Abstract
In Facebook groups of young Moroccan non-believers, cartoons, memes, and jokes that mock religion are widely shared. By phrasing the messages in a humorous way, it is possible to express experiences and viewpoints that are more difficult to communicate in direct speech. Studying these forms of humor can reveal several themes, frames, and tropes that are important to many former Muslims, such as criticizing the legal restrictions of non-belief and countering stereotypes about non-believers. This leads to the following question: To what extent is humor being employed as an (online) tool for young Moroccan non-believers to challenge the religious status quo? To answer this question, the article analyzes numerous examples of religious-related humor during the COVID-19 pandemic and Ramadan. Hereby, it becomes clear that many jokes remain a limited and covert dissent strategy, as they are only shared among fellow non-believers. Yet, this article argues that jokes are an important method of differentiation, self-expression, and in-group identification that can build a fruitful ground for future activism.
Highlights
By looking at the use of mockery among young Moroccan non-believers, this article aims to shift the focus to the humorous side of online activism
Like other forms of online activism, the use of humor among young Moroccan non-believers has developed from the first activists who began with blogging, to switching to Facebook and other social networking sites
Coming back to the initial question of to what extent humor is a tool for Moroccan non-believers to challenge the religious status quo, the following conclusions can be drawn: the numerous cartoons and memes shared in the four Facebook groups that are especially popular among young, urban Moroccan non-believers, shows that humor plays a crucial role
Summary
By looking at the use of mockery among young Moroccan non-believers, this article aims to shift the focus to the humorous side of online activism. It is meant for people who do not fast, such as non-believers, nonfasting Muslims, or Christian converts While these groups have different aims, such as exchanging ideas or organizing meetups, this article focuses on jokes as a potential tool for activism. This article takes a look at a specific group of people (mainly young, urban, educated, and middle-class Moroccan non-believers) engaging in a concrete practice (sharing religious-related jokes online) for a particular purpose (challenging religious authority). Like other forms of online activism, the use of humor among young Moroccan non-believers has developed from the first activists who began with blogging, to switching to Facebook and other social networking sites.
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