Morocco
(1999)
Section I. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides that Islam is the official
religion, and designates the King as "Commander of the Faithful"
with the responsibility of ensuring "respect for Islam." Although
the Constitution provides for freedom of religion, only Islam,
Christianity, and Judaism are tolerated in practice; however, in 1996 a
small foreign Hindu community received the right to perform cremations and
to hold services. Other foreign communities enjoy similar religious
privileges. However, Baha'is face restrictions on the practice of their
faith.
The Government does not license or approve religions or
religious organizations. The Government provides tax benefits, land and
building grants, subsidies, and customs exemptions for imports necessary
for the observance of the major religions.
Ninety-nine percent of citizens are Sunni Muslims. The
Jewish community of approximately 5,000 practices its faith freely and
openly, as does the somewhat larger foreign Christian (Roman Catholic and
Protestant) community.
The Baha'i community of 350 to 400 persons has been
forbidden to meet or participate in communal activities since 1983.
Islamic law and tradition call for strict punishment of
any Muslim who converts to another faith. Citizens who convert to
Christianity and other religions sometimes face social ostracism, and in
the past a small number have faced short periods of questioning by the
authorities. Although voluntary conversion is not a crime under the
Criminal or Civil Codes, it remains a crime under religious law and few
citizens make such a distinction.
Any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert is illegal.
(According to Article 220 of the Penal Code, any attempt to stop one or
more persons from the exercise of their religious beliefs, or attendance at
religious services, is unlawful and may be punished by 3 to 6 months of
imprisonment and a fine of $10 (95 dirhams) to $50 (475 dirhams). The
Article applies the same penalty to "anyone who employs incitements in
order to shake the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another
religion.") Foreign missionaries either limit their proselytizing to
non-Muslims or conduct their work quietly. The Government cited the Penal
Code prohibition on conversion in most cases in which courts expelled
foreign missionaries.
There were a small number of cases during the period
covered by this report of foreigners being denied entry into the country at
the port of Tangier because they were carrying substantial quantities of
Christian materials. In June 1999, five American citizens were detained
briefly and deported after they were arrested for distributing Christian
materials on a train between Rabat and Tangier. In two separate incidents,
four Americans and two Canadians were arrested in Meknes and Fez in
February and May of 1998 on suspicion of proselytizing. Two Americans were
expelled from Morocco but subsequently permitted to return, while cases
against the others were dropped. At the time of those arrests, a small
number of Christian citizens in Meknes were summoned for questioning but
released shortly thereafter. In March 1998, authorities in Meknes expelled
an American in connection with those events, but permitted him to return in
April. A company in Casablanca was denied permission by the Ministry of
Communications to display Bibles at a book fair in Casablanca in November
1998.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs monitors Friday mosque
sermons and the Koranic schools to ensure the teaching of approved
doctrine. The authorities sometimes suppress the activities of Islamists
but generally tolerate activities limited to the propagation of Islam,
education, and charity. Security forces commonly close mosques to the
public shortly after Friday services to prevent use of the premises for
unauthorized political activity. The Government strictly controls
authorization to construct new mosques. Most mosques are constructed using
private funds.
The Government provides funds for the teaching of Islam
in public schools, and also provides funds for religious instruction to the
parallel system of Jewish public schools. The Government has funded several
efforts to study the cultural, artistic, literary and scientific heritage
of Moroccan Jews. The Government also recently created a chair for the
study of comparative religions at the University of Rabat.
Since the time of the French Protectorate (1912-1956), a
small foreign Christian community has opened churches, orphanages,
hospitals, and schools without any restriction or licensing requirement
being imposed. Missionaries who conduct themselves in accordance with
societal expectations largely are left unhindered. Those whose activities
become public face expulsion.
In January 1999, a court in Fez convicted 11 men of
violating the Penal Code, which forbids eating or drinking in public during
the Ramadan fast. The court levied small fines against the men, who
publicly broke their fast the day before the "Eid" holiday. They
did so to acknowledge publicly only Mecca's (as opposed to the
Government's) authority in ending the fast.
The Government permits the display and sale of Bibles in
French, English, and Spanish, but confiscates Arabic language Bibles and
refuses licenses for their importation and sale, despite the absence of any
law banning such books. Nevertheless, Arabic Bibles reportedly have been
seen on sale in local bookstores. In May 1998, a British citizen was
indicted in Tangier on a customs violation for allegedly failing to declare
the importation of a commercial quantity of Bibles. The case was resolved
by the payment of a $10,000 (95,000 dirhams) fine.
During the period covered by this report, Interior
Ministry officials summoned members of the small Baha'i community for
questioning concerning their faith and meetings; however, fewer Baha'is
reportedly were summoned than in past years. There were no reports that
Baha'is were denied passports because of their religion, as was the case in
previous years.
There are two sets of laws and courts--one for Jews and
one for Muslims--pertaining to marriage, inheritance, and family matters.
The family law courts are run, depending on the law that applies, by
rabbinical and Islamic authorities who are court officials. Parliament
authorizes any changes to those laws. Non-Koranic sections of Muslim Law on
Personal Status are applied to non-Muslim and non-Jewish persons.
Alternatively, non-Muslim and non-Jewish foreigners in Morocco may refer to
their embassies or consulates for marriage, divorce, inheritance, and other
personal issues if they choose not to adhere to Moroccan law.
The Government regularly organizes events to encourage
tolerance and respect among religions. In May 1999, King Hassan II
organized the first meeting of the "World Union of Moroccan Jews"
in Marrakech. In March 1999, Princess Lalla Meriem spoke of the importance
of tolerance between religions and cultures in a major speech attended by
U.S. First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Government annually organizes
in May the "Fez Festival of Sacred Music," which includes
musicians from many religions. The Government has organized numerous
symposiums among local and international clergy, priests, rabbis, imams and
other spiritual leaders in the past to examine ways to reduce religious
intolerance and to promote interfaith dialog. Each year during the Islamic
holy month of Ramadan, the King hosts colloquiums of Islamic religious
scholars to examine ways to further tolerance and mutual respect within
Islam and between Islam and other religions.
There was no change in the status of respect for
religious freedom during the period covered by this report.
Islamist dissident Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine has
remained under house arrest in Sale since 1989 for refusing to acknowledge
the religious authority of the King. In October 1998, the Government of
Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssouffi stated that it intended to end
Yassine's detention, and an appeal of Yassine's detention was expected to
be heard before the Supreme Court. In April 1999, the Minister of Housing
(and number two official in the Prime Minister's governing party) declared
that Yassine's detention could not continue. Yassine's books and articles
are sold only at some bookstores although editorials calling for his
release are published without impediment. Yassine's Justice and Charity
Organization (JCO) has an active presence on university campuses and
occasionally organizes protests of his continued house arrest. However,
prominent members of the JCO are subject to constant surveillance and are
sometimes unable to obtain passports and other necessary documents.
Fewer than 50 Islamists are serving sentences for
offenses that range from arms smuggling to participating in a bomb attack
on a hotel in Marrakech. However, a small number of these prisoners remain
in prison for having called for an Islamic state in 1983.
There were no reports of the forced religious conversion
of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the
United States, or of the Government's refusal to allow such citizens to be
returned to the United States.
Section II. Societal Attitudes
Tolerance is widespread, and relations between majority
and minority religions are amicable. Foreigners attend religious services
without any restrictions or fear of reprisals, and Jews live throughout the
Kingdom in safety. While free expression of Islamic faith and even the free
academic and theological discussion of non-Islamic religions are accepted
on television and radio, public efforts to proselytize are frowned upon by
society. Most citizens view such public acts as provocative threats to law
and order in an overwhelmingly observant Muslim country. In addition,
society expects public respect for the institutions and mores of Islam,
although private behavior and beliefs are unregulated and unmonitored.
Because many Muslims view the Baha'i Faith as a heretical offshoot of
Islam, most members of the tiny Baha'i community maintain a low religious
profile. However, Baha'is live freely and without fear for their persons or
property, and some even hold government jobs, albeit discretely.
Because the populace is overwhelmingly Muslim, because
Islam is the religion of the State, and because the King enjoys temporal
and spiritual authority through his role as "Commander of the
Faithful," there is widespread consensus among Muslims about religious
practices and interpretation. Other sources of popular consensus are the
councils of ulemas, unofficial religious scholars who serve as monitors of
the monarchy and the actions of the Government. Because the ulemas
traditionally hold the power to legitimize or delegitimize kings through
their moral authority, government policies closely adhere to popular and
religious expectations. While dissenters such as Yassine and his followers
challenge the religious authority of the King and call for the
establishment of a government more deeply rooted in their vision of Islam,
the majority of citizens do not appear to share their views.
Section III. U.S. Government Policy
In March 1999, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near
Eastern Affairs, during a reception in Washington, and the First Lady,
during a visit to Morocco, both noted the country's tolerance and respect
for different cultures and beliefs. The Ambassador and other senior embassy
officers raised religious freedom issues with senior government officials
on several occasions during the period covered by this report in an effort
to help resolve the few cases of restrictions on religious freedom that
occurred. The issue of the continued house arrest of Sheikh Yassine, as
well as the expulsions from Morocco of several missionaries, was addressed
specifically with senior officials. The Embassy also maintains contact with
Sheik Yassine's lawyer and some of his associates. Embassy officials sought
openly to meet directly with Sheik Yassine and were informed by credible
sources that "as a matter of principle" he would not meet with
either journalists or diplomats. Embassy officials who sought to meet with
Sheik Yassine, members of his family, and his close associates encountered
no interference from the Government in seeking these contacts.
The Embassy worked closely with the Government to
resolve the case of a British citizen who faced punishment for a customs
violation relating to the importation of a commercial quantity of Bibles
(see Section I). Subsequent to embassy representations on the issue, a more
serious sanction was replaced with a lighter fine and the British citizen's
seized property was released from customs. In other cases, the Embassy
provided the full range of consular services to Americans expelled for
alleged involvement in proselytizing and also made representations at the
political level with senior officials on these same cases.
The Ambassador and embassy officials also meet regularly
with religious officials, including the Minister of Islamic Affairs,
Islamic religious scholars, the leader of the Jewish community, and local
Christian leaders and missionaries. The Embassy maintains contacts with the
small Baha'i community as well.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |