Marhaban : a visual case study of everyday life of in Muslim Morocco

Abstract

Contemporary media often vilifies Muslims. Islam has been equated with terrorism in the dominant Western narrative, both in the news and in representation of Muslims in film. This thesis aims to combat these dominant narratives with a documentary that brings everyday life back into the discussion of Muslim society. I interviewed and filmed Hanane Ouzzani and her son Muhammed in Meknes, Morocco for four months, taking a participant-observation approach to understanding their culture and the way Islam weaves into their lives.