Six Nights of Horror
by Michael R. O'Donnell
Brother Joseph Azriel, on his recent trip to Morocco, made the last leg of his trip on a trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Casablanca, place of his birth and Morocco's largest city. As Joseph prepared for a routine customs check upon disembarking, he soon realized that he was in for a rough ride, when a customs official going through his luggage took especial interest in the supply of Arabic and Hebrew New Testaments packed inside a box Joseph had brought with him.

The agent discovering the Testaments immediately picked up the telephone; and within minutes, a police car arrived, and Brother Joseph was hustled into its back seat and whisked off to jail—his luggage and Bibles confiscated. How's that for a "Welcome Home" party?

A Bureaucracy Fueled by Baksheesh
At this point, the reader should understand that the extracting of bribes by government officials in the land of Morocco is a widespread practice, and is in no way surprising to those like Joseph who are familiar with the culture. Morocco is hardly unique in this regard—particularly among other Muslim nations. The usual Arabic term for this kind of "under-the-table" money is baksheesh, but in Morocco, the current slang term is confiture (French for "jam").

The means employed to "shake down" ordinary citizens run the gamut from brazen requests for cash, to the withholding of necessary government services until payment is received, to what was done to Joseph—confinement until friends or relatives produce the requisite amount of money. Such practices are commonplace in Morocco and other Third World nations.

Blessed Are You When . . .
Thus, while Brother Joseph's treatment was not necessarily unusual for Casablanca, there is no question that what triggered his incarceration were the Scriptures in his possession. For this reason, it is accurate to say that his imprisonment was persecution for doing the Lord's work.

The conditions under which Joseph was forced to live for the next six days were almost unbearable. After his interrogators hit him in the head several times, they placed Joseph in a foul-smelling common cell housing some 80 other prisoners. His confinement, which occurred without a trial of any kind, was for an indefinite duration. Under the "rules of the game," no confiture meant no release.

Six Days Without Food or Sleep
In order to receive reasonably civil treatment from the guards, Joseph had to pay a bribe of $200 in US currency. For that sum, he received the luxury of a mat on which to lie and freedom from extra harassment. He was left in relative "peace" in a cell which had no sinks or showers, one outside (cold) water faucet, and a hole in the middle of the floor serving as a toilet for all of the men. Joseph's skin became very itchy in such unsanitary conditions, and as the electric lights were never turned off, sleep eluded him during his entire stay. The only food he received was wretched soup that he found inedible. He sums up his jail time aptly: "One week was like ten years!"

If Joseph were ever to regain his freedom, he had to find someone willing to pay a fee of $2,500 in U.S. money. He decided to turn to the Casablanca Jewish community for help; but in order to contact them, he needed to use the telephone. The price of his one call? Another bribe of no less than $150. Providentially, the local Jewish community responded, sending representatives to buy his freedom.

Still, Joseph had not retrieved his Bibles. For these, he paid out yet another $450! (Sadly, the Jewish leaders of Casablanca turned away from Joseph after learning of his faith in the Lord Jesus.)

But free at last, and well-equipped with copies of the Scriptures, he began ministering to Moroccan Jews and Muslims for seven weeks in three different cities, touching a number of lives and leading some two dozen to faith in Yeshua.

No Regrets
Of his time as a prisoner, Joseph states unhesitatingly, "I did all that [to show] that I carry my cross. Otherwise, how can I say I love Him [Yeshua]? I have to carry my cross . . . to show Him that I will sacrifice my life for Him."