| Region | North Africa | |
| Population | 37 071 000 | |
| Christian Population | 31 500 (0.1%) | |
| Main Religion | Islam | |
| 2021 Ranking | 27 | |
| 2020 Ranking | 26 |
27Morocco
The average pressure on Christians in Morocco remains high. And for converts from Islam, the pressure is even higher. They can lose their inheritance rights or even custody of their children.
Converts face opposition from family members, who do not want them to practice their new faith publicly—often, this means new Christians are not allowed to be baptised, married or buried in a church or Christian ceremony. Particularly in rural areas, these followers of Jesus also face significant hostility from their local community and government.
The Moroccan penal code also presents issues for Moroccan Christians. According to the code, it is a criminal act to “shake the faith of a Muslim.” Obviously, this greatly depends on contextual interpretation, but practically it means it is very difficult for Christians to share their faith and chokes the ability of churches to reach their community. Additionally, Christian advocates have been targeted for violent attack by Islamic extremists.
Meet Abdallah*
“I have always said that even if they were putting a knife on my throat, I could not say that Jesus does not exist. I cannot ignore Jesus, I just can’t. I also find it impossible to remain silent about my faith. Even in a taxi, in the train, in a grocery store, if I ever hear someone saying bad things about Jesus or about Christians in general, I cannot stay quiet.”
Abdallah*, a convert from Islam in North Africa
*Name changed for security reasons
Pray for Morocco
- Pray for unity in the Moroccan church. Believers are scattered around the country and don’t know each other well. Special efforts need to be made to be united.
- Pray for children in local schools. Islam is taught in many different subjects at school. Christian children say this is confusing, as they hear different teaching at home. Pray they will not feel confused, but that they will deeply know the truth.
- Pray for Christians involved in social work. They are a great example of taking care of the vulnerable in society and being a testimony in society. Pray for God to give people vision for how to be involved in this work.
What does Open Doors do to help Christians in Morocco?
In cooperation with local partners and churches, Open Doors supports the Church in North Africa in a variety of ways. Through partners, Open Doors provides training, Christian literature distribution, microloans, follow-up ministry via different media channels and advocacy training to stand up for the rights of Christians. Open Doors also raises prayer support for believers in Morocco.