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The U.S. State Department published its annual report on religious freedom around the world for 2023 on Wednesday. The report monitors restrictions on religious minorities in various countries.
In Morocco, the State Department noted that more than 99 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim, while other religious groups combined make up less than 1 percent of the population, including Christians, Jews, Shia Muslims, and followers of the Baha'i faith.
The Jewish community in Morocco is estimated at 1,500 individuals, although other estimates suggest the number may be higher, with about 1,000 residing in Casablanca. Some leaders of the Christian community estimate that there are between 1,500 and 12,000 Christian citizens across the country. However, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights estimates that there are 25,000 Christian citizens.
Shia leaders estimate that there are several thousand Shia citizens, with the largest percentage in the north. Additionally, there are an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 foreign resident Shiites from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia in the country. Leaders of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community estimate their number at 750. Leaders of the Baha'i community estimate that there are 350 to 400 members across the country.
Registration hurdles and societal fear
Although the law allows religious groups to register as associations, some religious minorities have reported that the government has delayed or denied their registration applications, according to the State Department.
Representatives of religious minorities stated in the report that they practiced in secret for fear of societal harassment, including ostracism by converts' families, social ridicule, and discrimination at work.
Authorities continued to deny Christian organizations composed of Moroccan citizens the right to Christian or civil marriage and funeral services or the right to establish new churches, the report said. The government also refused to officially recognize nongovernmental organizations that it considered anti-Islamic, as Islam is the state religion.
Several religious groups reported that they occasionally informed the authorities of large planned gatherings, which sometimes helped the authorities take security measures.
According to the report, religious leaders and legal professionals noted that the government's refusal to allow Shia groups to register as associations has continued to prevent these groups from legally gathering for public religious practice. According to members of the Shia community, they were able to pray in Sunni mosques but risked being criticized by other worshippers for their religious practices.
The report also touched on the Justice and Charity Organization (JCO), stating it is «a Sunni social movement that rejects the King’s spiritual authority, remained banned but was still active». The report added that the government continued to «monitor the JCO’s activities, and it remained the largest social movement of its kind in the country, despite being unregistered».
