Missionaries again cause trouble in Morocco

Over the last few years there appears to have been a push by some groups to break Moroccan law and engage in illegal proselytising activities. In some cases untrained missionaries have been targeting Morocco (see story here), while others have been using the teaching of English as a cover for missionary activity (see story here)  After the latest incident the official churches' in Morocco have spoken out.

Proselytising material from an earlier incident.

Representatives of the official churches in Morocco said on Monday that they are against any proselytising activities, insisting that the role of these churches is to guide Christians living in the kingdom in their "spiritual quest."

The reaction came from the Archbishop of Rabat, Mgr Vincent Landel, and chairman of the evangelist church in Morocco, Jean Luc blanc, is in response to the recent controversy on the so-called evangelist invasion in Morocco.

The catholic and protestant (evangelical) churches are operating in Morocco for more than a century, and "have learned over the years to live in harmony with the country and its people," the two religious authorities said in a joint press release.

The Catholic and Protestant churches in Morocco focus on promoting dialogue between Christians and Muslims, which "by definition, rules out proselytising activities," they said.

For Landel and Blanc "this dialogue has an intellectual and theological dimension and copes with the social and cultural realms. Thus, Christians are engaged in various activities alongside Muslims, share the same values and goals and are not afraid of showing their differences."

"Today, we believe in the richness of interaction between religions (…) which have everything to gain from better knowing and understanding one another. The Catholic and the Evangelical Churches in Morocco believe that dialogue is part of their responsibility," the two men insisted.

On Sunday, Morocco announced it had expelled five Christian missionaries who were trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

The missionaries were arrested on Saturday during a proselytising meeting involving Moroccan citizens, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. It added that numerous pieces of evangelical propaganda material including books and video-cassettes in Arabic were seized in the meeting venue.

A senior Interior Ministry official said the missionaries were four Spaniards and a German woman. He insisted Morocco has nothing against the Christian faith, but that authorities felt the missionaries had gone too far. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with Interior Ministry rules, said the missionaries were expelled without being officially arrested or charged. He could not specify the Christian denomination to which they belonged.

Several Evangelical Christians have been charged or detained in recent months in neighboring Algeria, and authorities throughout North Africa have become increasingly wary of an apparent push by some Protestant churches in this overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim region.

Christianity and Judaism are freely practiced in dozens of churches, temples and synagogues throughout Morocco, but proselytizing to convert Muslims is considered illegal.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news