(AKI) - Morocco's Islamic leaders are concerned with the increase in the number of Moroccans who are converting to Christianity: these now number 1,000 compared to some 400 a decade ago. Many of the converts have joined Protestant and Evangelical churches whose missionaries are active in the overwhelmingly Muslim North African country, according to a report by pan-Arab satellite TV station al-Arabiya. "We're more than 1,000 and we have some 50 churches present in towns and cities throughout the country," Abdel Halim, a 57-year-old physician who converted to the Evangelical faith 16 years ago, told al-Arabiya. "For security reasons, we cannot admit that we have converted and we are often forced to move as if we were a clandestine organisation, Halim says, referring to an article (220) in Morocco's penal code that makes "any questioning of the Islamic faith or the attempt to instigate a Moroccan to change religion," a crime punishable with up to three years in prison.The president of Casablanca's Ulema Council which groups together the main Muslim leaders in the city, Raduwan Bin Shakrun, says he opposes the conversions. "The rejection of one's religion is one of the worst mistakes that a Muslim can make," Shakrun told al-Arabiya.
His views are shared by Hussein Dawudi, a parliamentarian for the "Justice and Development" grouping which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. "The people won't accept that one can change religion. While if an individual changes religion, this could still be accepted but it becomes a problem when the whole of society is concerned. If Christian children or converts were to come to school, this would not be allowed," he said.
It is this sort of stigmatism that Moroccans who convert to Christianity face, even without the authorities cracking down - Morocco is more liberal on such issues than many other Muslim nations in the region. "We have to move carefully because in this society you can't be an Arab unless you are also a Muslim," Halim explained.