Unveiling Controversy: Photo of Bareheaded Teacher in Moroccan Religious School Sparks Online Debate
The publication of a photo showing a teacher without a veil in a religious school is causing a stir among some Moroccan Internet users.
In this image posted on social media on Monday, Moroccan Internet users claim that the architecture professor at the university is sitting on a Minbar - the pulpit from which the sermon (khutbah) is delivered - without wearing a veil. Shocked, they accuse the teacher of not respecting the sacred character of the religious establishment. But what they saw is far from the reality.
In a statement to Morocco World News, a source assures that the photo did not represent a mosque, but rather Zawiya Sidi Abdelkader Fassi Fihri, a religious school whose architecture is very similar to that of a mosque. The same source will specify that the chair shown in the photo is not a Minbar, but a simple raised chair and will also add that the teacher had asked if she should enter the premises with a veil and was told that it was not necessary.
The presence of the teacher at Zawiya Sidi Abdelkader Fassi Fihri is part of a three-day event organized by the NGO Fès Mémoire, intended for architecture students to visit the rich architectural heritage of the city.
