Religious freedom : Morocco absent from Antony Blinken’s blacklist

The US Secretary of State released the list of countries that have «engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom». In a press release, Antony Blinken referred to «Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, the DPRK, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan».

Morocco is not on the list. In its 2022 report on religious freedom, the US Department of State noted that in Morocco «Sunni Muslims and Jews are the only religious groups recognized in the constitution as native to the country. A separate set of laws and special courts govern personal status matters for Jews, including functions such as marriage, inheritance, and other personal status matters».

The document, published last May, found that the Moroccan authorities «continued to deny Christian organizations that are composed of citizens the right to Christian or civil marriage and funeral services or the right to establish new churches».

King Mohammed VI stressed in an address during a parliamentary conference on «interfaith dialogue», held in June in Marrakech, his commitment in his capacity as Commander of the Faithful to guarantee religious freedom. «And as such, it is up to us to ensure the protection of Moroccan Jews and Christians who come from elsewhere to reside in Morocco», the Sovereign underlined.