Morocco

Pray for Africa

Prayer Points

  • For widespread distribution of evangelistic materials among unreached people groups.
  • For believers to meet with Berber people using their indigenous languages.
  • That God will reveal Himself to the nomadic desert tribes of Morocco.
  • For Moroccans to be open to the Good News.
  • For fellowship and freedom from fear for isolated believers.

LOCATION
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara

POPULATION
35 241 418 ( 2017 est.)

RELIGION

Muslim 99% (official; virtually all Sunni, <0.1% Shia)

Other 1% (includes Christian, Jewish, and Baha'i)

note - Jewish about 6,000 (2010 est.)

INTERNET USERS
20 207 154 (2017)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
9,9% (2016 est.)

MISSIONARIES
Sent: 15
Received: 1 000

LEAST REACHED PEOPLE GROUPS

27

KEY CITY

Fes

Population of city:

 964 891

Urbanization rate: 

2.26% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major religion in city:

Muslim

We Pray...

Father, we come before You to pray for Morocco. We pray for widespread distribution of evangelistic materials among the many unreached people groups. We also pray that there may soon be groups meeting together using the indigenous languages in each of the regions of the Berber people. Lord, we pray that You will reveal Yourself to the nomadic desert tribes of the south and east, who have little contact with the gospel.

We also pray for those troubled by increasing tensions between Islamists and moderates to be open to the Good News. Lord God, we pray for fellowship and freedom from fear for isolated believers. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

State of the Church

The constitution of Morocco provides for the freedom to practice one's religion, although the government places restrictions on this right in practice. The constitution stipulates that Islam is the official state religion; the king is "commander of the (Muslim) believers (amir al-mumineen)" and "defender of the faith (Islam, ad-din)" in the country. The government continued to respect the right of the vast majority of citizens to practice their religion, although government policies discouraged conversion from Islam and efforts to proselytize Muslims. Non-Muslim foreign communities generally practiced their faith openly. However, while the law permits Sunni Maliki Muslims to proselytize others, it prohibits efforts to proselytize Sunni Maliki Muslims.

There are a few dozen small house churches and fellowships. Some of the churches are growing and maturing while others have a hard time maintaining regular meetings especially after the 2010 expulsions of expat workers.

Overview

After the “Arab Spring” many people waited for Morocco to be besieged by people protesting. There was minor protest but as usual the King immediately acted and saved the country from following the same path as the rest in the region. In 1975 Morocco took over the Western Sahara. This happened after 2 years of fighting between the Polisario Front (The Polisario Front consists out of the Saharawi people, they are fighting for an independent Saharawi state) and Spain. In 1975 the Spanish colonial forces withdrew from the area. It is after the withdrawal that Morocco and Mauritania invaded the Western Sahara. In 1977 France intervened as the conflict reached its peak intensity.

2 years later Mauritania withdrew from the conflict and territories. In 1991, after the UN interfered, a cease-fire agreement was reached between the Polisario front and Moroccan government. The situation still remains unsolved, many of the Saharwi people have fled to Algeria, many of them still fighting for their own nation-state.

Other Resources:

Bibliography