Overview
The Kingdom of Morocco is a country in north west Africa, overlooking both the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic to the west. Its strategic position made it attractive to an industrialising 19th Century Europe and in 1912 France and Spain carved out respective protectorates. Following riots Morocco gained its independence in 1956. The country’s Alawite royal dynasty claims direct descendancy from Islam’s prophet Muhammad. A sparsely populated area to the south west, now known as Western Sahara, was occupied by Spain until 1975. The area remains disputed, with about 20% controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and the rest administered by Morocco.
What it means to be a Christian in Morocco
A strong church existed among the native Berber people until Islamic invasions in the 7th Century. Today, virtually all of Morocco’s 37 million population would be identified as Sunni Islam, which is the state religion. Christians, who make up less than 1% of the population, are tolerated, but there are no church buildings or official church in Morocco and missionary activity is not allowed.
In 2010 a large number of expatriate Christian missionaries were deported and institutions with any kind of Christian ethos were closed. Christians face harassment and some have been arrested and imprisoned on charges of proselytizing. Bibles are difficult to obtain in Morocco but, in recent years, with the growth of satellite and digital technology, there have been reports of Moroccans coming to faith in Christ, particularly among the ethnic Berbers.
