Morroco is a Source for Spiritual Enlightenment

Author: Frank Romano:Publisher: World Audience Inc: ISBN: 978-1-934209-43-1

From the very first pages of Frank Romano's Storm Over Morocco, this autobiographical memoir and travelogue of one man's spiritual search rivets you with drama, and rarely lets up over the next 341 pages.

After a silence of over thirty years, Romano decided to recount a period of his student days in the mid-1970s when he spent three months in a mosque in Morocco hoping to find truth, combat and conquer his prejudices and at the same time find the spirit of God.

Before chronicling the brainwashing he endured in Morocco under the tutorship of Islamic fanatics, Romano briefly describes his brief stint as a big brother or counselor for delinquents in the Anderson Horse Ranch in California. After leaving the ranch, Romano enrolled in pre-law courses at Santa Rosa Junior College where he decided he wanted to learn everything about French culture. This passion in turn led him to Paris for his senior year where he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne and lived for three years.

It was in Paris where Romano befriended two Moroccans, who described to him the beauty of their native country where, if he journeyed, he would be surrounded by God's people chanting the Qur'an. As they informed him, it is in Morocco where he would find truth, away from the harsh, impersonal Parisian streets. Romano was determined to seek the universal religion and he began to think to himself that perhaps the answer lies in the Islamic religion. He persuaded himself that he needed to travel far away to find the path that would lead him to the truth. Romano informs us that he needed to know " if there was something beyond the superficial nightclubbing, strobe light illuminated world of beer and hot dog-a world where values were ridiculed or ignored, and human life was sacrificed in the kind of meaningless violence he had sometimes witnessed living in the Ghetto. "

With fifty dollars in his pocket, an innocent and gullible Romano decided to take the plunge and travel from Paris to Morocco, still wondering if in fact he was trying to find spiritual enlightenment or that he was losing or transcending his mind, as a result of a steady diet of philosophy and vegetarian food.
While wandering into a mosque in Casablanca, Romano met a Black African, who informed him about a group of Islamic missionaries in 'Mashid Nord' (North Mosque) that was full of enlightened, Islamic monks with whom he could live and learn the true religion. Although at first hesitant to the dangers of brain washing and exposure to a fanatic religious sect, Romano eventually succumbs but not before meeting a wonderful, generous and warm Moroccan family that accepted him in their home him as their guest. They even warned him about the dangers that awaited him if he should study with these Islamic missionaries. Unfortunately, Romano refused to heed their advice, and as the story continues, we learn about the intimate details of his imprisonment and escape from these fanatics.

If you want to smell, taste and feel the pulse of Morocco, read this enlightening book. If you know something about radical Islam, read this book anyways. Although, it should be mentioned, as Romano states in the opening pages, "the words you will read could be misconstrued by some as a criticism of Islam-this would not be true."

There is a great deal of loneliness and alienation on display here and yes, this is at times a difficult book to digest because of its emotional toll and perhaps even our constant questioning as to why a young American would want to get himself mixed up with a bunch of zealots. Nonetheless, you will likely stay with this compelling odyssey as Romano plunges his readers into a world of Islamic Fundamentalism contrasting it with the warmth and hospitality of some of his Moroccans hosts. Not to be omitted is the book's high adventure, as well as the author's psychological complexity. Romano does a masterful job of pulling all of these facets together in an accessible style, as if it were raw material taken from a blog. And although this book is not a fictional horror story, at times it certainly felt like one as the narrative rolled along seamlessly for the most part.

CLICK HERE TO READ NORM'S INTERVIEW WITH FRANK ROMANO
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Norm Goldman

NORM GOLDMAN-EDITOR & PUBLISHER BOOKPLEASURES.COM

For over thirty five years Norm Goldman practiced as a Title Attorney and Civil Law Notary in Montreal, Canada.

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