Contact: Leah Barbour
Photo by: Russ Houston
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Morocco, the first nation to recognize the sovereignty of the United States in 1777, is beginning a new U.S. partnership with Mississippi State University.
On Tuesday [Jan. 20] Moroccan Ambassador Rachad Bouhlal visited MSU to promote the Bagley College of Engineering's international collaboration in automotive materials engineering with Universitie Internationale de Rabat in Morocco's capital city and share information about his country with students and faculty.
At Bouhlal's presentation, Fowlkes Auditorium in Colvard Student Union was filled to standing-room capacity with students, faculty and administrators, including MSU Provost and Executive Vice President Jerry Gilbert and International Institute Interim Executive Director Jon P. Rezek.
"We were proud to hear of the ambassador's recent selection as Ambassador of the Year by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce," Gilbert said. "Ambassador Bouhlal is a very outgoing, generous man who is very welcoming. He took his time to come to Mississippi State to talk about forming a stronger relationship between his country and our country."
As part of MSU's partnership with the university, MSU's International Institute will begin offering study abroad opportunities in Morocco during the summer, Rezek said.
Bouhlal emphasized religious freedoms and democracy are prized by Moroccans, and the nation, governed by constitutional monarchy, seeks equal protection of rights for all citizens.
"In Morocco, about 97 percent are Muslim, but we have around 7,000 Moroccan Jews living in Morocco, so religious freedom is really not an issue because they've always been together," he said. "All Moroccan citizens have rights, and we have judges who protect these religious freedoms."
Likewise, open political discourse and transparent elections are the standard in Morocco, Bouhlal said.
"We have never been a country of a single party; pluralism is always a fundamental part of Moroccan life," he explained.
Following the 2010 Arab Spring revolutionary movements in Arab nations worldwide, Moroccan leaders have implemented a strategy to fight radicalism, including educating young people, promoting religious tolerance and emphasizing equality, Bouhlal said.
"The National Initiative for Human Development is used to counter marginalization and exclusion of regions and peoples," he said. "We are doing outreach on social media and other online portals to train youth and counter the influence of radicalism.
"Muslims all over the world are held hostages in their own countries, but we're trying to offer a dream of unity and dignity in our country," he added.
Bouhlal's visit was sponsored by MSU's International Institute, online at http://international.msstate.edu/.
MSU, Mississippi's flagship research university, is online at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate, pinterest.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.