Islam is the largest religion in Morocco, with more than 99% of the population adhering to it. The largest subset of Muslims in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

are

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

Sunni; other numerous groups include practitioners of

Zahirism The Ẓāhirī ( ar, ظاهري, otherwise transliterated as ''Dhāhirī'') ''madhhab'' or al-Ẓāhirīyyah ( ar, الظاهرية) is a Sunnī school of Islamic jurisprudence founded by Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī in the 9th century CE. It is chara ...

and

non-denominational Muslim Non-denominational Muslims () are Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches. Non-denominational Muslims are found primarily in Central Asi ...

s. Islam is the nation's state religion. Consequently, ex-Muslims and adherents of other faiths or

non-religious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...

individuals are subject to significant discrimination by the state as well as the society in general. Blasphemy against Islam is a punishable offense.

History

Islam was first brought to Morocco in 680 by an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

invasion under the

Uqba ibn Nafi ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī ( ar, عقبة بن نافع بن عبد القيس الفهري القرشي, ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī), also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi, was an Arab general ser ...

, who was a general serving under the

Umayyads Umayyads may refer to: *Umayyad dynasty, a Muslim ruling family of the Caliphate (661–750) and in Spain (756–1031) *Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) :*Emirate of Córdoba (756–929) :*Caliphate of Córdoba The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خ ...

of Damascus. In 788, The

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

Idrisids The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( ar, الأدارسة ') were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid and ...

who espoused pro

Zaydi Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, ...

views ruled large parts of Morocco. Their contemporaries included the heretical Barghawata state and the

Khariji The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...

state of Sijilmasa. After several Berbers formed more powerful Islamic dynasties that reigned over the country. Among them were the Almoravids (1040–1147), who was the first to unite Morocco, as well as significant regions in West Africa, Spain and Algeria. The Almoravids were responsible for making the

i school of Islamic jurisprudence the most prominent in Morocco. It was later under

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fou ...

rule (1121-1269) that smaller Muslim sects were persecuted and orthodox Sunni Islam became prevalent across the country. In 2016, the government developed a strategy to further adherence to the

Islamic school of thought. Religious education had textbook passages deemed promoting violence removed from the curriculum. As a result, religious textbooks had 24 lessons compared to the former 50.

Practice

According to Pew, 99% of Muslims in Morocco are Sunni predominantly of the Sunni Maliki

madhab A ( ar, مذهب ', , "way to act". pl. مَذَاهِب , ) is a school of thought within '' fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence). The major Sunni Mathhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centurie ...

, or school of thought, whilst the remaining 1% adhere to other sects such as

Quranism Quranism ( ar, القرآنية, translit=al-Qurʾāniyya'';'' also known as Quran-only Islam) Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.38-42 is a movement within Islam. It holds the belief that traditional religious cl ...

ibadism The Ibadi movement or Ibadism ( ar, الإباضية, al-Ibāḍiyyah) is a school of Islam. The followers of Ibadism are known as the Ibadis. Ibadism emerged around 60 years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AD as a moderate sc ...

etc. The administration of

King Mohammed VI Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moh ...

has combated the influence of

Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

via a state program where 100,000 imams will go to the country's 50000 mosques and promote the moderate Islam of the Maliki

. Morocco has a large Salafi movement, notable figures among it include

Omar al-Haddouchi Omar al-Haddouchi ( ar, عمر الحدوشي) is a Moroccan Islamic scholar who is among the leaders of the Salafi movement in Morocco. Education Al-Haddouchi was born in Al Hoceima Morocco in 1970, and began studying and at a young age with ...

and

Hassan Kettani Ḥassan al-Kettani ( ar, حسن الكتاني; born 16 August 1972 in Salé) is a Muslim scholar and former political prisoner from Morocco. Imprisoned for alleged connections to the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Kettani was pardoned by Mohammed VI ...

. There are also adherents to the Quranist creed in Morocco, such as the author Rachid Aylal. published a critical book on Bukhari's work in 2017, ''Sahih Al-Bukhari… The End of a Legend''. It was banned in Morocco for disturbing spiritual security, purportedly due to pressure from Islamists.

Notes

References

References:Bibliography: * * * * * Geertz, Clifford. (1968). "Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia" . Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. * Munson Jr., Henry. (1993). " Religion and Power in Morocco" . New Haven: Yale University Press. * Terem, Etty. (2014). "Old Texts, New Practices: Islamic Reform in Modern Morocco". Stanford: Stanford University Press {{Africa in topic, Islam in Sunni Islam Maliki

History

Practice

See also

Notes

References