Unveiling Controversy: Photo of Bareheaded Teacher in Moroccan Religious School Sparks Online Debate

In this image posted on social media on Monday, Moroccan Internet users claim that the architecture professor at the university is sitting on a Minbar - the pulpit from which the sermon (khutbah) is delivered - without wearing a veil. Shocked, they accuse the teacher of not respecting the sacred character of the religious establishment. But what they saw is far from the reality.

In a statement to Morocco World News, a source assures that the photo did not represent a mosque, but rather Zawiya Sidi Abdelkader Fassi Fihri, a religious school whose architecture is very similar to that of a mosque. The same source will specify that the chair shown in the photo is not a Minbar, but a simple raised chair and will also add that the teacher had asked if she should enter the premises with a veil and was told that it was not necessary.

The presence of the teacher at Zawiya Sidi Abdelkader Fassi Fihri is part of a three-day event organized by the NGO Fès Mémoire, intended for architecture students to visit the rich architectural heritage of the city.