Baháʼí Faith in Morocco

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The history of the Baháʼí Faith in Morocco began around 1946.

International League for the Rights of Man[4] and would echo in analyses of politics of Morocco for years to come.[11][12] All Baháʼí meetings were prohibited in 1983 followed by arrests.[4] This time the response emphasized the non-partisan and obedience to government principles of the religion.[13] 1992 estimates by the US Department of State counted some 150-200 Baháʼís.[14] while 2001 through 2009 estimates mention the Baháʼí community at 350 to 400 persons.[15][16]

Early phase

There is a mention of contact with a Baháʼí in Morocco in 1946 but it's unclear with division (Spanish, French, International Zone.)

Berbers.[7] A regional National Spiritual Assembly for North East is organized in 1956.[4] In 1957 the first Tuareg joins the religion.[4] Louella McKay was another pioneer from about spring 1959 through the fall of 1963 in Spanish Morocco.[25]

A regional National Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa was organized

Tetuan and Zaouiat Cheikh
.

Growth

Persecution

In

International League for the Rights of Man (an organization accredited by the UN which aims to spread civil liberties around the world).[35]
Baldwin mentions how the League, by applying public pressure on the King of Morocco helped save the lives of the Baháʼí prisoners who had been sentenced to death. Baldwin was quoted discussing the League, "All this adds up to the very tiny beginnings of a system by which the UN itself would examine and process complaints and ultimately help set up a world court of human rights."

Morocco, Old Land, New Nation published in 1966[11] discusses[36] briefly the exploitation of the religion by a Moroccan political party, in an effort to dramatize a claim "to be the stanch defender of faith and country," and the resultant persecution and imprisonment of several young Baha'i men from Nador. Concerning the Faith, the authors write: "The attractiveness of the movement stemmed from its belief in world brotherhood (a factor in its recent appeal in certain parts of Africa), the dedication of its organizers, and the vitality of its discussions, which contrasted sharply with the small concern in Morocco with the possibility of modernizing Islam." The reactions of various Moroccan leaders, newspaper publicity, and the final reversal of the convictions are noted.

Development of the community

The first summer school of Morocco for Baháʼís was held in Meknes, from August 31 to September 6. Over twenty participants were gathered on a farm situated in a suburb of Meknes, belonging to one of the Persian pioneers, Hossein Rowhani Ardakani. The city of Meknes, with more than seventy registered Baha'is, has the largest Baháʼí community in Morocco in 1964.

Hand of the Cause Taráz'u'lláh Samandarí visited the Baháʼís of Morocco.[39] The Rabat Baháʼí community hosted the May 1–2, 1965 convention for the regional national assembly of North West Africa. All the delegates, except one, were present.[40] The three Benelux countries held their schools at a combined site at De Vechtstrom in the northern Netherlands from August 23 through 30 1965 together with 150 attendees from fifteen countries including Morocco, Tunisia, Japan, Great Britain, United States and others from Europe.[41] The second summer school of Morocco was held in Meknes, August 23 to 29, 1965 with about one hundred Baháʼís and inquirers and for the first time a greater number of women were present than at previous schools.[42] Issam Tahan died on August 8, 1965, in London during treatment for heart problems. He was the small boy who, while his father was in prison in Morocco, chanted a prayer before the audience at the first Baháʼí World Congress.[43] A summer school in Meknes was held August 1–7, 1966, which attracted about forty participants. Basic courses on administration and history were given, with additional lectures on special topics such as Women and the Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼí Faith and education, and a special study of the Message of the Universal House of Justice to Baháʼí youth.[44] The first winter school was held in Rabat February 25–26, 1967 with twenty-five communities represented.[45] In before fall 1967 Hands of the Cause William Sears and Shuʼáʼu'lláh ʻAláʼí met with the Baháʼís in Casablanca and the regional national assembly for a week.[46] The fifth national summer school was held in Meknes September 3–9, 1967, with about 70 attendees from 14 localities. A young girl from Marrakech delivered a prepared lecture on the role of women in the Baha'i Faith presenting an example of women as efficient and active participants.[47] The annual convention for the regional assembly was held in Rabat in April 1968.[48] An international conference was held in Madrid in early April, 1969, organized by the National Youth Committee of Spain with over thirty young Baha'is attendees, representing Austria, England, France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.[49] In 1968 a Baháʼí was arrested and would spend four years in prison.[50] The 1970 French summer school, held at Annecy/Sevrier from August 30 to September 8, had attendees of 150 persons from Germany, England, Belgium, Denmark, India, Luxembourg, Dominica, Morocco, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia.[51] However, in 1970 the annual Convention did not take place due to the situation in Morocco. The elections were accomplished through mail correspondence.[52] On October 6, 1971, Morassa (Yazdi) Rawhani, a pioneer since February 1957, died. She had actively participated in the formation of two assemblies of Rabat and Sale. Her burial in the Baháʼí Cemetery at Rabat, was attended by a large number of believers of Morocco, the majority native believers; also in attendance was a representative from the Iranian Embassy in Rabat.[53] After four years of imprisonment Allal Rouhani has been released and on January 30, 1972, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of North-West Africa held a luncheon attended by about sixty Baháʼís and friends from all the local assemblies in the area. The Universal House of Justice was represented by Salim Nounou from France.[50]

In 1975 the regional assembly of North West Africa was split into North and West separately. The regional National Assembly of Northern Africa included Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Spanish Sahara.[54] In July 1975 the National Summer School of Spain in July which was attended by believers from Spain, Germany, France, and Morocco.[55] More than one parent/child conference was sponsored by the Baháʼís of Morocco to mark the International Year of the Child.[56] At the discussions on the draft of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief at the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs Committee of the United Nations General Assembly there were several mentions of situation of the Baháʼís in Iran—the Moroccan delegate made reference to "religious fanaticism" in a statement which also provoked a reply from Iran.[57] Manuchihi Hizari, one of the first Baháʼís in Morocco, left with his family in 1982 for the United States where he died in 2010.[58] However persecutions occurred again in Morocco in 1983.[4][15] All Baháʼí meetings were prohibited. Published polemics in the 1970s and 1980s continued.[59] In June 1984 a Baháʼí in Tetuan is arrested and sentenced to three years in prison for violating the ban on meetings.[4] A response to these developments was to seek diplomatic redress emphasizing the non-partisan and obedience to government principles of the religion.[13]

Baháʼís have more recently been denied passports and can practice their religion only in private.[60]

Modern community

The events of 1962–3 are still considered a note on Moroccan politics.[12] The 50th anniversary of the religion in Cameroon attracted some 560 Baháʼís including visitors from a host of countries including Morocco in 2003.[61] Moroccan Baháʼís have managed to obtain acceptable national ID cards, avoiding the Egyptian identification card controversy.[62] The religion is still considered heretical[63] or some kind of "non-religion religion" according to Ayyad Ablal, a Moroccan sociologist.[64]

Demographics

1992 estimates by the US Department of State counted some 150-200 Baháʼís[14] while 2001 through 2009 estimates mention the Baháʼí community, mostly in Rabat and Casablanca, at 350 to 400 persons.[15][16] However Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) estimated 30,000 Baháʼís in 2005 and 2010,[65] which would make the Baháʼí Faith the third-largest religion in the country.[66] The ARDA quotes census figures of 350 to 400 Baháʼí adherents[66] and in 2015 changed their own estimate to 350–400 Baháʼís.[67]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "News of Other Lands; Geneva Baháʼí Bureau". Baháʼí News. No. 183. July 1946. p. 9.
  2. ^ a b c d "Legal Recognition, Increase in Centers Reported in Morocco". Baháʼí News. No. 327. May 1958. p. 14.
  3. ^ a b c d Hassall, Graham (c. 2000). "Egypt: Baha'i history". Asia Pacific Baháʼí Studies: Baháʼí Communities by country. Baháʼí Online Library. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-85398-404-2
    .
  5. ^ a b "First Local Spiritual Assembly of Ceuta..." Baháʼí News. No. 300. February 1956. p. 7.
  6. ^ a b "First Baháʼí Summer Schoot..." Baháʼí News. No. 323. January 1958. p. 12.
  7. ^ a b "First Local Spiritual Assembly of Zaouiat Cheikh". Baháʼí News. No. 354. September 1960. p. 12.
  8. ^ a b Hassall, Graham (2003-08-26). "This note concerns references to Africa in the Baháʼí Writings". Asian/Pacific Collection. Asia Pacific Baháʼí Studies. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  9. ^ a b Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land. "The Baháʼí Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Baháʼí Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963". pp. 25, 83, 103, 115.
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-85398-350-X
    .
  11. ^ a b Cohen, Mark L.; Lorna Hahn (1966). Morocco: old land, new nation. Frederick A. Praeger. pp. 141–146.
  12. ^ a b Abdelilah, Bouasria. "The other 'Commander of the faithful': Morocco's King Mohammed VI's religious policy". World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies. European Institute of the Mediterranean. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  13. ^
    doi:10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8
    .
  14. ^ a b U.S. State Department (January 31, 1994). "Morocco Human Rights Practices, 1993". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Archived from the original on July 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  15. ^ a b c U.S. State Department (October 26, 2001). "2001 Report on International Religious Freedom – Morocco". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  16. ^ a b U.S. State Department (October 26, 2009). "2009 Report on International Religious Freedom – Morocco". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Archived from the original on October 30, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  17. ^ "News of Other Lands; From Geneva News Bulletin; Morocco". Baháʼí News. No. 198. August 1947. p. 10.
  18. ^ "Manouchehr Hezari helped introduce the Faith to Morocco". National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States. September 13, 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-12-16.
  19. ^ MESSAGES TO THE BAHA'I WORLD: 1950-1957, © (U.S., 1971) page 52
  20. ^ The Universal House of Justice (1974). The Baháʼí World – An International Record Vol XIV 1963-1968 – From a letter written by Luella McKay. Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England: Broadwater Press Limited.
  21. ^ "Standing up for justice and truth". Baháʼí World News service. San Antonio, United States: Baháʼí International Community. 5 December 2004. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  22. ISBN 978-1-931847-26-1
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  23. ^ Lee, Anthony A. (2006). "Badi G. Foster". In Appiah, Kwame Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (eds.). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (Second ed.). Oxford African American Studies Center. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  24. ^ "National News; United States Africa Teaching Committee; Africa News". Baháʼí News. No. 288. February 1955. pp. 7–8.
  25. ^ "Baha'i in the News". Baháʼí News. No. 399. June 1964. p. 11.
  26. ^ "Divinity School Members Protest Verdict on Baha'i". The Harvard Crimson. January 18, 1963. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  27. ^ The first mention in Baháʼí News of the events was in November 1962 by way of covering news in Le Monde. It was not until January 1963 that a compendium on the events was published by the Baha'is - Baháʼí International Community (January 1963). Freedom of Religion on Trial in Morocco: The Nador Case (PDF). Humanities & Social Sciences Online, Michigan State University.
  28. ^ "Divinity School Members Protest Verdict on Baha'i". The Harvard Crimson. The Harvard Crimson, Inc. January 18, 1963. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  29. ISBN 978-1-931847-46-9
    .
  30. ^ "Baha'is Protest Morocco Action". Wisconsin State Journal. January 3, 1963. p. 21. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  31. ^ "Morocco to Execute 3 Bahais". Winnipeg Free Press. 1963-12-19. p. 15. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  32. ^ "Sentences Bahai Sect Members to Death". Lethbridge Herald. 1963-12-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  33. ^ "International Scene". Chronicle Telegram. 1963-04-02. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  34. ^ "various". New York Times. 1963. pp. various. Retrieved 2010-06-11. [dead link]
  35. ^ "Baha'i in the News". Baháʼí News. No. 400. July 1964. p. 15.
  36. ^ "Baha'i in the News". Baháʼí News. No. 428. November 1966. p. 19.
  37. ^ "First Summer School in Morocco". Baháʼí News. No. 405. December 1964. p. 2.
  38. ^ "Baha'i Summer School Held in Perigueux, France". Baháʼí News. No. 405. December 1964. p. 5.
  39. ^ "Baha'i Summer School Held in Perigueux, France". Baháʼí News. No. 411. June 1965. p. 10.
  40. ^ "All delegates, except one, were present..." Baháʼí News. No. 413. August 1965. p. 3.
  41. ^ "Benelux Summer School Held in De Vechtstrom, the Netherlands". Baháʼí News. No. 416. November 1965. p. 6.
  42. ^ "Benelux Summer School Held in De Vechtstrom, the Netherlands". Baháʼí News. No. 416. November 1965. p. 8.
  43. ^ "News Briefs". Baháʼí News. No. 417. December 1965. p. 23.
  44. ^ "News Briefs". Baháʼí News. No. 429. December 1966. p. 17.
  45. ^ "First winter schoot held in Rabat..." Baháʼí News. No. 435. June 1966. p. 8.
  46. ^ "North West Africa". Baháʼí News. No. 439. October 1967. p. 5.
  47. ^ "Moroccan School Welcomes Seventy Participants". Baháʼí News. No. 440. November 1967. p. 9.
  48. ^ "Convention of North West Africa". Baháʼí News. No. 449. August 1968. p. 13.
  49. ^ "Madrid Site of First European Youth Conference". Baháʼí News. No. 461. August 1969. p. 9.
  50. ^ a b "A Prisoner for his Faith Gains Freedom". Baháʼí News. No. 494. May 1972. p. 9.
  51. ^ "French School Hosts Twelve Countries". Baháʼí News. No. 466. January 1970. p. 15.
  52. ^ "North West Africa". Baháʼí News. No. 475. October 1970. p. 7.
  53. ^ "In Memoriam". Baháʼí News. No. 490. January 1972. p. 7.
  54. ^ "Five new National Assemblies to form at Ridvan". Baháʼí News. No. 526. January 1975. pp. 3–4.
  55. ^ "Around the world; Spain; Mr. Giachery speaks at Summer School". Baháʼí News. Vol. 52, no. 8. August 1975. p. 20.
  56. ISSN 0195-9212
    .
  57. ISSN 0195-9212
    .
  58. ^ By which time he spelled his name as "Manouchehr Hezari"Sanders, Joshunda (June 26, 2010). "Austinite helped introduce Baha'i faith to Morocco". The Austin Statesman. Austin Texas. Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  59. ^ MacEoin, Denis; William Collins. "Anti-Baha'i Polemics". The Babi and Baha'i Religions: An Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood Press's ongoing series of Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies. pp. entries # 132, 253, 353, 372, 411. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
  60. ^ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (1994-04-03). "Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination : Morocco". Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 2007-03-03. see paragraphs 215 and 220.
  61. ^ "In Africa, four communities celebrate 50 years of progress". One Country. 15 (2). Lilongwe, Malawi: Baháʼí International Community. July–September 2003. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  62. ^ Prohibited Identities; State Interference with religious Freedom. Vol. 19. Human Rights Watch. November 2007. p. 26.
  63. ISBN 978-0-521-85649-2
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  64. ^ Al-Khanusi, Jamal; Ayyad Ablal (18 April 2009). "The Bahaʼi Faith and Religious Pluralism in Morocco". Al-Sabah Moroccan Newspaper. The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  65. ^ "Most Baha'i Nations (2010)". International > Regions > Northern Africa. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2010. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  66. ^ a b "Morocco". International > Regions > Northern Africa. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-04-11. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  67. ^ "Morocco". Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
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