture,
Morocco ( With or without westren sahara) is a small country that has no neighbors but Algeria ( not gonna count spain for Ceuta and Melilla), so during the 90s when Algeria went through the Dark decade moroccans used the chance to promote Algerian culture to tourists however now things changed they no longer mention the real origin they just steal everything and add the word Moroccan to it, they dress with Algerian atties like Karako of Algiers, Blouza of oran, Gandoura of Constantine, And even Algerian ottoman Caftan ( it’sregisteredin the UNESCOas well u can look for Caftan at UNESCO’Swebsite), with Algerian Jewelries like Khit Errih and so and just lie to tourists that it’s moroccan, same for food , Couscous is Numdian , Algerian Mhajeb , Some types of Tagine dishes , Algerian sweets , and even the tuareg people where they got white northern moroccans dressed like tuareg in westren sahara and lied to tourists about being tuareg while tuareg only exist in Lybia Algeria Mali niger and Chad. Same for music they tried to claim Rai music at the UNESCO and got refused because it’s Algerian , they claim Algerian andalousi of Granda music , and anything they hear if or see in Algeria or north Africa, at first we thought it was an online joke because they got thousands of fake pinterest, Tiktok, Twitter, and Facebook accounts where they claim Algerian traditions and photos however it was real in their real life too where they are doing festivals in and outside Morocco with this stolen culture. I hope more international tourism magazines and websites look for this issue so tourists dont get scammed there.
Just check average IQ of Moroccans and pan Arab countries, many things can be understood.
I believe IQ and many things can be worked on. But unfortunately, these countries are basically stopping themselves from working on themselves for essential improvement.
Thank you so much for your article, you were accurate about most of the points you mentioned. I’m not a Moroccan but it’s been like 10 years of living for me here in Morocco. I moved 10 years ago from Dubai to Morocco with my family and continued my 6 years higher education here. Yes, the country is so beautiful, but for me it was hell experience dealing with people at my university. I almost came home crying everyday. My colleagues treated me like an alien or smth weird although i was always nice and straightforward. They never approached me when they r together and I spotted them few times making fun of me behind my back. Not to mention how hateful they were when I used to get good grades and treat me like a nerd weirdo. Even some of my teachers treated me like a weirdo although i was always on time and studied hard. When I finished this 6 years of hell. I started applying for jobs. Same rude treatment and inconsideration of employers. Not to mention they want you to work with almost least to no salary for 9 hours a day with the worst treatment ever. Even companies where i wasn’t hired just passed a job interview, were very unprofessional and rude during the interview. I realized this is the system in Morocco. Nice, hard working and polite people have no place between normal people here because the lifestyle is tough and harsh. The education is too limited that students graduate from high schools with almost little to general knowledge and they r not taught to deal with foreigners and be sociable unless there is something to share in return. Yes i love Morocco as places and diverse country and there is so much to learn here. But i decided that it’s not my place to prosper and reach my goals.
Good article. Miserable people. No manners. No Islam. Totally uncivilized. Complete wierdos, aggressive and arrogant. The women are just as bad as the men. I tell people to avoid Morocco altogether.