Photo: Morocco TimesLast week the Moroccan daily al-Ittihad al-Ichtiraki reported that police in Marrakech had recently seized documents which confirm the existence of a secret evangelical group operating in the city. The documents were seized in the apartment in Yacoub al-Mansour neighbourhood where an alleged foreign missionary lived with his wife and two daughters. The report claims that the missionary vanished when he learned that police were coming to interview him. Sources say that the seized documents reveal the existence of secret spiritual schools in Gu�liz, and al-Inara (central Marrakech) set up to teach Moroccans the concepts of Christianity.
According to the 2004 International Religious Freedom report, the Moroccan Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice, there are some restrictions. For example, proselytizing is forbidden in Morocco with the result that any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert is illegal.
According to Article 220 of the Moroccan Penal Code, any attempt to stop one or more persons from the exercise of their religious beliefs or from attendance at religious services is unlawful and may be punished by 3-6 months' imprisonment and a fine of $10 to $50 (115 to 575 dirhams). The article applies the same penalty to "anyone who employs incitements to shake the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion."
In today's Morocco Times, Karima Rhanem has a detailed article looking at the recent developments and also events last year when the debate on Moroccan Christians reached its peak when the Moroccan authorities deported a South African pastor.
Read Karima Rhanem's report here: Evangelical missionaries in Morocco back in the limelight.
See the flow on from this post: Blogger on the warpath.
Love the Lord but Burn Evangelists at the Stake.
Tags: Morocco, Evangelism, Maghreb, news
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