Religion in Morocco is Islam because it is a predominantly Muslim country. The number of Muslims in Morocco is significantly higher than in the past. Understanding the Muslim population is important.
The Muslim population
Muslims make up about 98.5% of the population. They are of the Sunni Malikite rite, as a good majority of North Africans. A priori, one in three Moroccans goes to the mosque every Friday. Islam is considered the state religion according to article 6 of the Constitution. This article assures each practitioner of the free exercise of religion in Morocco.
Additionally, the King of Morocco represents the supreme religious leader of the Muslim population in Morocco. He also bears the title of “Commander of the Faithful,” similar to his predecessors.<
Focus on religious minorities
Among the religious minorities, we must count the Christian population, 1%. This population represents 1% of the people, whereas it constituted approximately 5% 50 years ago.
Moreover, the Jewish population represents 0.2% or about 20,000 people. Jews represented a population of 450,000 about four decades ago (about 4% of the population). Almost all of them immigrated to France or Israel in the early 1960s. Those who are still present are, in fact, advisers to the king and businessmen called “court Jews.” We must also highlight the human rights activists; we can cite the famous Abraham Serfaty.
Jews were present in Roman times regarding religion in Morocco, especially in the High Atlas. And this situation took place before the country became essentially Muslim. Other Jews came from Spain; they were expelled there at the end of the 15th century, in 1492. The Jews were then considered dhimmis and faced various forms of discrimination.
