Casablanca
Casablanca is home to the Hassan II Mosque, designed by the French
architect Michel Pinseau. It is situated on a promontory looking out
to the Atlantic,
with room for 25,000 worshippers. A further 80,000 can be
accommodated in the mosque's courtyard. Its minaret is the world's
tallest at 210 meters.
Work on
the mosque was started in 1980, and was intended to be completed for
the 60th birthday of the former Moroccan king, Hassan II, in 1989.
However, the building was not inaugurated until 1993. Authorities
spent an estimated $800 million in the construction of the building.
The Hassan II Mosque is the only working
mosque in Morocco that can be visited by non-Muslims
Religion
Note: the root meaning of religion is re-align: bringing on one line,
re-connecting again,
not to separate!
Warning do not read this if you don’t want any
change!
Excluding
tendency
In my report about the situation of women in Morocco
I highlighted already the
tendency of some Moroccan men to keep married women all for themselves by
keeping them at home or completely covered in clothes.
I see the same excluding tendency also in their religion with the mosques. I have visited many
countries, also Muslim countries, and I have always very much valued and enjoyed
to visit their sacred and holy places : their temples and mosques.
Before Morocco I went to Malaysia, also a predominant Muslim country like
Morocco, but what a huge difference again. I have been allowed to visit almost every
mosque and Buddhist, Chinese and Hindu temple. I love being in such a sacred place,
taking time to just be, or meditate or pray. I love also listening to the Koran
being recited (beautiful and inspiring) or monks who are chanting mantras.
For me these sacred places are oases in the 'crazy' world we live in. In the larger mosques in
Malaysia, like in the capital Kula Lumpur, I was friendly received and was even
allowed to take pictures everywhere, also during the actual prayer. These Muslims
have given me also some little booklets about the Muslim religion. I have read
them all, because I am very interested in all the religions, as you can see on
my
spiritual journeys website. This is the way to
spread (more understanding of) your religion!
A shocking
experience again
But again as with the people before, a shocking experience in Morocco. Nowhere
could I visit a mosque. And only in Casablanca I could visit the Hassan II
mosque. But this is presented much more as a tourist attraction then as a holy
place for worship. I had to pay 12 euro, wait in a long queue with other
tourists and had to go with a tourist group and guide all the time. And only at a
certain time a visit is allowed. So for me this has been just a tourist
attraction. Not like visiting a place of worship.
In other countries in the mosques and temples there are donation boxes, so if
you want you can donate, but only for tourist attractions will you have to pay
the way they did here.
God excludes no one
Wayne Dyer is for me one of the most important and influential spiritual
teachers of
this time. His many books sell in hundreds of millions. Wayne writes this
about the excluding tendency:
When an organization includes some, yet excludes others,
they’re announcing that they’re not actually preaching or teaching truth.
Since God excludes no
one,
any religious organization that does, isn’t affiliated with Him
(Wayne Dyer: Your Ultimate calling pg 280)
An inbuilt
spiritual compass
I have an inbuilt compass, who guides me everywhere precisely, if there is any
sacred or holy place or any spiritual energy. Even if, like in a huge city like
Bangkok, some monks are reciting mantras, I will be immediately drawn to it.
It guided me in Morocco to an amazing beautiful man, who was completely immersed
in his love for Allah and another fine man, who is a practicing Sufi.
That has been all.!
In other countries I have found
so
many sacred places thousands of them!
So it looks like Wayne Dyer could be right.
I hope that this may inspire you to see the exclusion of women from their basic
human rights and exclusion of non Muslim people from mosques in a new light. The two
religious men I met before completely agreed with this vision.
It is as the sun will say: I will shine only on these people and not on others.
These two men also reinforced the fact that religion is often misused as a means
for power over others.
Male and female
symbolism
For anyone who knows something about male and female symbolism it is easy to see
that most mosques in Morocco have predominant male forms,
while the mosques in Malaysia are mostly a harmonious and beautiful blend of
male and female forms
And when male and female energy are working harmoniously together (the Shiva-Shakti
principle in the Hindu mythology)
everything is blossoming. You can literally see this also on these pictures.
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