Moroccan Christians Navigate Restrictions, Animosity

Morocco has recently received an unusual degree of attention amid viral videos showing tens of thousands of people heading away from the country into a North African territory technically part of Spain.

Much of Morocco is so close to Europe geographically, and yet the demographics are markedly different — more than 99% of the overall population is Sunni Muslim. 

The nation’s constitution recognizes just two religious groups (Sunni Muslims and a tiny, ancient Jewish population) as native to the country. But Moroccan Christians indeed exist. And the country has some degree of religious freedom: You’re technically allowed to convert, though you wouldn’t want word of your conversion to spread — for several reasons.

Before Morocco became an independent country in 1956, there were almost 500,000 Christians — most of them Catholics of either French or Spanish ethnicity. Most left for Europe soon after independence.  

Estimates vary on the number of Christians currently in Morocco. Open Doors gives a more specific number: 37,400, which is almost exactly one-tenth of 1% of the total population of 38.5 million. 

The Christian population has increased in recent years, amid a rising number of Christian migrants coming to Morocco from the sub-Saharan region. 

Morocco has 44 registered churches, attended almost exclusively by foreigners. These churches often have security guards who watch for any Moroccan visitors.  

“Most of the time, you can’t know if a Moroccan is Christian. Because of the societal persecution, they try to blend in,” said “Yasmine,” a Muslim-background Moroccan woman who, upon studying Islam, became an apostate with no religion.  

After about a decade of unbelief, Yasmine encountered a Christian foreigner who told her about cases of Muslims seeing Jesus in dreams.  

That same night, Jesus appeared in her dream. She converted soon after.  

“A local wouldn’t feel safe telling another local about their conversion,” Yasmine said. “But with a foreigner, it’s much easier.” 

Particularly among younger Moroccans, some may express that they are not fully Muslim. But this could simply mean that they have become less religious. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have converted, which is a significantly more sensitive matter.  

Yasmine found other Moroccan believers through Western missionaries. She knows of some Moroccan Catholics and Orthodox, but most native converts are Protestant.  

Converting to Christianity is not technically a criminal offense in Morocco, but openly practicing the faith can attract police scrutiny and possible detainment. Proselytizing is illegal and punishable by prison time.  

House churches are allowed in Morocco.  

“The authorities know each and every one” of these house churches “and what we do,” Yasmine said. “But as long as we live peacefully and don’t start preaching, they won’t interfere.” 

The restrictions are firmer when it comes to marriage and burial. Yasmine used the word “impossible” to describe the prospects of her or other Moroccan converts receiving a Christian marriage or burial under the current laws in her country.  

She shared that foreign Christians in Morocco do not tend to face any problems related to faith. On the contrary, they are often well-received and treated hospitably by locals.  

But if you are a known convert, Yasmine said “it’s very rare” to find a Moroccan Muslim who would respect your conversion choice or even be able to maintain an air of indifference toward it. From her observations, Moroccan Muslims were “all very intolerant” toward any native who converted.  

Despite such widespread disapproval toward converts, there is generally not much extremist sentiment among Moroccan Muslims, and most of them view jihadist groups unfavorably.  

Jihadists of Moroccan background seem to be more of a problem in Europe than in Morocco itself: Perpetrators of Moroccan background have figured prominently in multiple jihadist attacks in Europe, be it in Belgium, France, Finland, or Spain.  

Though Moroccans in the homeland are less inclined to pursue jihad, if your conversion becomes known, you will almost certainly face discrimination at work or in the neighborhood. The consequences can easily include divorce, loss of child custody, permanent estrangement from family, and employment discrimination, among other issues.  

Yasmine knows one Moroccan Christian who lost his job after news of his conversion surfaced. Soon thereafter, his former boss, along with some friends, tracked down the convert and delivered a beating. She has heard of other acts of violence but has never personally witnessed them. 

Aside from directly confessing their faith to friends and family, one of the biggest risks a Moroccan Christian can take is to try to enter a church in a public setting. They might face arrest on the spot, or else a member of the church clergy might ask them to leave to avoid issues with the authorities.  

But some converts, including Yasmine, have taken the risk.

“I haven’t been stopped yet,” she said. “Please pray for me.” 

Story by R. Cavanaugh 

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