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«In Morocco, we are secular». This surprising announcement was made yesterday in the House of Representatives by the Minister of Islamic Affairs. The background to this statement dates back to President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Morocco at the end of October, as revealed by Ahmed Taoufiq in response to an oral question from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) group of MPs regarding the religious supervision of Moroccans living abroad (MRE).
During a meeting with French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is responsible for religious affairs, the Moroccan minister uttered this astonishing phrase for a Muslim state whose king is also the Commander of the Faithful.
However, Taoufiq qualified his remarks by explaining to his somewhat surprised interlocutor that «Moroccan secularism differs from that in France. Of course, we don't have the articles of the 1905 law as you do, but each of us is free to do what they want, because 'There is no compulsion in religion'»; a reference to verse 256 of Sura 2 of the Koran.
Yet Morocco's Penal Code contains laws inherited from religious prohibitions: converting to another religion (article 220) or publicly breaking the fast by Muslims during Ramadan (article 222). Moreover, freedom of conscience is not constitutionally guaranteed.
