Pocket guide to North Africa

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'OCKET GUIDE TO

NORTH
AFRICA

A POCKET GUIDE TO

NORTH
AFRICA

WAR AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS
WAS HINGTON, D. C.

POCKET GUIDE TO NORTH AFRICA

CONTENTS

introduction i

Three Years of Struggle i

Springboard to Europe 5

We Were There Before 4

People of North Africa 5

The Bond of Islam 6

Political Divisions 7

Country of Contrasts 9

Town and Country

Dining With Moslems

Customs at Mealtime

Details of Native Dress

Shops and Markets

North African Social Life

Warning the Women

Study the Language

The Faith of Islam

Land of Living Saints

Rules for Health

Some General Rules

Check List of Do's and Don'ts 39

Other Arabic Phrases 43

INTRODUCTION

YOU are to do duty in North Africa as a soldier of the
United States, and this guidebook has been prepared to
assist you in serving in a strange country as well as to
give you a more complete understanding of why you arc
fighting there and to make your service a more worth-
while personal experience.

No other American force has been given a more im-
portant mission. After the close of the First World War,
one of the great strategists of Europe predicted that the

1

t great war would be won in North Africa. He fore-
' such a rise in air power as would make the Mediter-
ean Sea virtually a defile for all shipping. If their ene-
:s were to come into complete possession of the Medi-
ores, an almost insupportable strain would be
put upon the nations dependent on sea power. On the
other hand, if the North African coast could be held by
the sea-power nations — Great Britain and the United
States — its air and sea bases would become the spring-
board to the reconquest of Europe and the final defeat of
the forces dominating that

THREE YEARS OF STRUGGLE

FOR more than three years, events have sustained this
prophecy, and the armed forces of the United Nations
and of the Axis have been locked in a tremendous strug-
gle for North Africa. One campaign has followed an-
other across its desert spaces. None was finally successful.
For a time it seemed as if the whole of the Mediterranean
and the land which surrounded it would be lost to our
side. Fighting against tremendous odds and handicapped
by shortages of air power and the necessity for deploy-
ing their war vessels over most of the waters of the globe,
the British had to cease convoying through the Mediter-

ranean except in cases of extreme emergency. Our supply
had to make the J3,ooo-mi!e journey around the Cape of
Good Hope to sustain the Allied forces in the Middle East
and Egypt.

But while the Mediterranean lifeline wiis strained al-
most to the snapping point in those difficult years, it never
broke. At the eastern end the British rallied around the
defense of Alexandria and the Suez. At the western end
of the sea the great fortress of Gibraltar held. In the cen-
ter, menacing the German-Italian supply line lo Africa,
the island of Malta maintained one of the most heroic
stands of the war supported by convoy moving in at
times fronr either end of the Mediti

SPRINGBOARD TO EUROPE

SLENDER though they seemed, Allied hopes for a suc-
cessful turning of the war were fixed on these three points.
Time is proving that this was the decisive calculation.
The strong links in our vital supply line are again being
pulled together by Allied weapons and manpower. Our
armed forces are bringing North Africa under control, and
from this base they will make the entry into Europe which
will become the death wound of the Nazi and Fascist
dictators and of their forces.

^ou are a part of this great enterprise. How well you

3

fight and work and how properly you conduct yourself in
North Africa will mean much in furthering the cause of
your country and her Allies.

WE WERE THERE BEFORE

IT is not strange ground for an American fighting man.
More than too years ago, in the early days of the Repuhlic,
Americans fought over this same soil for their country's
honor and on behalf of the principle of freedom of the
seas. "To the shores of Tripoli" is a refrain sung proudly
by American Marines. The American flag flew above the
fortress of Derna in Libya in 1805, put there by an Ameri-
can soldier who campaigned through the desert to win
respect for the United States. One of the first of our for-
eign wars resulted from the attempt by rulers of the Bar-
bary States to hijack our ships when we were a weak
nation. Even in that early day, the defense of the United
States meant defending the right of our commerce to
move freely through the most distant waters.

Now we have returned in strength to fight a much
mightier enemy, but we are defending the same prin-
ciples. So long as we maintain them, men will be free
and humanity will have the chance for a decent exist-
ence. The North African shore is as desolate and the

I

interior is as uninviting now as when the fighting men
under Preble and Decatur attacked Tripoli and William
Eaton's scratch army of Americans and natives marched
into Cyrenaica, But hardship did not stop Americans
then and it will not stop them now.

Instruction in how to cope with the natural difficulties
of your position, including how to maintain yourself in
desert country and how to deal with your enemies, is
primarily the responsibility of your commanders. The
purpose of this book is to keep you from making mis-
takes in your dealings with the people of North Africa so
that the United States will have their friendship and its
armed forces will have their cooperation,

PEOPLE OF NORTH AFRICA

OF the 17 million people living in North Africa, about one-
tenth are Europeans and their customs and traditions in
the majority are those of the French and Italians of con-
tinental Europe. Your chief concern is with the nine-tenths
whose ancestors have lived along this coast for centuries,
and whose life it still regulated by ancient traditions and
beliefs. For the most part, they are a fair-skinned people
though some have the swarthiness which is commonly as-
sociated with a near-tropical climate. They are fully
clothed— in fact, better clad than we are, if garments arc

measured by the yard. They worship the same God as the
Christians and the Jews, and speak with reverence of
Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Except for their religious
leaders, most of them cannot read or write. Their opinions
arc formed on what they see and hear. Their experience
has been that the European soldiers, officials, and colonists
have often been domineering and unprincipled, and their
natural inclination is to regard any invading force witli
suspicion until its good intentions are proved beyond a
reasonable doubt.

The North Africans have no tanks or airplanes, and few
machine guns. But they are producers of food, and they
can either supply us water or poison the wells, guide us
through mountains and desert or lead us astray. They can
tell us what the Germans and Italians are doing if they
like us or they can tell the Germans and Italians what we
are doing if they dislike us. Winning their friendship is
therefore an important step in the winning of the war.

THE BOND OF ISLAM

AS you move through North Africa you will be struck
by the great variety of its peoples. You will hear a dozen
tongues spoken in the course of an afternoon stroll or see
as many different tribal costumes during a visit to one
market place. Consequently, it is not possible to make

many generalizations about the population. The one bond
which touches nearly all, however, is the religion founded
by Mohammed. The people do not worship Mohammed
as Christians worship Christ; they think of him as a
prophet, like those of the Old Testament. The religion
is called Islam (i-SLAM, meaning "submission to God")
and the believers are called Moslems. Their Bible is
the Koran.

Twelve centuries ago Moslems from Arabia swept over
North Africa and fixed their religion on the inhabitants.
While not all of the people absorbed the new beliefs in
their entirety and clung to remnants of their old religion,
Islam became the principal unifying force in North Africa.
The Moslems swept on to conquer most of Spain, their
great Empire reaching its zenith in the Middle Ages and
beginning its swift decline just before the discovery of
America, The present day North Africans have not for-
gotten their period of glory and they are as proud of their
history as any democratic people.

POLITICAL OIVISIONS

THERE are four political divisions to North Africa, from
west to cast — Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. The
Moroccan port of Casablanca is almost 2,000 miles in a

7

direct line from the western border of Egypt which means
that our forces are bringing under control a shore line as
extended as our own Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast com-
bined. But away from the coast there is litde population
or activity, and it is more than i,ooo miles from the Medi-
terranean to that part of the African interior where dwell
the negro tribes.

The French have controlled Algeria for more than a
hundred years, Tunisia for 60 years, and Morocco for
the last 30 years. Spain administers a part of northern
Morocco and the far southern pan. Libya was an Italian
possession when the war began. None of these conquests
was easily made and although European exploitation has
been in process for more than a century, there have been
intermittent wars and resistant elements among the native
populations in all of the North African states right up to
the present time.

Many of the tribesmen are now first-class guerilla fight-
ers, as ready to fight for their families or villages as for
their tribe. Confronted by a common danger, the tribes
might even join forces, or rally to a call to fight for Islam.
But the alliance would probably dissolve as quickly as the
fight was over, since there is no national unifying force
among the tribes. This fact has been of main a
penetration by European powers.

COUNTRY OF CONTRASTS

NORTH AFRICA is a country of pronounced g
and climatic contrasts. Along the coast the land is almost
as pleasant as Southern California, with hoc, dry summers
and consistendy heavy rains in winter. The forested moun-
tains of Morocco and Algeria have a heavy winter snow-
fall, and excellent skiing grounds. Temperatures in the
higher altitudes of all the coasllands fall below freezing on
winter nights. South of the mountains and plateaus the
true desert begins.

It is not a continuous sea of sand such as is pictured in
Hollywood movies about the French Foreign Legion.
Some parts of Sahara are great stretches of these pictur-
esque dunes, but others are rim rock and gravel, and one
may travel for days and see scarcely any sand. In places
the horizon is perfecriy flat while elsewhere the skyline
may be broken by jagged hills or tablelands not unlike
the mesas of New Mexico and Arizona.

Most of the desert is too barren of vegetation to support
catde grazing, though camels and goats may subsist upon
it. Rain falls but rarely, though then in such large doses
that bivouac commanders should take care not to make
camp in a ravine or in the bottom of a desert valley. After
sunset the desert cools off rapidly. The warmth of the

winter sunshine is usually tempered by a steady wind, and
the winter nights — especially in the highlands o£ the cen-
tral Sahara or on the Libyan Plateau — are bitterly cold.

TOWN AND COUNTRY

NORTH AFRICA has but a few important cities— Tan-
gier, Casablanca, Fez, and Marrakech in Morocco, Algiers,
Oran, and Constantine in Algeria, Tunis in Tunisia, and
Tripoli and Bengazi in Libya, the largest of which are
about the size of Birmingham or Dallas. As most of the
houses are crowded closely together along narrow streets,
the towns cover less ground than American communities
with a comparable population. The new European set-

tlements, however, are usually built separate from the old
Moslem sections and are more cleanly and spacious.

The coastal plains and the valleys are the farming
sections. In northern Morocco and Algeria, you will see
vast expanses of well-farmed country, mainly grain fields
and vineyards belonging to the French. The Moslems farm
on a more modest scale; their fields are small and irregular
and their implements crude. Because of the uncertainty
of rainfall, most of them specialize in fruit trees which
can withstand drought. They raise large quantities of figs
and olives, extracting the olive oil by hand pro
drying the figs for export.

A more highly specialized type of farming has devel-
oped around the oases of the Sahara. These desert com-
munities were founded in the Middle Ages when caravans
were crossing the wastes bringing slaves, ivory, and other
treasure from the interior. The North African coastlands
were then wracked by incessant tribal wars and refugees
by the thousand moved south into the desert. They took
possession of small spring-fed water holes, dug wells, and
installed irrigation systems. In these surroundings the
date palm flourished as nowhere else. When the slave trade
was suppressed and the commerce of tropical Africa was
diverted away from the Saharan routes to America and
European markets, the oases suflered a depression from
which they have never recovered. Those in the north sur-
vive pretty well, however, on their export of dates.

In the Sahara the nomadic peoples depend on camels for
transportation and as a source of milk. Though ill-
tempered and subject to various sores and diseases, the
camel is pretty nearly indispensable, for it can travel up
to five days without water or pasturage and is a stout
freight carrier. The nomads value their camels and horses
above all other possessions. Raising camels, stealing camels
and riding camels into a fight are regarded as the most
honorable of employments. Many camel riders of the
Sahara arc professional bandits. It is a natural r

12

to their surroundings. The country offers them very little
other chance for success. They believe that property belongs
to the strongest claimer and they like the fighting life.

DINING WITH MOSLEMS

AS to food, if a Moslem asks you to dinner, you will
probably be served barbecued sheep, mutton stew, chicken
or squab. That will be a sign that you are rated an honored
guest, for most Moslems eat very little meat. Animals are
almost too precious to kill, and meat is hard to preserve
because of the lack of refrigeration.

The mainstay of most Moslems is grain, made into
either bread or mush. Also the Moslems make the grain
into a fluffy dish called kuskus (KOOS-koos) or seksu
(SEK-soo), which is tasty when seasoned with pepper or
cinnamon. Kuskus is to be eaten neatly with the fingers
of the right hand, though it is advisable not to drink
much liquid after eating it as the grain is only partly
cooked and bloating will result.

North Africans are great eaters of bread. If you enter a
bakery, leave your shoes at che door, as the baker slides
the loaves out of che oven onto the floor and the customers
object to having dirt tracked in from the street.

Fruits come second on the list of staple foods. Figs,
dates, grapes, and apricots are probably the most common

13

and are eacen fresh in season or dried for use during the
rest of the year. As with all fruits, dates should be skinned
before eating. This can be done by clipping off one end of
the date and squeezing it out of its skin. If the dales have
begun to dry, you had better boil them in water for a
few minutes and then let them cool.

Vegetables are plentiful, especially onions, tomatoes,
turnips, okra, jjeppcrs, and string beans. Dried lentils
which look like split peas are used for soup.

Among the Moslem nomads goat's milk is an important
food. Most of it is curdled, or made into butter and cheese.
You may not like the taste of sour milk, but it is refresh-
ing on a hot day. Fresh milk should always be boiled be-
fore drinking.

Thick coffee served in small cups is drunk in the large
towns where Turkish customs prevail though in most of
North Africa the favorite beverage is green tea. It is served
sweet, and flavored with mint. If offered either drink by
a native host, you should not refuse it or throw away any
part of it. The polite thing is to accept three cups if they
are offered, but under no circumstances to accept a fourth.
To drink less than three is considered as ill-bred as to take
more than that.

Though their religion forbids the use of intoxicants,
some Moslems take a drink on occasion. A liquor called

14

legbi or lebqi (LEG-bee or LEB-kee) is made from the
fermented sap of the date palm; grape wines arc also
common to the region. Most Moslems smoke tobacco,
though it is prohibited by some of the religious brother-
hoods and outsiders are advised not to smoke in the pres-
ence of sacred things such as a mosque, the tomb of a saint,
or a religious book. American cigarettes arc much appre-
ciated by both men and women.

You will also see.Moslems smoking an herb which they
call keef. It is a variety of Indian hemp, the powdered
leaf of which is known in our country as marihuana. It
makes the smoker careless and talkative, is habit-forming.

and produces rapid moral deterioratioa in the smoker.

Moslem authorities condemn it. French law prohibits it,
but there is a large bootleg traffic in keef.

In general, it is dangerous for a soldier in North Africa
to eat or drink anything offered him by a stranger on the
street, or to go to cafes or resorts of any kind with a
Moslem who has not been properly vouched for.

CUSTOMS AT MEALTIME

BUT if a reputable Moslem is entertaining you in his
home, you should eat and drink a litde of everything that
is offered. This may require some hardihood, especially if
you suspect (hat any of the food handlers may be diseased.
But it would not be possible to explain your fears to your
host without insulting him; to refuse what he offers is to
make him suspect that you fear being poisoned.

When invited to a meal, you should sit on the floor
with the rest. After grace (Bismillah) is said, you wait
for the host to dip into the food before making your
move. Eat only with the right hand; Moslems never use
the left in partaking of food because that hand is used
exclusively in attending to a call of nature. These other
simple rules will enable you to play well your part as
guest at a Moslem meai.

Eat with your lingers and out of the same bowl.

16

Do not cut native bread with a knife, but tear it with
your fingers.

Observe the other guests, and try to follow their

example.

DETAILS OF NATIVE DRESS

THE study of costumes and of native dress is one key to
an understanding of the people. While the Moslems of
Morocco and Libya do not as a rule wear western dress,
many in Algeria and Tunisia do so, adding a red fez' to
their attire to indicate that they are not Christians. Away
from the towns, one rarely sees European dress and it is
usually easy to guess from a man's costume the part of
North Africa or the tribe to which he belongs.

The camel riders of the southern Sahara, Tauregs, wear
a dress of indigo blue with a turban which is wound
around the lower half of the face to shield the mouth and
nostrils from blowing sand and the desert wind. The men
of the Taureg tribe wear a face veil as a matter of modesty
and custom. In the mountains of Morocco and Algeria
the commonest garment for the men is the jellaba
(jel-LAB-a) which is a coat of coarse wool with a pointed
hood dropped over one shoulder. A man can carry several ■
day's rations in this hood and the color blends perfectly
with the landscape.

17

Among the Libyan nomads the typical apparel is th'e
"gerd," a rectangular woolen cloak about 12 feet long by
5 feet wide which is tied over the left shoulder and
wrapped around the body. In winter it protects the wearer
from the cold, and at night can be used as a blanket. It can
be drawn across the face to shut out sand or strong sun-
light, and its folds can easily conceal a knife or a gun. In
Libya wealthy men wear a gerd like that of the nomads
but made of fine white silk instead of wool.

When seen in public, a Moslem wotnan is usually
covered from head to foot in a plain white wrapper, with
a white veil stretched across her face just beneath the
eyes. But under this unattractive costume, the women
wear garments of very bright colors which are revealed
only in the privacy of their homes, the idea being that a
Moslem woman is not supposed to look attractive in
public. The veil likewise is a sign of respectability, dis-
tinguishing ladies from scrub women. In the country
districts, where women do the heavy labor of the farm
and household, they seldom cover their faces. Oddly
enough, however, when a girl from the red-light district
walks abroad, she is mufBed to the eyes in white wrapper
and veil. These few rules are to be stricdy observed with
idation to the Moslem women:

Never stare at one.

Never jostle her in a crowd.

Never speak to her in public.

Never try to remove the veil.

This is most important. Serious Injury if not death
aC the hands of Moslem men may result if these few rules
are not followed.

SHOPS AND MARKETS

AS to your dealing with the tradesmen, it is wisdom
to greet the shopkeeper as ceremoniously as if he were
your host. Bargaining and haggling over prices are the
expected thing. By accepting it as a game, you should be
able to get from one to two-thirds knocked ofl the original
asking price. But bargaining is always to be done politely
and abusiveness is a sure way to provoke the hostility of
even the humblest Moslem.

In the towns the permanent market is usually built
around an open square. Many villages, especially in Mo-
rocco and Algeria, hold a market once a week and some
are named according to the day, for example Suq el
Khamis (sooq-el-kha-MEES) meaning Thursday Market..
The market is both a trading and social center where
gt)ods are bought and exchanged, marriages are arranged
and political deals are made. Life throbs there as nowhere

L^

NORTH
AFRICA

T^ I

i^^^^^k^^^

else in the North Africa countryside. Dancing girls and
boys, singers, jugglers, fortune tellers, magicians, pitch-
men, and pickpockets all contribute to the excitement.

During religious festivals such as Mulid en Nebi
(MOO-lid-en NEB-i) meaning the Prophet's Birthday,
which comes February lo to 19, 1943, and January 30 to
February 7, 1944, every large town holds a fair. Your tour
of duty will be more enjoyable if the situation permits you
to participate in the North African fairs and markets. It
goes almost without saying that your conduct must be
discreet at all times, and you are best advised never to dis-
cuss the military situation with or within the hearing o£
any of the inhabitants, as the market is a clearing ground
for rumors and any told is given a wide circulation.
The Axis may be expected to have planted agents in North
Africa before our forces arrived. They may be still oper-
ating, so conversations on military subjects anywhere
should be well guarded.

You will find several different money systems used in
North Africa and you should know something about
them. There are four chief kinds of currency: two for
Freikch Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, one for Spanish
Morocco; and one for Libya.

(1) French Controlled Currency. This includes paper francs
and metal pieces of the protectorates of Morocco aad Al-

geria, and money issued by the Bank of Algeria. The
metal pieces are issued in denominations of 5, 10, 25, and
50 centimes, and i and 2 francs. Most of the old copper
coins for 5 and ro centimes have been withdrawn. The
newer coins of 5, 10, and 25 centimes look like an Ameri-
can nickel, but have a hole in the center. They are com-
posed of light aluminum alloy. Coins of 50 centimes, i
franc, and 2 francs have a light gilded appearance and
are probably made of a copper-aluminum alloy. Paper
notes, in various colors, are issued for 5, 10, 20, 50, 100,
500, and 1,000 francs.

(2) Spanish Currency. This is used in the Spanish Zone
and the International Zone of Morocco. It is ordinary
Spanish money, consisting of 5 and 10 eentimo coins, made
of a copper aluminum alloy, and of paper notes i, a, 5,
10, 25, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 pesetas. The peseta is divided
into 100 ceniimos.

(3) Italian Currency. Before the Italian conquest of Libya,
Egyptian and Turkish coins were used throughout Libya,
and they may still be circulating in some of the more
isolated district. The official coin of Libya is now the Italian
lira, which is divided into 100 centesimi. Silver coins
arc issued in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 lire; nickel
coins in denominations of 20 centesimi, 50 centesimi,
I lira, and 2 lire; and bronze coins of 5 and 10 cen-

tesimi. Since 1936, Italy has issued "Imperial" coins
of the same denominations as above, with the addition
of 50- and loo-lira gold pieces. Italian paper money is
issued in state notes of 10 lire, and in bank notes of 50,
100, 500, and 1,000 lire. The JO-lira notes have recendy
been issued to replace the i o- and 20-lira silver coins. A few
of the latter may be still in circulation. The Moslems of
Libya still feel that precious metal — especially gold — is
the best material for money, and they may refuse to accept
paper currency when large payments are to be made.
(<) The "HaSSani" (ha-SA-nee). This is a coin used in
Morocco before the French took control. It is either silver
or copper. The silver coin is based on the value of the
silver in it. Hassani money has been officially withdrawn
from circulation for many years, but people in some re-
mote parts of Morocco still use it.

The local names for currency are often different from
the French and Spanish. The North Africans call 5 francs
I rial (ree-YAL). For them, the rial consists of 100 soldi
(Sol-dee), each soldi being thus 5 French centimes. The
same is true of Spanish money; the North Africans con-
sider 5 pesetas to be t rial.

It is impossible to give the exact rates of exchange for
these different types of money, since many different
rates, such as official, free, draft, currency, etc., are in

24

ind these rates vary considerably from time
to time. The official rate for the franc in French North
Africa is 2.28 American cents and for the peseta in
Spanish Morocco 9.13 American cents. The Italian lira
has recently been worth about 5'^ American cents. Gen-
erally speaking, possessors of American money can usually
make purchases at a great advantage, especially since the
North Africans are often willing to pay high exchange
rates for American currency.

The system of weights generally used in North African
towns is the metric system. The metric kilogram is about
2.2 (two and one-iifth) of our pound.

Measures of distance are also metric. The meter is
39.37 inches. A thousand meters is a kilometer or just
about five-eighths of a mile. All highway distances are
calculated in kilometers. The meter is divided into 100
centimeters which are something less than half an inch.
A centimeter in turn is 10 millimeters.

Liquids in the metric system are usually measured in
liters which unit is a little mote than one of our liquid

In the country districts you will find few Moslems who
know this metric system. Their own weights and meas-
ures vary locally and are seldom applied with precision.

The North Africans reckon longer distances in terms

25

of days' journey. They will Cell you that it is so many
days' march from place A to place B. This means that if
you walk fairly rapidly, as they do, from sunrise to sunset,
with a little time out for a nap at noon, you will just about
get there.

North Africans tell time in the same way we do— when
they have clocks and watches. Many of them, however, are
very vague on the subject. They will say that .-i certain
thing will happen at dawn, mid-morning, noon, mid-after-
noon, sunset, midnight. Even then these are vague
approximations.

NORTH AFRICAN SOCIAL LIFE

THE social life of North Africa is very different from our
own, not only because of its leisurely character, but be-
cause Moslem men do not make companions of their
women. A man's wife attends Co the home, bears children,
and may work in the fields, but she is in the position of
a chattel. If her husband cannot afford to support more
than one wife, he still can divorce her with ease and be
free to marry again.

It is not conventional for men and women to make
dates. Should a respectable woman be found conversing
with a man not of the family, scandal will result and sud-
den death is apt to overtake one or both parties. When

a woman walks abroad with a man — even thougn he be a
member of the family — she keeps several paces behind
him so that people will not notice them together. Ladies
never attend parties with men and seldom eat or drink
with them even in the family. Feasts at the time of wed-
dings or circumcisions are enjoyed by jnen and women in
separate groups in separate parts of the house.

When Moslem men want the company of women at a
party, they engage a troupe of professional dancing girls.
These professionals have a unique social position, not as

low as chat of the prostitute, but still somewhat degraded.
They are said to be more interesting company than the
Moslem wife because they get around a great deal and
know all the answers. They dance for the men, not with
them. Men have dances of their own, but when a Moslem
gentleman is seen dancing it is usually a sign that he is a
bit plastered.

Moslem houses are arranged to obtain the greatest pos-
sible privacy. Windows are small and high. The rooms of
the larger houses are grouped around a patio where the
women work in the open air. The flat^roof serves as a
private terrace where the family can get the sun in winter
and sleep on the warm summer nights.

Moslem hosts do not show their guests into the bedroom
to leave their coats and hats. If you are invited to dinner,
visit the rear before you go, since yOur host will never
oiler to show you to the toilet and a request to be taken
there would cause confusion. Only the room in which you
are received is cleared for visitors.

WARNING THE WOMEN

IN towns such as Fez where small houses are scarce, sev-
eral families may occupy the same dwelling. The various
female occupants will then mingle freely in the courtyard
and on the roof but the males are restricted to their own

family apartments. Upon coming to the m
any time they give warning to the women. You will want
to know how this is done, since in case you need to go
through a Moslem home for any purpose, it will be neces-
sary for some member of the family to remove all of the
women beforehand. When you are about to enter a house
or a yard, call out to the women to cover their faces or
get out of the way. There are conventional ways of doing
this in most of the towns, but if you have not learned the
local custom, you may use the word taghattu (la-GHAT-
too) which means: "Cover up!"

STUDY THE LANGUAGEI

THE original language of North Africa is called Berber.
It is still spoken by thousands of people in Morocco and
by scattered communities in Algeria. Tunisia, and Libya.
The Arabic language which spread over North Africa
with the Moslem religion, is now understood almost every-
where except in the remote mountain villages. Even where
the women and children speak only Berber, you will al-
ways find men who can speak Arabic. You do not need to
know many words to get by in Arabic; a few will go a
long way. Talk to the North Africans in their own lan-
guage. They will like you for it and will not be offended
at pecularities in your pronunciation.

29

THE FAITH OF ISLAM

TO understand the Moslem you will need to know some-
thing of his religion. Islam developed against a back-
ground of Christianity and of the religion of the Jews.
Mohammed tried to draw the people back to the teachings
of the prophets. He declared that there is only one God to
whom every man is directly responsible without priests
or intermediaries of any kind, and he condemned the use
of images and elaborate rituals, and preached against the
same vices which are the targets of the average American
evangelist. His teachings are reflected in Moslem practice.
The mosques are not temples but meeting houses where
the congregations foregather for prayers and meditation.
There are no priests. The main religious obligations — to
proclaim the oneness of God, to give alms to the poor, to
pray, and to fast— are fulfilled by a high proportion of
the people.

All true Moslems observe a month of fasting each year
called Ramadan (ra-ma-DAN) which is similar to our
Lenten period. During Ramadan the Moslems do not
eat, drink, or smoke between sunrise and sunset. Their
tempers are accordingly short and they have to be treated
with extra consideration. As to special precautions, these
points are worth remembering;

Moslems should not be offered food, drink, or smokes
during Ramadan except after dark.

They will not permit any substance to be put into their
bodies during the days of Ramadan.

Any accident to a Moslem which results in the drawing
of blood is apt to have especially serious consequences in
this period.

They should not be asked for sustenance of any kind.

In North Africa the Moslems have somewhat elaborated
Mohammed's original teachings. One of the added touches
is a belief in what is called 'el 'Ain," or the Evil Eye.
People may have this power withopt knowing or wishing
it, and it is supposed they put a curse upon anyone on
whom they look with envy. Because of belief in the Evil
Eye a Moslem hates to have you say to him: "How well
you look today!" or "What a fine son you have today!"
Compliments of this kind if expressed at all should be
preceded by "El hamdu !i 'allah!" (d HAM-doo lil-LA)
meaning "Praise be to God!" which takes the curse off it.
Some Moslems resent having their pictures taken, because
they believe that the camera is an instrument of the Evil
Eye.

LAND OF LIVING SAINTS

ANOTHER important prartice is the worship of saints.
Mohammed didn't hold with this idea yet saints' tombs

and habitations adotn the landscape from Morocco lo
Egypt. Saints are of all kinds. They may be living or dead.
They may belong to saintly families whose reputation for
piety goes far back or they may be simply very clever
and religious people with a capacity for Leadership— like
Sister McPherson or Father Divine. Again they may be
idiots since North Africans tend to believe that humans
who cannot keep their minds on earthly things may have
a divine spark,

A male saint- is called "raarabut" (ma-RA-but) and a
female "marabuta" (ma-RA-bu-ta). They alike are sup-
posed to possess a mysterious power called "baraka"
(BA-raka). Devout people approaching a saint bow and

kiss his hand believing that the touch will do them good
along such lines as curing the sick, making barren women
fertile, or providing a charm against some danger. Even
the tomb of a saint is supposed to be capable of miracle
working, and offerings of food and incense are brought

The most religious Moslems in North Africa are organ-
ized as brotherhoods which owe allegiance to a living
leader. The largest and best-known of these brotherhoods
in the eastern part of North Africa is the Sanusi (see-
NOO-see) which was founded about 150 years ago. !t
aimed to purify the Moslem religion and taught its mem-
bers to live temperately. Coffee and smoking were for-
bidden. Missionaries led by members of the Sanusi family
set up hundreds of religious schools (each one called a
ZA-wia) throughout Libya and the eastern Sahara. They
settled and cultivated several large oases. Most of Libya
came under their control.

But they lacked the means to hold their country against
armored cars, planes, and machine guns. By 1935 the
Italians had taken their land and massacred the people
by thousands. With our help the Sanusi may stage a come-
back. They are an exceptionally fine people.

The deep religious faith of Moslems is especially evident
in their feeling about their places of worship— the mosques

33

and the tombs of saints. Keep away from mosques and the
tombs of saints. The Moslems will not tolerate Christians
inside of them.

Most of the attitudes of North Africans arc of religious
origin. Like all firm believers they fee! that the souls of
those of other faiths will not be saved. It follows that non-
believers are inferior people — if not in this world cer-
tainly in the next. Consequently Christians or Jews are con-
sidered inferior by every true Moslem. In recent times,
however, Moslems have had little opportunity to express
their feeling of superiority toward Christians, but they
have dominated a native Jewish population for many cen-
turies. Their attitude toward Jews is religious, and not
racial as in Germany, but it is a topic which should not
be discussed with any Moslem.

POSITION or THE JEWS

IN the large towns of North Africa you will find thou-
sands of Jews who have lived on intimate terms with the
Moslems for hundreds of years. Many of them are de-
scended from Jewish families which were expelled from
Spain with the Moslems a few years before the discovery
of America. In North Africa, however, the Jews rarely live
among Moslems but occupy a distinct section of the town,

34

which section is called the Mellah (MEL-lah). The men
wear small black skullcaps; the women wear fringed
shawls and do not veil their faces. The Jews lend to
engage in special trades and professions, such as money
lending, jewelry making, metal working, and the keeping
of retail stores. Many of them speak Spanish as well as

RULES FOR HEALTH

SANITARY conditions vary in North Africa. In the
European sections of the bigger towns Europeans and
Americans have to take no more precautions than at home.
But in the rural parts of much of North Africa, especially
in the Spanish Zone of Morocco, sanitation is very poor.
An important rule to follow: do not eat food sold by native
vendors in the street or in small shops.

The principal diseases of the country are typhus, ma-
laria syphiHs, all of the typhoid variants, skin diseases,
and amoebic dysentery. One form of typhus in North
Africa is carried by lice; another form, similar to our
Rocky Mountain fever, is transmitted by ticks. Syphilis
and yaws are very prevalent. In some areas almost lOO
percent of the population arc affected.

Red and black varieties of the scorpion can give a nasty
sting, and an unattended bite from a local cobra or asp
will kill you.

The same rules for personal hygiene apply as elsewhere,
You must keep your body clean. Inspect your clothes fre-
quently for lice and ticks. These animals frequent the
seams of clothing. Since they carry typhus they should be
disposed of as quickly as possible. You should use your
mosquito net if you do not want to contract malaria.

You should do little sun bathing, and though cases of
sunstroke are rare, you should particularly be on guard
against too much sun in summer. In a hot, dry climate
it is very easy to get a bad burn during a relatively short
exposure. This is especially true at the seaside. Never
walk about in the sun without some form of headgear.
It is not always necessary to wear a conventional sun
helmet- — a campaign hat or other helmet is usually suf-
ficient. The liner of your infantry helmet is an ideal
tropical headpiece.

Great care should be taken in regard to drinking water.
Filter the water whenever possible. Avoid drinking from
streams and public wells and fountains, above all those
in centers of habitation. The safest rule is to drink water
only from a chlorinated lister bag. When that isn't pos-
sible and you are among Moslems it is a good idea to drink
it in the form of lea. That is what the natives do and they
make sure to boil the water a long time.

You will often hear it said that you must never cat

fruits or green vegetables. Since these foods contain val-
uable vitamins it is desirable to eat them provided they
are served by a well<stablished restaurant or have been
inspected by competent military authorities. But by all
means avoid alt fruits and vegetables which have been
lying around in city markets.

SOME GENERAL RULES

WHEN you meet a Moslem he will want to shake hands.
Do it gendy! Do not pump his hand or squeeze too

hard. Many of them, especially the city Moslems, have
fine hands which are easily hurt. A Moslem may even kiss
your hand, or raise his fingers to his lips afterward. Do
not laugh at him; it is his way of showing politeness.
Above all, do not slap him on the back and do not handle
him; do not push him in fun or try to wrestle with him,
or touch his body in any way, even if you think you know
him well.

Moslems do not let other people see them naked. Do
not urinate in their presence. They do it squatting and
dislike to see people do it standing up. These things may
seem trivial, but they are important.

North Africans, by and large, have an excellent sense
of humor. You will not find it difficult to joke with them
because they see the humor in situations easily. If they
laugh at you, take it; don't get angry. Above all, never
stride them. They do not know how to box; one right on
the jaw would knock a Moslem down. You would make
an enemy of everyone that saw you, and word would
soon spread around that all Americans are bruisers. Mos-
lems fight with knives, and they are probably a lot better
3 1 it than you are.

Aside from these few rules, it is well to remember that
a man may wear skirts and a beard and still be a man.
Wc need the friendship of these people. We need their

willing cooperation in maintaining ourselves in their
country and we may require their active help in the fight
against the common enemy. To be deserving of it, we must
treat them with respect and with dignity. Not to do so may
make the difference between success and failure in the
great undertakings now facing you and your fellow
Americans.

LIST OF DO'S ANO DON'T!

DONT enter mosques.

Smoke or spit somewhere else— never in front of a mosque.

If you come near a mosque, look away and keep moving.

Avoid shrines or tombs in the country.

Discuss something else — never religion or women — with

Moslems.
Keep silent when Moslems are praying, and don't stare at

them.
Don't refer to the people as heathen; they are very re-
Shake hands gently and avoid touching other parts of the

Remember that the Moslems are a very modest people and
avoid any exposure of the body in their presence.

Always say Bismillah before food when eating with North
Africans.

Always say Hamdultah at the end of the meal.

Slan eating only after your host has begun.

Always tear your bread with your fingers — never cut il.

Eat with your right hand — never with your left, even tf

you are a southpaw.
Leave food in the main bowl — what you leave goes to the

women and children.
Eat only part of the first course — there may be four or five

more coming.
Don't give Moslems food containing pork, bacon, or lard,

or cooked in piork products.
Don't eat pork or pork products near Moslems.
Be pleasant if Moslems refuse to eat meat which you offer.

They may consider it religiously unclean.
Don't give Moslems alcoholic drinks.
Don't drink liquor in the presence of Moslems.

Knock before seeking admission into a house. If a woman

answers, wait outside until she has had time to retire.
Take off your shoes before entering a room — leave your

socks on.
When visiting, don't overstay your welcome. The third

glass of tea or coffee is the signal to go, unless you are

quartered there.
Don't bring a dog into the house.
Be kind to beggars. They are mostly honest unfortunates.

Give them 25 1
When you see grown mt

Be kind and considerati

very democratic.
Avoid any expression o

draw no color line.

occasionally if you can spare it.
1 walking hand in hand, ignore

to servants. The Moslems i

• prejudice. The Moslems

Speak Arabic to the people if you can. No matcer how

badly you do it, they like it.
Avoid talking about or praising Europeans.
Don't use the French word indigene, meaning "native."

This is an insulting term.
Accept with reserve what local Europeans tell you about

North Africans.
Don't imitate the attitudes or behavior of many of the

local Europeans. Some are not held in high respect by

the North Africans.
Shake hands gently on meeting and leaving.
If you wish to give someone a present, make it tea, sugar,

or cigarettes. A polite gift is three of the large conical

loaves of sugar.
If you are stationed in the country, it is a good idea to

take tea, sugar, and cigarettes with you when you visit a

North African home.
Bargain on prices. Don^t let shopkeepers or merchants

overcharge you. But be polite.
Treat people of all classes as equals.
Be polite. North Africans appreciate courtesy.
Be generous with your cigarettes.

Use common sense on all occasions. These people are basic-
ally no different from anyone else.

I

: sure to greet people with the proper salutations:
Good morning — si/a/i 'I l^^heir
Good afternoon or evening — msa 'I k^heir
In the name o£ God (used when you start to eat, etc.) —

bis-MlUah
Thank you, or please (use it whenever possible) — BA-

ra^^a LAV-fiK
How are you.' — La bes?
I am fine, thanks — ta bes, bara^a laufi^
It God is willing (used whenever you say you are going

to do something. To omit this phrase is irreligious.)—

h^HAL-la
Thank God! — kam-dul-LA

OTHER ARABIC PHRASES

[English — Arabic]
Yes, O. K.—AI-wa, NA-am (in Morocco, WA-ha)
No— L^

Perhaps (when hope is expressed) — inSHAL-la
How much.' — k.i'n? (in Morocco, sha-HAL),
Too much— ^e-THEi?, eee VA-da (in Morocco, bi-ZEF
bi'ZEF)