Speaker: Joyce Johnston

Presented by the Lifelong Learning Institute, Manassas

This event is open to the public. For more information about the Lifelong Learning Institute, Manassas, visit lli-manassas.org

Morocco offers shining beaches, lush gardens, exquisite architecture, and a modern Islamic state, side by side with ancient marketplaces and donkey carts on interstate highways. How did this grow out of 1800 years of violence, foreign domination, and betrayal after betrayal after betrayal? Once it seemed that the only way to preserve Morocco’s sophisticated culture was to export it to the Moorish Kingdom in Medieval Spain, where its advancements in medicine, hygiene, agriculture, and architecture became a model for the rest of Europe. Then came eviction, chaos, infighting, and finally a French protectorate that yielded real independence only in 1956. Since then, education and legal rights have moved steadily forward, but the social price has been veiled in secrecy. Joyce Johnston will guide us through the open question: what is really going on now in this supposedly most moderate of Islamic states?

Perhaps the greatest pleasure of semi-retirement after 37 years in public education has been the opportunity for Joyce Johnston to travel to diverse parts of the world with husband Craig. A particularly intriguing journey was a 2024 visit to Morocco, following up on time in Spain that produced presentations to both LLI-Manassas and OLLI on “The Glories and the Mysteries of the Moors in Spain.” The current presentation, “Working Modern Magic on an Ancient World,” combines the Moors’ turbulent origin story in Morocco with the cultural beauties they brought with them into the 21st century.