VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0228/01 3571233
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 231233Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8577
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE

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