Morocco’s commitment to peace and the values of coexistence has long been a strategic constant in its domestic and foreign policy — grounded in a comprehensive constitutional, religious, and political framework that sets it apart from virtually any other state actor in the Arab and Muslim world. This commitment does not merely find expression in diplomatic declarations; it is embedded in institutional architecture, encoded in religious doctrine, and enacted through a series of bold multilateral initiatives that have positioned the Kingdom as a genuine architect of international stability.

At the center of this model stands His Majesty King Mohammed VI — not simply as a head of state but as Commander of the Faithful, a title that confers on him both religious legitimacy and a unique capacity to deploy what scholars of international relations have come to call “soft power” in its most sophisticated form. Where most states must choose between realpolitik and principled diplomacy, Morocco’s Commandery of the Faithful framework allows the Kingdom to speak simultaneously to the logic of interests and the language of values.

Morocco’s Peace Vision — His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s role as Commander of the Faithful provides the constitutional and spiritual bedrock for Morocco’s distinctive approach to religious diplomacy and regional stability.

🕌 Guardian of Jerusalem: The Al-Quds Committee

His Majesty King Mohammed VI chairs the Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation — a position that grants Morocco both institutional weight and symbolic authority in monitoring developments in the Holy City and defending its civilizational, spiritual, and religious character. This is not a ceremonial role. Under King Mohammed VI’s chairmanship, the committee has directed substantial support toward social and development projects benefiting the inhabitants of Jerusalem, strengthening their resilience and preserving the city’s historical and interfaith identity against mounting demographic and political pressures.

Stemming from this responsibility, the signing of the Jerusalem Call by King Mohammed VI alongside Pope Francis represents a landmark convergence of Islamic and Christian authority around a shared vision: Jerusalem as a pluralistic spiritual space for the followers of all three Abrahamic religions, with guaranteed freedom of access to holy sites and respect for the city’s legal and historical status. From the perspective of international relations theory, the Jerusalem Call embodies a model of religious diplomacy that employs spiritual reference points to de-escalate conflicts with deep identity, civilizational, and cultural dimensions.

🤝 The Abraham Accords and Pragmatic Repositioning

In 2020, Morocco’s involvement in the tripartite Moroccan-Israeli-American agreement — within the framework of the Abraham Accords endorsed by the United States — reflected a pragmatic diplomatic calculus that surprised many observers but is entirely coherent within Morocco’s broader strategic framework. The resumption of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel is best understood not as an abandonment of the Kingdom’s historical commitment to Palestinian rights, but as a deliberate repositioning designed to expand Morocco’s mediation margins and enhance the prospects for a peaceful solution grounded in the two-state framework and established international law.

This distinction matters enormously. Morocco did not normalize relations in exchange for bilateral economic gains alone. It positioned itself as a future interlocutor — a state with credibility across Arab, Muslim, Western, and Israeli diplomatic circles — capable of serving as a bridge in negotiations that other actors cannot enter. It is the logic of the honest broker, applied with the confidence of a state that trusts its own identity and religious legitimacy enough to engage without being co-opted.

Multilateral Engagement — Morocco’s founding membership of the Board of Peace and its participation in the Abraham Accords framework reflect a proactive diplomatic posture built on expanding mediation capacity across regional and international arenas.

🌍 Morocco and the Board of Peace

Morocco’s membership in the Board of Peace as a founding member — joining at the invitation of former U.S. President Donald Trump — is consistent with this trajectory. The Kingdom does not merely advocate for peace in the abstract; it seeks to establish a physical and institutional presence within the mechanisms that actually shape international peace and security outcomes. Membership in the Board of Peace aligns with the concept of cooperative security: an architecture based on shared responsibilities, enhanced multilateral engagement, and the recognition that durable stability cannot be imposed unilaterally but must be constructed collectively.

📖 The Commandery of the Faithful Peace Institute in Jerusalem

Perhaps the most concrete expression of Morocco’s vision is the establishment of the “Commandery of the Faithful Peace Institute” in Jerusalem — an institution designed to link sound religious guidance with the promotion of interfaith and intercultural dialogue and the active dissemination of values of coexistence, tolerance, and human dignity. The institute is not simply a cultural center; it is a strategic asset in Morocco’s long-term effort to ensure that the voice of moderate, pluralistic Islam is present and influential in one of the world’s most contested cities.

Morocco’s approach to combating violent extremism flows naturally from this same logic. The Kingdom has consistently rejected purely security-based counter-extremism strategies in favor of a multidimensional preventive approach that combines the reform of the religious field, the rigorous training of imams and preachers in a moderate and balanced theological framework, the criminalization of hate speech and incitement to violence, and developmental policies targeting the socioeconomic vulnerability that extremist organizations exploit as a recruitment ground.

⭐ A Model Worth Studying

What emerges from a close analysis of Morocco’s approach is not merely a set of diplomatic initiatives but a coherent and increasingly sophisticated theory of peace — one that integrates the religious legitimacy of the Commandery of the Faithful, the reach of multilateral institutional engagement, and the depth of a preventive security doctrine that addresses the roots of instability rather than its symptoms. This combination gives Morocco’s experience its distinctiveness in the contemporary landscape of peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

No other state in the Arab or Muslim world occupies the same position: simultaneously a chair of the Al-Quds Committee and a signatory to the Abraham Accords; a founding member of the Board of Peace and a partner to the Vatican in the Jerusalem Call; a trainer of imams across West Africa and a credible interlocutor in Washington, Riyadh, and Jerusalem. This is not a collection of contradictions but the expression of a deeply coherent vision — that sustainable peace is built not by choosing sides in civilizational conflicts but by demonstrating, through institutional commitment and consistent action, that coexistence is not only possible but necessary.

Morocco’s diplomacy of the Commandery of the Faithful deserves serious attention from scholars, policymakers, and practitioners of international peace. In an era defined by civilizational tension, identity conflict, and the weaponization of religion, the Kingdom offers something rare: a working model in which faith, diplomacy, and the pursuit of human dignity reinforce rather than contradict one another.