The government plays an active role in determining and policing religious practice for Muslims, and disrespecting Islam in public can carry punishments in the forms of fines and imprisonment.
During World War II, Morocco fell under the Nazi-backed Vichy Regime, which attempted to deport the Jewish population to concentration camps.
[2] Following the invasion of the Maghreb in 698 c.e., the Muslim states controlling territories that roughly correspond to present day Morocco had relatively tolerant attitudes toward their Christian and Jewish subjects, who were considered "people of the book", although they were required to pay a special religious tax known as jizya.
[5][7] Meanwhile, the Jewish community expanded, particularly in the then-new city of Fez (founded in 789), and experienced a golden age, which would last until roughly the 11th century.
In 1033 as part of a broader military conflict, there was a massacre of Jews in Fez by invaders of the Banu Ifran tribe, with thousands killed and many sold into slavery.
[8] The rule of the early Muslim dynasties in al-Andalus and the Maghreb comprised what is referred to as a golden age of Jewish culture, which would continue until the rise of the Almohad Caliphate.
[9] The Almoravid dynasty which came to power in the 11th century imposed stricter interpretations of Islamic law on its territories, comprising the western parts of modern Morocco, as well as the southern half of Iberia.
[10] Additionally, some explicitly anti-Jewish laws were enacted, such as a ban preventing Jews from living in the new Almoravid capital of Marrakesh.
Following a seventh month grace period,[15] most of the Jews and Christians in Morocco were forced to convert to Islam on pain of death,[16] or fled the country.
[19] During the reign of the Wattasid dynasty which followed, the Jewish population recovered significantly, as refugees fleeing the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition settled in Morocco.
Towards the end of this era, European powers extended "protection" to Jewish communities in Morocco, and then used this as a pretext to interfere in Moroccan politics.
[22][better source needed] As the 19th century drew to a close, Morocco fell further under the control of European powers, particularly France and Spain.
[23] The popularity of these tendencies could be attributed first to French republican ideals such as laïcité, and later to the influence of Marxism in Moroccan nationalist politics.
[23] During World War II, Morocco was controlled by Vichy France, which attempted to deport Jews to concentration camps as part of the Holocaust.
[25] Following the establishment of an independent Moroccan state by his father, Hassan II presided over a repressive regime known as the Years of Lead.
[26] Mohammed VI has generally been described as more liberal than his predecessor, and has enacted reforms to improve the country's human rights record.
[1] Religious organizations for faiths other than Sunni Islam and Judaism are required to register with the government as associations in order to operate and own land.
Muslim judges trained in the country's Maliki-Ashʿari Sunni interpretation of the relevant aspects of sharia administer the courts for personal status matters for all other religious groups.
[1] The criminal code prohibits proselytization to Muslims, punishable by fines of 200 to 500 Moroccan dirham ($21 to US$53) and 6 months to 3 years of prison.
[4] In January 2017, the Ministry of the Interior banned the sale, manufacture, and import of burqas but did not make it illegal to wear them (an exception is required for police and armyofficers and some news-readers).
Christian and Shia Muslim citizens stated fears of government harassment led to their decision to hold religious meetings in members’ homes.
[31][better source needed] Foreign clergy said they discouraged the country's Christian citizens from attending their churches out of fear they could be criminally charged with proselytism.
On several occasions, the government has expelled foreign individuals accused of proselytism as “a threat to public order,” rather than prosecuting them under provisions of the law that prohibit “undermining the faith.”[4][1] Some Christian citizens have reported authorities pressured Christian converts to renounce their faith by informing the converts’ friends, relatives, and employers of the individuals’ conversion,[4] although there were no reported instances of this practice in 2019.
In October 2017 media reported that authorities prevented the Baháʼí community from publicly celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of the faith's founder.
[1] The constitution also establishes that public television stations must dedicate five percent of their programming to Islamic religious content, and that they must broadcast the calls to prayer five times a day.