Ethnographies and Islamic contexts: notes on the native’s points of view and postcolonial visions in Morocco

Abstract

This article presents some reflections on the ethnographic practice in contemporary Morocco. Based on my own fieldwork experiences, the paper analyzes some informant’s viewpoints about the task of anthropologists and other “observers” of their culture. Furthermore, I examine the discourse of local intellectuals about “Western” anthropological approaches to the study of Islam in Morocco. The text explores some of the assumptions, tensions and ambiguities behind the interplay between observers and observed.