EXPATRIATE CHRISTIANS EXPELLED FOR ALLEGED PROSELYTIZING

C O N F I D E N T I A L CASABLANCA 000228

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG, DRL/IRF, AND A/OPR/OS - CAMERON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2019
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV ASCH MO
SUBJECT: EXPATRIATE CHRISTIANS EXPELLED FOR ALLEGED PROSELYTIZING

REF: RABAT 336

Classified By: Consul General Millard for reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: On December 4 a group of Moroccan Christian
converts and foreigners gathered in a home in the town of Saidia for
a weekend of study and spiritual retreat. Moroccan police raided the
house, confiscated personal items and religious material, and
detained those present. The Moroccan Christians were released later
that evening after being questioned and processed but the foreigners
were driven to the Spanish border and summarily expelled. Shortly
thereafter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted DCM to complain
about the alleged proselytizing activities of a prominent American
citizen in Casablanca and his affiliated American school. Although
the senior official warned that the American might be expelled and
his school closed, the Mission believes this was most likely a
warning since there has been no further action on the part of the
Ministry. Coming on the heels of a similar incident in March 2009 in
Casablanca (Reftel),the Government of Morocco is showing less
tolerance for Christian activities whether they involve real or
perceived proselytizing. End Summary.

Raid In Saidia
--------------


2. (C) Dr. Abdeltif Benhamou (protect),a Moroccan Christian who was
present at the events in question, recounted to PolOff that a group
of 14 Moroccan Christians from the surrounding towns gathered on
December 4 in Saidia, near the Algerian border, for religious study
and retreat. In addition to the Moroccans there were a number of
expatriates including two South African men who were there as
spiritual instructors, a Guatemalan citizen who has lived for some
time in the Agadir region working on agricultural development
projects, and a French-Algerian national married to a Moroccan. In
the early evening a large number of police surrounded the rented
house, confiscated personal and religious items, and transported all
those present to a police station in the regional capital of Oujda.
Police questioned the Moroccans, took their photos and fingerprints,
confiscated their cell phones, and then released them shortly before
midnight. The foreigners, however, were driven to the Spanish
enclave of Melilla where they were summarily expelled.


3. (C) A Swiss national living in Oujda had rented the house for the
weekend for the group's activities. The following day this man, who
has lived in Oujda for more than 10 years and runs an NGO that works
with handicapped children, was informed by the police that he had 24
hours to leave Morocco along with his wife and three children. None
of the expulsion orders was signed by a judge as required by Moroccan
law, Benhamou reported.

Harassment of Christians
--------------


4. (C) Benhamou complained about what he believes is the Government
of Morocco's (GOM's) two-faced approach to dealing with Moroccan
converts to Christianity. One the one hand, he said, they tell us we
are free to be Christians and believe as we like, but on the other
hand we are not recognized as a group and have no right to marry,
divorce, inherit, or be buried as Christians. Moreover, there is
regular harassment and police intimidation although most of it is
indirect, he said. The police will go to a Chrstian convert's
parents or relatives and talk abut his or her religious activities
in order to ceate family pressure, or alternatively, he said, tey
will go to the person's work and raise doubts with his or her boss.
Police may not even mention religion, but by showing up in the work
place and asking questions and making insinuating comments, they
create a climate of fear and people frequently lose their job,
Behnamou said.


5. (C) Moroccan law prohibits proselytizing, though Benhamou and
others argue that the police raids in Saidia have little to do with
proselytizing. "The indigenous Christian community is very discreet,
we worship in our homes but we need instruction and we turn to the
outside world for it. We receive spiritual instruction from Egypt,
Europe, the U.S. and wherever we can get it," Benhamou told us.

A Message to a Prominent American
--------------


6. (C) Shortly after the incident in Saidia, Ambassador Nasser
Bourita, the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
called the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) and informed him that the
GOM was very upset with Jack Rusenko (protect),a prominent American
citizen in Casablanca and his affiliated private American school, the
George Washington Academy (GWA),for their alleged proselytizing
activities. Bourita claimed that Rusenko and GWA were responsible
for sending Moroccan children abroad to train them to return to
Morocco to proselytize. He warned that the GOM intended to expel
Rusenko from Morocco and to close GWA. The DCM urged reflection and
asked that Bourita give Rusenko an opportunity to respond to the
allegations. Bourita replied that he would take the matter up with
his colleagues and has not raised the issue since although he and the
DCM have spoken and met in the intervening weeks.

GW Academy's Side of the Story
--------------


7. (C) December 14, Consul General Millard (CG) met with Mr. Rusenko
to convey the MFA's message and the DCM's response. Rusenko, who
helped establish the George Washington Academy (GWA) and has spent
nearly two decades in Morocco working in education and with
charitable institutions, expressed surprise at the accusations and
denied GWA or personal involvement in proselytizing. He conjectured
that perhaps the allegation regarding the training abroad stemmed
from a misunderstanding of cases in which American GWA staff members
have sent their children to a Christian summer camp in Europe.
However, he emphasized, this involved a small number of people and
had no relation to proselytizing. He also suggested that perhaps
this might be in relation to a child who did not pass his year in
school. The parents were upset and reacted by claiming a teacher
tried to proselytize the child. In a follow-up e-mail to the CG,
Rusenko also mentioned that GWA has rented out its facilities three
times to recognized churches to hold a weekend conference for
American Christian children in Morocco. Reviewing these events,
Rusenko concluded that Bourita's call likely was prompted by the
Saidia incident, noting that Benhamou's confiscated cell phone
contained Rusenko's telephone number. Benhamou's wife is a Swiss
national who works as a nurse at the George Washington Academy.


8. (C) Rusenko further argued that he and the George Washington
Academy have taken great pains to ensure they do not run afoul of
Morocco's anti-proselytizing laws. We have told the staff at GWA, he
said, that you can live your religion but not openly on campus.
Rusenko, who is well-connected and has good personal relations with
numerous Moroccan officials and prominent personalities, suggested he
might contact the MFA. However, in the subsequent communication to
the CG, Rusenko sounded a more cautious tone and said that he will
hold off on contacting the MFA so as not to stir the pot.


9. (C) The CG and Consular Chief also met with the Chairwoman of the
Board of Directors of GWA, Deborah MacArther, who sought and received
guidance in response to her concern that many of the American
citizens and their dependents teaching at GWA might be refused entry
to Morocco upon their return from Christmas holidays. McCarther
stressed to the CG that all of the teachers are properly registered
with the Moroccan authorities and that Mr. Rusenko, as of this
summer, no longer has any official position connected to the school
he founded. The Consular Chief provided Mrs. MacArthur with ACS
contact information.

Hopes, and Obstacles, to a New Religion Law
--------------


10. (C) Rusenko also noted that in his role as representative of the
Anglicans on the Moroccan Council of Churches, the GOM has been
discussing a possible new law to cover and regularize all
monotheistic religions. Currently the Moroccan Constitution only
recognizes Muslims and Jews. Rusenko commented that since the ruling
Alaouite dynasty has so closely tied its legitimacy to Islam and the
king's role as "Commander of the Faithful," the regime is afraid that
any challenges to the state's version of Islam, be it from Iran,
Algeria, or Christianity, could become a challenge to the throne.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) The GOM's reaction to the Saidia meeting and the swift
expulsion of the foreigners, coming on the heels of a similar
incident in March 2009, appear to demonstrate a decrease in
government tolerance of Christian activities. We believe that the
MFA's threats against Rusenko and GWA are most likely in reaction to
the events in Saidia and are meant for the moment as a warning. End
Comment.

MILLARD