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| Africa North |
| Moroccan government defends crackdown on proselytisers |
| 2009-04-02 |
| [Maghrebia] The Moroccan government stressed its commitment to freedom of religion despite the expulsion on Sunday (March 29th) of five Christian missionaries. Officials rejected accusations in the media to the contrary. According to the judicial police in Casablanca, the five expelled missionaries were arrested on Saturday (March 28th) during a proselytising meeting involving Moroccan nationals. Police officers also seized religious materials including books and videos in Arabic. Communications Minister and government spokesman Khaled Naciri said that the country upholds freedom of religion, provided proselytising and evangelism are not involved. He explained that churches in Morocco are fully aware of the situation. The expulsion of the five missionaries -- four from Spain and one from Germany --prompted a response on Monday from Rabat Archbishop Monsignor Vincent Landel and Jean Luc Blanc, pastor of the Evangelical Church of Morocco, denouncing any "proselytising" activity in Morocco. They were keen to stress the key role played by the "official churches" in supporting Christians living in Morocco. Landel denied having any links with the missionaries and spoke out against the way that some of the media were grouping them all together. "Missionaries who come here to convert Muslims have no link with the Catholic Church or with the Protestant Church. It is not in our name that they have obtained their residency permits in Morocco." The archbishop explained that the mission of the Church in Morocco is to help Christians live out their faith in the recognition that they are in a Muslim country. "We help them enter into an Muslim-Christian dialogue, to respect their Muslim brothers and to trust them," he said. Such a dialogue rules out any kind of proselytising at the intellectual and theological level, the statement continues. Christians are involved in various activities alongside Muslims who share the same values and objectives, despite their differences. The issue has raised a fresh debate in Moroccan society. "Just as Western countries protect secularism and the Christian faith from the spread of Islam, Morocco has the right to protect its religion," said Khalid Cherkaoui Semouni, president of the Moroccan Centre for Human Rights. "This is what Morocco's legislation states, forbidding trying to change individuals' faith. The state has the right to apply the law." "We cannot speak of freedom of religion in this case, because proselytising relies on changing the other person's faith," explained Lahcen Daoudi of the Islamist Justice and Development Party. "We call on the Moroccan authorities to support those Moroccan associations which work in spreading Islam, as well as imams, and Qur'an study groups. The state cannot face such proselytising efforts alone, and needs the support of civil society to monitor those activities and educational programmes." Related ArticlesWhen asked about the issue, Moroccans on the street had different opinions about the matter. "I believe the authorities and the media are blowing the issue out of proportion," said Aya Idrissi, a teacher. "There have been missionaries in Morocco for years, and yet they have had little influence on Moroccans, who stick to their Islam. Besides which, we are a tolerant nation, and we accept all monotheistic religions." Said Arifat, a law student, disagreed. He noted that many young people are easily influenced by the West and need to be protected. "Missionaries could easily convert them, when this is contrary to the Moroccan constitution." |
| Posted by:Fred |