Moroccan Americans

Moroccan Americans
Total population
	119,461; (2016 American Community Survey)[1]
Regions with significant populations
	New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Florida (Jacksonville), Texas, Los Angeles
Languages
	Moroccan Arabic; Berber; American English; French; Spanish;
Religion
	Islam (Sunni), Judaism, Christianity

Moroccan Americans are Americans of Moroccan ancestry, as well as people who have dual Moroccan and United States citizenship.

Flag of the United States

Flag of Morocco

History of immigration

Moroccan presence in the United States was rare until the mid-twentieth century. The first North African who came to the current United States was probably Estebanico Al Azemmouri (also called Estevanico), a Muslim Moroccan of Gnawa descent , who participated in Pánfilo de Narváez's ill-fated expedition to colonize Florida and the Gulf Coast in 1527. Only Azemmouri and three of his comrades survived during the eleven year, 5,000 mile journey from Florida to Texas.[2] In 1534, they crossed the southern from United States until Arizona, being also, more later, one of four men who accompanied Marcos de Niza as a guide in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, preceding Coronado.[3] He was the first explorer who entered an Indian village.[2]

The first American Jew to serve in the Senate was David Levy Yulee, who was Florida's first Senator, serving 1845–1851 and again 1855–1861.

It is also possible that some South American descendants of Sephardic Jews from Morocco emigrated to the U.S. in the early twentieth century, after the decline of the rubber industry in South America in 1910, to which their families had been dedicated for generations. After World War II, some groups of Sephardic Jews from Morocco emigrated to the United States, fleeing poverty in North Africa. Most of them settled in previously established Sephardic Jewish communities from Spain, Turkey, or the Balkans.[4] After Moroccan independence in 1956, many of their best young researchers left to study at American universities, joining scientific faculties.[5] Arab Moroccans, however, did not arrive to the United States in significant numbers until the late 1970s.

During the 1980s and 1990s, many Moroccans entered the United States to attend colleges, universities, graduate schools, and medical schools.[4] Some Moroccans emigrated to United States seeking work, opening small retail stores and restaurants.[5]

David Levy Yulee, US Senator of Moroccan descent

The 1990 U.S. census counted only 21,529 foreign-born Moroccans residing in the United States; 15,004 respondents to the census listed Moroccan as their first ancestry, while 4,074 listed it as their second ancestry. In 1990 there were about 15,000 Moroccan Americans, with most of them being in New York City.[6]

In the late 1990s, Morocco experienced problems typical of developing nations: high government spending and inflation, a huge external debt, limited access to health care, poor housing and living conditions, and high unemployment. Morocco experienced an unemployment rate of 16 to 20 percent. Moroccan citizens began migrating during this period to relieve the high unemployment rate. Most migrants attempted to enter France, Italy, and Spain. But by the end of the 1990s, the European Union began limiting visas for North Africans and barring illegal migrants from entering Europe. Moroccans with higher levels of job skills were able to consider emigration to the United States. To escape their country's high unemployment rate, Moroccans who immigrated to the United States typically had more education and better job skills.

As of the 2000 U.S. Census 38,923 Americans stated they were of Moroccan descent. About half of Moroccan immigrants arrived during or after 2000, a higher proportion than is found among U.S. immigrants overall, and the majority are U.S. citizens.[7] As of 2009, 27,000 Moroccans (about 70% of the entire Moroccan American community) had immigrated between 1992 and 2002, with most of the Moroccan Americans living in large urban areas.[6] By 2015, there were approximately 84,000 Moroccan immigrants and their children (first and second generations) living in the United States.These numbers, however, are very approximate: surveys and censuses regularly leave out representatives of ethnic and/religious minorities who, for various reasons, prefer not to be identified with the country of their origin.[8]

By state, most Moroccan immigrants reside in New York, Florida, and Massachusetts. Each of these states have between 5,000 and 10,000 Moroccan immigrant residents. The New York City metro area has the largest population of Moroccan immigrants, with approximately 11,000. Other metro areas with large Moroccan immigrant populations are Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Tampa.[7]

Religion

The vast majority of Moroccan Americans practice Islam. Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims of the Malaki madh'hab. Morocco has historically allowed women a degree of freedom relatively high in the Islamic world.[9]

Moroccans in New York City established the Islamic Mission of America for the Propagation of Islam and Defense of the Faith and the Faithful, the second mosque in New York.[6]

A large minority of Moroccans identify with Judaism, specifically Sephardic Judaism.[4]

Traditional Clothing

The traditional headgear for Moroccan men is the fez, a close-fitting red felt hat with a flattened top and a tassel. The fez is common throughout the Islamic world but it is thought to have originated from Morocco. It is also referred to as tarbush, checheya and phecy.[10]

In earlier years, Moroccan women wore traditional clothing and in some cities, women covered their faces in public, in similar fashion to other Muslim countries. However, in the fifties, this custom started gradually disappearing in urban parts of the country.[10]

Family Dynamics

Family dynamics originates from a patriarchal culture, with the husband accorded power and the wife relegated to a subordinate status. Families tend to be large because of religious attitudes towards birth control. Among Moroccan American families, many women work outside the home and balance their career with family obligations. Though women tend to enter traditionally "feminine" professions, such as teaching, increasing numbers are training in more competitive fields, such as computer science or business.[4]

Media of Moroccan Americans

Tingis is a Moroccan American magazine which highlights cultural concerns, ideas, and issues of Moroccan Americans. It works against prejudice and cultural divisions, building and expanding bridges between the U.S. and Morocco.[11]

Organizations

There are some important organizations created mainly by Moroccans (and Algerians) Americans in Chicago, whose function is to help newly arrived immigrants to the United States. These arose in the 1990s. Of these organizations must be emphasized the Assembly of the Maghreb. This assembly has tried to help new immigrants from North Africa to adapt to American life and maintain, in turn, the principles of Sunni Islam. Because most North African immigrants in Chicago have not been associated closely with the Muslim Middle East, the North Africans come together as a common community. Often, in relation to the area of the mosque, the organization has taught job skills, English language, the importance of Sirat al-Mustaqim and moderation, among other things. Have been trained women to balance paid work with traditional household chores.[12] Religious activities, such as collective prayer and the feasts of Ramadan, have been important in unifying Moroccans and other North African Muslim groups in Chicago.[5]

Other Moroccan American associations are: the Moroccan American Community Organization (that establishes respect and knowledge of Moroccan culture),[13] The Moroccan American House Association,[14] Association of Moroccan Professionals in America (AMPA),[15] Moroccan American Association of Northern California (MAANC, a non-profit organization that helps families of Moroccan origin living in Southern California in the areas economical, psychological and cultural adjustment, improving the quality of services to Moroccan immigrants, fast integration, and establish educational and cultural programs to try to keep the Moroccan culture in the community),[16] Washington Moroccan Association (WAMA, localized in Seattle - Tacoma Metropolitan are establishing ties between Morocco and the United States, increased understanding of Moroccan culture and history of the community, charitable, educational and civic organizations on behalf of their members and build relationships with other organizations with similar functions, in the Arab community of Washington state)[17] and Moroccan Society of Houston (Moroccan USA association NGO- its main goal is coordina social, cultural, and sport activities to maintain and strengthen the community's cultural heritage, and to "enhance mutual understanding" with other communities. In addition, they have a scholarship fund to help students with their college education expenses).[18]

Notable people

Moncef Slaoui, American researcher and former head of GlaxoSmithKline's vaccines department.

Alain J. P. Belda, Moroccan-born American businessman

David Levy Yulee, The first American Jews to serve in the Senate was David Levy Yulee, who was Florida's first Senator, serving 1845–1851 and again 1855–1861.

French Montana American rapper

Moncef Slaoui, American researcher and former head of GlaxoSmithKline's vaccines department.
Alain J. P. Belda, American businessman that has been a Managing Director of Warburg Pincus since 2009. Previously he was the Chairman of the Board of Alcoa from January 2001; he was Chief Executive Officer from January 2001 until May 2008
Paul Marciano, American fashion designer, businessman, investor, and philanthropist, he is the co-founder of Guess Inc
Sanaa Hamri, Moroccan-American film, television, and music video director
Touriya Haoud, Dutch/American model
Kenza Tazi, Moroccan alpine skier
Marc Lasry, American of Moroccan descent and hedge fund manager of Avenue Capital Group
Sonia Gardner, American of Moroccan descent and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group
Driss R. Temsamani, Moroccan American author, community organizer, and Head of Marketing & Strategic Planning for Citigroup Latin America and the Caribbean
Modar Alaoui, Moroccan-American serial entrepreneur He is mostly known for his work in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision-based face analytics and emotion recognition technologies. Alaoui is the founder and CEO of Eyeris Technologies, Inc.
Shiri Appleby, American actress and director of Moroccan Jewish descent on her mother's side
Joseph Chetrit, American of Moroccan descent and real estate investor and developer
Moses Bensusan, Canadian-American real estate developer, he is the CEO of Liberty Grande, LLC a real estate development company and CEO/President of Logictech Construction Group
RedOne, American Moroccan music producer
Hassan Hakmoun, American Moroccan Gnawa master musician
David Levy Yulee, American politician of Moroccan Sephardi descent
French Montana, Moroccan-American rapper born in Morocco
Richard Wolffe is a British-American journalist, MSNBC commentator, and author
Dounia, Moroccan-American singer, songwriter, Instagram model, and activist
Frank Mir, MMA fighter, former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Born to a Cuban-born father of Moroccan heritage.
Layla El, English American dancer, model, and WWE professional wrestler Layla winner of WWE Divas Championship

References

Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). "American FactFinder - Results". Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
Se confirma la presencia de musulmanes hispanos en la América precolombina (in Spanish: It confirms the presence of Hispanic Muslims in pre-Columbian America)
Martínez Laínez, Fernando; Canales, Carlos (2009). Banderas Lejanas: la Exploración, Conquista y Defensa por España del Territorio de los Actuales Estados Unidos (In Spanish: Far Flags: Exploration, conquest and Defence by Spain of the Territory of the United States Current). EDAF. ISBN 978-84-414-2119-6
Evertculture:Morocco American. Posted by Elizabeth Shostak
Encyclopedia of Chicago: Moroccans. Wrote by Stephen R. Porter.
Powell, John. Encyclopedia of North American Immigration (Facts on File library of American history). Infobase Publishing. January 1, 2009. ISBN 143811012X, 9781438110127. p. 195.
https://www.migrationpolicy.org › sites › files › publications › RAD-Morocco
S. Gintsburg (2016). Moroccan Immigrants in the United States of America: History, Languages and Identities. In Identidad y conciencia lingüistica: VI Congreso de Árabe Marroquí, pp. 195 - 214
"Walking and Trekking Holidays, Adventure Travel with EWP". EWP Mountain Trekking and Safaris. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
"Male Headwear". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
Tingis Magazine Archived 2012-01-11 at the Wayback Machine
Stephen R. Porter (December 26, 2005). "Algerians". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
"MACO". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
"maha-site". maha-site. Archived from the original on 2 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
"Association of Moroccan Professionals in America @ AMPA". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
"Moroccan American Association of Northern California (MAANC)". Eventbrite. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
Washington Moroccan Association Archived 2013-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
"Moroccan Society of Houston". Retrieved 13 August 2015.

North Africans in the United States
North Africa	Algerian Egyptian Sudanese Americans Canarian in Louisiana Libyan Moroccan Tunisian
North African ethnic groups in United States	Berber Coptic

Berber diaspora
Berber homeland	Algeria Canary Islands Libya Mali Morocco Niger Tunisia
Diaspora elsewhere in Africa	Burkina Faso Egypt Mauritania Western Sahara
Europe	France Paris Belgium Netherlands
North America and Oceania	Canada New Caledonia United States

Arab Americans by state of origin
Africa	Algerian Egyptian Libyan Mauritanian Moroccan Somali Sudanese Tunisian
Asia	Emirati Iraqi Jordanian Kuwaiti Lebanese Palestinian Saudi Syrian Jews Yemeni
By location	Detroit
Based on state membership in the Arab League.