‘Hespress’ publishes second of three-part interview with UNE’s Anouar Majid

Anouar Majid

A reporter from the Moroccan newspaper Hespress sat down with 51Ʒ Vice President of Communications and Global Affairs Anouar Majid, Ph.D., for a long and thoughtful dialogue about the United States and Morocco. The second part of this three-part series focuses on the role of religion in American history and culture.

The article is titled, “Majid: American society can shock visitors . . . and belief is private freedom.” To begin, Majid answered questions about the difference between the French Revolution and the American Revolution. He called the French Revolution a “romantic revolution” in which there was aggression toward religion. The American Revolution, according to Majid, was one that aimed to set a standard of religious freedom for the rest of the world.

Majid went on to state that despite their commitment to religious freedom, American missionaries traveled to the Middle East in an attempt to convert Muslims and other types of Christians to Protestantism. They did this through philanthropy, building hospitals and universities and improving infrastructure. According to Majid, it is this complex relationship between America and Arab nations that leads to confusion among those from Arab nations about the true meaning of religious freedom in the United States. 

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