Local and foreign Christians have joined relief efforts following last week’s massive earthquake in Morocco.
Nearly 3,000 people died and more than 5,000 were injured. With a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale, it is the most powerful earthquake that the North African country has experienced since 1969 and the deadliest since 1960.
But far from the epicenter near the historic city of Marrakech, the gathered believers were all asking themselves the same question.
“No one ever asks disasters: ‘Why did this happen to them?” said Youssef Ahmed, a prominent member of the North Church in Tangier, 350 miles away. “But when it happens Youeveryone wants to know God’s will.
The house church service lasted much longer than usual.
Although Morocco recognizes only Islam and Judaism as national religions, local believers generally say the government allows them to worship quietly at home, under protective but thorough supervision. Alcohol and pork, prohibited by Sharia law, are also freely available in the country. About 15 percent of citizens to announce themselves non-religious, while only 25 percent express confidence in religious leadership.
“We are not limited to Morocco,” Ahmed said. “Don’t be a nuisance.”
The US State Department’s latest report on Morocco indicates that although “harming the Islamic religion” is punishable by up to five years in prison, there are no known cases Christians who break the law.
But that Sunday, the former Muslims had other concerns on their minds.
“Why did this happen?” We can’t know. Was it because of sin? We can’t know. Was it a test, like with Job? We can’t know,” said Ahmed, who led the lengthy discussion. “All we know is that God allowed this to happen and that His ways are right. We keep our trust in him.
Encouraged in their march, they went out to serve.
The congregation is part of the 36-member Union of Christian Churches, which Ahmed founded in 2010. Congregants traveled south with supplies to see what they could do.
As they tried to reach isolated villages in the Atlas Mountains, where many mud-brick houses were destroyed, they were turned back by roadblocks that allowed only their loved ones to enter. Continuing towards Jemaa al-Fnaa square in Marrakech, they encountered a mass of humans camping in fear of continued aftershocks. They quickly joined the multitude of Moroccans – and tourists – handing out water and blankets.
Much of the 9th-century UNESCO World Heritage site was undamaged, including the medieval Kotoubia Mosque which overlooks the square. But a less famous minaret had collapsed, as are parts of the 12th-century city walls. Wrong damaged There was also the earth-and-stone Tinmel Mosque, built by the Almohad dynasty in a valley in the Atlas Mountains 60 miles away before the Berber Caliphate conquered Marrakech and headed for Spain.
A Moroccan pastor estimates the church today is 80 percent Berber.
Meanwhile, from the southern city of Agadir, 240 kilometers southwest of the epicenter, Rachid Imounan was also trying to help. As the leader of a local network of around 150 Christians, he worked with his community to distribute food, clothing and medicine, as well as visiting the injured in the town’s hospital. Bold where appropriate, he sought to convey a “pleasing spiritual message” about salvation.
“This is what the Bible teaches us: to be together in joy and sorrow,” Imounan said. “We don’t have much, but we have spiritual power. »
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights estimates there are 25,000 Christian citizens in the country, according to the U.S. State Department, while foreign leaders estimate there is an expatriate community about 10,000 Protestants and 30,000 Roman Catholics.
Last Sunday, Pope Francis joined in solidarity and prayed for the victims of the earthquake.
“We stand with the Moroccan people,” he said. declaredwhile the Vatican offered to help.
In 2016, Morocco welcomed hundreds of Muslim leaders to issue the Marrakesh Declaration, pawning to protect historic Christian minorities as ISIS ravaged Syria and Iraq. In 2019, Francis visited the kingdom as part of his ongoing work with the Muslim world. And by hosting a global parliamentary conference last June, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI reiterated his nation’s commitment to guaranteeing the “free exercise of religious worship” to all foreign Christians.
Yesterday he personally won $100 million Don help in the event of an earthquake.
Ahmed said international Protestant churches in Tangier, Casablanca and Marrakech have joined the overall effort.
The same goes for People in Mission International (PMI), a Latin American agency working in Muslim countries. Working with many other colleagues, they established a base camp to distribute emergency supplies while raising funds for support the displaced.
“We try to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to embody his love,” said PMI’s field coordinator, requesting anonymity in accordance with agency policy. “And to support the Church, we are seeing more unity day by day as expatriates and local believers work together. »
They cannot legally work alone.
“The church is not registered, so it is not able to provide official relief,” said Adam Rabati, president of the Union of Moroccan Christians, a group of 65 house churches. “We have always been rejected by our families and by conservative society. »
Living 200 miles north of the epicenter of Rabat, he said his village house was also damaged by the earthquake. While his union also seeks to help displaced people, it has been working for a long time campaigned guarantee official recognition of local Christians and religious rights in matters of marriage, burial and child rearing.
And as their situation deteriorated over the previous decade ruled by Islamist politicians, Rabati declared that believers will still have to fight for their demands under the Liberal government elected in 2021.
Open doors ranks Morocco is ranked 29th on the global watch list of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, while the law prohibits “shaking the faith of a Muslim”.
The 25-year-old daughter of a second-generation pastor shares Rabati’s opinion. As a student, she chafed at having to memorize the Quran and Islamic prayer rituals, and would not tell anyone about her true faith.
“Moroccan Christianity is very weak,” she said of the impact of non-recognition. “We live our faith in secret and worship clandestinely. »
But the earthquake may bring some local Christians out of their shells.
Living in Casablanca, his house shook but suffered no material damage. She declined to give her name and that of her agency for security reasons, but she and other Christians have distributed food, clothing, tents and other necessities.
Everywhere she goes, she encounters mortality. As she traveled the almost impassable mountain roads to reach isolated villages, she saw other drivers heading to their deaths. And then, upon her arrival, she is hit by a bitter reality: the stench of decomposing bodies trapped under the rubble.
Relief work keeps her up until 2 a.m., and for a very specific reason.
“It’s very important for us as Christians to have a positive impact on our society,” she said, “and to show the world who Jesus is.” »
The Al Yassamine Association exists for the same reason.
Created in 2007 by Mustafa Soussi, the former Islamist activist wanted his faith in Christ to shine throughout the world. Pursuant to James 2:26—faith without works is dead—his organization works for sustainable development in the same Moroccan areas devastated by the earthquake. He is from Taroudant, 250 kilometers south of Marrakech.
Commonly known for his Christian leadership, Al Yassamine was first on the scene.
Like other believers, Soussi distributed food, clothing and medicine, starting in remote areas not yet reached by the government or other humanitarian agencies. But unlike the fellow Christians interviewed by CT, his group is registered with the competent authorities, and therefore official.
“We cannot work on earthquake relief in the name of the Church,” Soussi said. “But as an association we have the legal right to help those affected.”
It employs Muslims alongside Christians and provides assistance to them in the same way. Less concerned with giving verbal testimony than embodying Matthew 7:16:by their fruits you will know them— Soussi is not a believer in Jesus but a proud citizen, awaiting any questions about his faith.
But he has a motivation that prevails.
“My country made me who I am today,” Soussi said. “I want us to understand that Morocco is not just for Muslims.”
Raised in a pious family, his parents and siblings refused to speak to him after his conversion to Christianity in 1994. Nine years later, he and others named their home church after the prophet Job, s identifying with the patience of the Old Testament character in the face of great suffering.
But in 2009, Soussi’s family accepted him again and now even seeks his advice.
The figure of Job, of course, is a perfect prophet in times of national disaster. And while Ahmed’s colleagues distributed their water to the displaced people of Marrakech, like Soussi, they announced no particular religious distinction.
But they were intended to provoke reflection on the will of God.
“All we told them was: God loves you“, Ahmed said. “But this could open up conversations: If he loves me why did this happen?”
Some recipients are committed; some did not. With all this, believers sought to act wisely, knowing that the government could be watching over them. But there is no law against talking to people, he said, and actions speak louder than words.
“Muslims are our neighbors,” Ahmed said. “There may not be an impact yet, but we are sowing a seed. »