βNew York Timesβ publishes op-ed coauthored by 911±¬ΑΟΝψΊμΑμ½νβs Anouar Majid

Anouar Majid, Ph.D., vice president for Global Affairs and director of the Center for Global Humanities, coauthored an op-ed, titled βThe Moroccan Exception in the Arab World,β that was published in the New York Times on April 9.
Along with coauthor YaΓ«lle Azagury, Majid enlightens readers not only about the βrich history of Jewish-Muslim cohabitationβ in the country of Morocco but also about the relatively recent efforts of Moroccoβs leader, King Mohammed VI, to recognize and celebrate the countryβs Jewish heritage.
The authors point to language in Moroccoβs 2011 Constitution that acknowledges that the countryβs βidentity has been βnourished and enrichedβ in part by βHebraicβ components,β and they highlight the kingβs rehabilitation project, which has resulted in the restoration of more than 160 Jewish cemeteries, Jewish schools, and original Jewish neighborhood names. In fact, under Mohammed VI, the authors report, many synagogues have been reopened, some as museums; and Holocaust studies have become a mandated component of the high school curriculum in Morocco.
Majid and Azagury acknowledge that with only about 2,500 Jews left in the kingdom (compared with approximately 240,000 in the 1940s), the kingβs efforts will not result in a large number of Moroccan Jews flocking back to their homeland. They do, however, view Mohammed VIβs attempts at restoration to be reflective of βthe kingdomβs embrace of Jewish heritage β¦ [as] a strong reminder of the Jewsβ rightful place in Moroccoβs history.β
The authors argue that while the βglobal media β¦ and the spread of Islamic fundamentalism on the internetβ has created a young generation of people in Morocco who are largely unaware of their countryβs Jewish heritage, βMoroccoβs gestures of openness help remind its citizens, and the world, that the countryβs Jewish history matters and is worth honoring.β