The survey studies countries based on the Quranic teachings of universal values, rather than personal core beliefs like prayer or pilgrimage.
Rabat – A new survey, Islamicity Index, has found that Western countries better reflect Islamic institutions than countries where Islam is an inherent part of the governmental system.
Conducted by the Washington-based Islamicity Foundation, the survey aimed at gauging the degree of compliance with the rules outlined in the Quran and practiced by the prophet Mohammed.
The survey measured the level of each country’s “Islamicity”, where the concept was based on economic and human development, laws and governance, human and political rights, and international relations, but not on Muslims’ adherence to core personal beliefs such as daily prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage.
According to the index, Morocco placed 94th out of 153 Muslim and non-Muslim countries in the 2018 Islamicity Index, with a score point of 4.06.
Morocco’s highest rank in the survey was 69th, which was on the legal and governance levels with 5.14 score points. Its second highest rank, placing 85th, was in terms of economic growth, with a score of 4.53.
Inversely, the North African country ranked 132nd in terms of human and political rights, scoring 2.68 and 114th in terms of international relations with a 3.56 score.
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Morocco ranked 15th against 40 other Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia. Where the index placed Morocco at 94 out of 153,Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, ranked 85 and 86, respectively.
The four Muslim majority countries—United Arab Emirates, Albania, Malaysia, and Qatar—taking the lead against other Arab countries placed well behind 44 other non-muslim countries, including Israel, Panama, as well as Malta and Japan, which made it to the top 20.
Topping the list of the 153 countries surveyed was New Zealand, followed by Sweden, Netherlands, Iceland, and Switzerland who scored highly on economic development and human rights, justice, governance and international relations.
The survey was carried out by Hossein Askari, an Iranian-born professor of International Business and International Affairs, and Scheherazade Rehman, director of the EU Research Center at the university.
