Being A Christian in Morocco

While home for the holidays, we visited our church this morning after being away for three months  in Morocco. It was wonderful to be back with "our people" singing Christmas carols and reconnecting with treasured friends. I have missed this part of my life since moving to Marrakech. The following post describes some of my thoughts and feelings about living as a Christian in a predominantly Muslim country.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. For more than four decades I have consistently attended religious services on Sundays - no matter where I was living or traveling. Although I am far from perfect, I also try to live the Christian principles taught in my church on a daily basis. So much of who I am, and who I am trying to be, is linked to my precious faith in Jesus Christ.

There are very few Christians in Morocco; 99% of the population is Muslim. Of that Christian 1%, a tiny fraction are affiliated with my church; there is only one official congregation in the entire country and it's very small. It's located in Rabat, about a 3.5 hour train ride away from Marrakech, so we don't get to worship with them in person very often. However, thanks to modern technology, a small group of us participate in Sunday meetings remotely from our homes using video conferencing software. This has been a great blessing to us, but it's very different from a traditional Sunday church meeting like we attended this morning.

So, I guess the essential question for me living as a Christian in Morocco is... Can I have a rich spiritual life, feel God's love, and do His work without so much "church" structure and support? Gratefully, I believe the answer is yes.

Each morning at around 6:00 am, I hear the first of 5 daily calls to prayer from the nearby mosque. This reminder to begin my day with prayer is something I honestly love and appreciate. Repeated calls to prayer throughout the day have added a new dynamic to my own religious observance as I think more often now about communing with God by "praying always". (The following video is not mine but thought it captured the experience very nicely.)

My own personal study of the Bible and other scriptures has now grown to include reading a bit of the Quran each day. To be honest, so far I have not found the Quran to be particularly uplifting, but reading it does help me appreciate my own sacred texts and better understand the people that I live among. We have met so many wonderful people in Morocco! They come from all walks of life and have been unfailingly kind to us. I know that they have been schooled in the Quran, so I feel that I can understand them better if I am familiar with their beliefs. While there are certainly cultural contrasts between us, I feel strongly that they are my brothers and sisters and that what we have in common transcends our differences. We love our families. We want a measure of temporal security. We need friends. We hope for some kind of heaven when our lives are finished on earth. They are beautiful!

Finding opportunities to serve others always helps me to feel close to God. And there are so many needs for service in Morroco! My friend Joanne and I recently started volunteering at an orphanage near the Atlas Mountains near our homes. In Morocco, unwed pregnancy still carries a huge stigma, resulting in many children literally being discarded by their mothers as soon as they are born.  Helping at Les Enfants de l'Atlas brings me joy! This and giving other small acts of service have been a huge blessing to me and have helped me to feel that I am doing just a little bit of His work here on the earth.

Last Sunday, I went for an afternoon walk around the golf course where we live. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. A recent rainstorm had cleared the air and I could see the snowcapped Atlas mountains not too far away. 

To be honest, I was feeling a little homesick and Christmas-starved, even knowing that I would be on a plane for California and the holidays before the end of the week. As I set out on my walk, I got a reminder on my phone that the weekly choir broadcast from Temple Square in Salt Lake City was about to start. In a matter of moments, my headphones were on and  I was listening to my favorite arrangement of "The First Noel". Think of it! I was walking in the shadows of the snowcapped Atlas mountains, listening to earthly angels singing in real time over 5,000 miles away! What an amazing time it is to be alive! It was a transcendant experience that reminded me that God's love can find us anywhere, any time. Even when we are not able to go to "church".

I will be in California for a few weeks, enjoying the opportunity to attend church with "my people" for several Sundays. But I know that when I return to Morocco I can continue to worship, serve, and love. And that's what Christianity is all about. 

Merry Christmas dear family and friends. I love you all!

Sue