Egyptian TV series stirs controversy among Moroccans

CAIRO – 6 June 2017: An Egyptian TV series stirred controversy among Moroccans for mentioning a Moroccan character practicing magic and sorcery.

In the fifth episode of Afareet Adly Alam, starring the Egyptian artist Adel Imam, a woman is looking for a way to get her husband back, when a man advises her to visit a sorcerer from Marrakesh in Morocco.

In a press statement quoted by “Erem News”, Adel Imam denied any offence meant against Moroccans. “I love Morocco, and I feel this love when I visit it, I was recently honored at the Marrakech Festival,” he said.

In 2012, the Pew Research Center published a report on the phenomenon of sorcery and magic within Moroccan society. According to figures presented by the report, about 86 percent of Moroccans are convinced of the existence of the jinn, 78 percent believe in witchcraft, and 80 percent believe in the evil eye.

The research also found that 7 percent of those asked admitted to using charms and symbols to ward off evil and bring luck, Raseef reported.