Casablanca — A study published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has revealed that religion is an important factor of daily life for most young Moroccans.
The 2016 Arab Human Development Report, released on November 29, surveyed Moroccans between the ages of 15 and 24 and found that more than 90 percent of young Moroccans claim religion plays an important role in their daily life.
Though data for 2014 and 2015 was not made available by the study, the table below shows that in 2012, 99 percent of young Moroccans said that religion played an important role. In 2013, 96 percent said the same.
In 2013 North Africa, more young Moroccans claimed religion played an important role than the young people surveyed in Kuwait (80 percent) or Tunisia (89 percent).
The study, which gathered data from the Middle East and North African region, as well as some Sub-Saharan countries, revealed an overall unanimous opinion that religion was important in daily life.
“Religion,” says the study “plays a major role in the lives of citizens in Arab countries, including the young (table 1.2). It affects people’s sense of identity and their ideological and intellectual orientations. It influences their values an shapes their attitudes towards society and the family.”
But what does this mean for politics and government? “The mantle of religion,” says the UN study, “can be attractive to politicians. Political parties that use religious interpretation to support their platforms and political agendas are common in the region.”
This would at least partially explain Morocco’s Party of Justice and Development’s success, as the October election win marked the Islamist political party’s second victory.
The study also surveyed countries on their views of Da’esh.
In Morocco, more than 80 percent purported to have a negative view. A little less than 10 percent had a positive view, and a little less than 10 percent were neutral. While Morocco’s stats proved similar to that of Algeria and Egypt, an astonishing 20 percent in Mauritania claimed to have a positive opinion of Da’esh.
Overall, the study gives interesting information on the MENA youth perspective, giving us important insight on what the future may hold.
