The history of the Baháʼí Faith in Morocco began around 1946. In 1953 the Baháʼís initiated a Ten Year Crusade during which a number of Baháʼís pioneered to various parts of Morocco—many of whom came from Egypt and a few from the United States including Helen Elsie Austin. By April 1955 the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly of Ceuta was elected. By January 1958 the first Baháʼí summer school was held in Rabat. By spring 1958 the Baháʼí population may have been 100 and there were six assemblies and a regional committee coordinated activities promulgating the religion. In 1960 the first all-Moroccan local assembly was elected in Zaouiat Cheikh and most of its members were Berbers. On December 7, 1961, an article in Al-Alam lamented the decline of Islam and criticized the Baháʼís. During the year Baháʼí homes are entered by police and literature of the religion is taken. On April 12 four Baháʼís are arrested in Nador. A regional National Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa was organized which included Morocco in 1962. In 1963 a survey of the community counted 10 Assemblies, 12 organized groups (between 1 and 9 adults) of Baháʼís. In 1963 the arrests in Morocco had gotten attention from Hassan II of Morocco, US Senator Kenneth B. Keating and Roger Nash Baldwin, then Chairman of the International League for the Rights of Man and would echo in analyses of politics of Morocco for years to come. All Baháʼí meetings were prohibited in 1983 followed by arrests. This time the response emphasized the non-partisan and obedience to government principles of the religion. 1992 estimates by the US Department of State counted some 150-200 Baháʼís. while 2001 through 2009 estimates mention the Baháʼí community at 350 to 400 persons.

Early phase

There is a mention of contact with a Baháʼí in Morocco in 1946 but it's unclear with division (Spanish, French, International Zone.) In August 1947 Marie Claudet, former member of the Baha'i Assembly of Guayaquil (Ecuador) was reported in May to be en route to French Morocco. In 1953 the Baháʼís initiated a Ten Year Crusade during which a number of Baháʼís pioneered to various parts of Morocco—many of whom came from Egypt and a few from the United States. Starting in September for the Moroccan International Zone they first to arrive were: Manouchehr Hezari, and Hurmuz Zindih. Manouchehr Hezari earned the title of Knight of Baháʼu'lláh as the very first to settle in Tangier (then an international city). The family stayed many years after Tangier was annexed by the Kingdom of Morocco. Manouchehr worked as an engineer and later as a station manager for Voice of America radio. Then in October more arrivals came—Dr. Helen Elsie AustinMESSAGES TO THE BAHA'I WORLD: 1950-1957, © (U.S., 1971) page 52 and Muhammad-Ali Jalili came. In November Husayn & Nusraat Ardikani, Ali Akhbar & S͟hayistih Rafii, and ʻAbbas Rafii arrived. For Spanish Morocco in October 1953 they were: Fawzi Zaynu'l-'Abidin & family, Luella McKay, John & Earleta Fleming, and Alyce Janssen. Others arrived in April 1954—Richard & Evelyn Walters and Richard & Mary L. Suhm. Helen Austin was teaching at the American School of Tangier from 1954 to 1957. She was a member of the regional National Assembly of North and West Africa (1953–58), and, in her lifetime, Local Spiritual Assemblies in five countries—including Morocco. Another American family pioneered to Morocco starting in 1956 up to 1960, one returning for a period in 1967–8. By February 1955 there is mention of conversions from the Moroccan population. By April 1955 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Ceuta, an enclave of Spain in Morocco, was elected. Sometime during 1956 a Roman Catholic priest lodges a complaint against the Baháʼís of Morocco with the Moroccan Security Service. By January 1958 the first Baháʼí Summer School was held in Rabat. By spring 1958 the Baháʼí population may have been 100 and there were six assemblies and a regional committee is coordinating activities promulgating the religion. In 1960 the first all-Moroccan local assembly was elected in Zaouiat Cheikh and most of its members were Berbers. A regional National Spiritual Assembly for North East is organized in 1956. In 1957 the first Tuareg joins the religion. Louella McKay was another pioneer from about spring 1959 through the fall of 1963 in Spanish Morocco.

A regional National Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa was organized in 1962-3 including the merging countries of French, Spanish Morocco and the Moroccan International Zone centered on Tangiers. In 1963 a survey of the community counted 10 Assemblies, 12 organized groups of Baháʼís and 8 isolated individuals. The assemblies were: Casablanca, Ceuta, Fez, Kenitra, Larache, Marrakesh, Meknès, Nador, Rabat, Sala, Tetuan and Zaouiat Cheikh.

Growth

Persecution

In Morocco there were episodes of religious persecution in 1962–1963, on the basis of condemnation from Allal El Fassi when 15 Baháʼís were arrested for their religious convictions; three were given death sentences. On December 7, 1961, an article in Al Alam laments the decline of Islam and attacks the Baháʼís. During the year Baháʼí homes are entered by police and literature of the religion is taken. On April 12 four Baháʼís are arrested in Nador. In September the Baháʼís in the United States contacted Hassan II of Morocco during a visit to the United Nations. On October 31, fourteen Baháʼís are arrested and are charged with rebellion, disorder, attacks on public security, being an association of criminals, and attacking religious faith. On 10 December the trial begins with charges of sedition. On the 14th the verdict is given—four are acquitted as they claim to be Muslims, one is acquitted through family connections, one is released on 15 years probation, five are committed to life imprisonment and three are sentenced to death. The sentences are appealed to the Moroccan supreme court. Initially Baháʼís did not publicize the events.The first mention in Baháʼí News of the events was in November 1962 by way of covering news in Le Monde. It was not until January 1963 that a compendium on the events was published by the Baha'is -

The first significant coverage was in March 1963 On December 17, 1962, news is released among the Baháʼís and efforts are aimed at asking for the applicability of the UN charter which condemns religious intolerance. On January 31 Roger Nash Baldwin, then Chairman of the International League for the Rights of Man, appeared before a UN sub-commission of Preventing Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and states that, as far as they knew, the Baháʼí prisoners in Morocco are the only example in recent history where members of a religions have been condemned to death solely for holding and expressing religious views regarded as heretical. This appeal through the UN was supported by nearly the entire body of the Harvard Divinity School. There were months of diplomatic efforts; US Senator Kenneth B. Keating stated in the U.S. Senate on February 18, 1963, "How far religious freedom under the Moroccan Constitution really applies, will be revealed in the coming weeks when the appeal before the Supreme Court [of Morocco] is heard." On March 31, 1963, during a visit to the United States and the United Nations, Hassan II of Morocco was interviewed on television on Meet the Press then with Lawrence E. Spivak and was asked about the treatment of Baháʼís in his own country. He addressed the audience saying that the Baháʼí Faith was not a religion and "against good order and also morals". However, on April 2 he makes a public statement that if the Supreme Court confirms the penalty of death that he would grant them a royal pardon. However, on November 23 the Supreme Court hears the appeals and reversed the decision of the lower court. On December 13 the prisoners are actually released. Coverage in newspapers of the day included Wisconsin, Winnipeg and Lethbridge, Canada and Elyria Ohio as well as the New York Times. The New Republic January 25, 1964, issue had an article by Roger Nash Baldwin, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union and member of the International League for the Rights of Man (an organization accredited by the UN which aims to spread civil liberties around the world). Baldwin mentions how the League, by applying public pressure on the King of Morocco helped save the lives of the Baháʼí prisoners who had been sentenced to death. Baldwin was quoted discussing the League, "All this adds up to the very tiny beginnings of a system by which the UN itself would examine and process complaints and ultimately help set up a world court of human rights."

Morocco, Old Land, New Nation published in 1966 discusses briefly the exploitation of the religion by a Moroccan political party, in an effort to dramatize a claim "to be the stanch defender of faith and country," and the resultant persecution and imprisonment of several young Baha'i men from Nador. Concerning the Faith, the authors write: "The attractiveness of the movement stemmed from its belief in world brotherhood (a factor in its recent appeal in certain parts of Africa), the dedication of its organizers, and the vitality of its discussions, which contrasted sharply with the small concern in Morocco with the possibility of modernizing Islam." The reactions of various Moroccan leaders, newspaper publicity, and the final reversal of the convictions are noted.

Development of the community