ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 examines the role of religion in the Moroccan participation in the war. The Nationalists perceived the Moroccans to be, first and foremost, Muslims. They shaped their policies in their protectorate accordingly.The Nationalists lent great importance to the religious propaganda, promoting the notion that the Spanish war was a conflict in defence of both Christianity and Islam against red atheism. To present himself as a friend of Islam, Franco sponsored the pilgrimage to Mecca. The army was also very sensitive towards the religious feelings of its Muslim soldiers, taking great care to prevent Catholic proselytizing activities among the Moroccans, facilitating the provision of a Muslim diet for soldiers both in the field and in hospitals, as well as establishing separate burial spaces for the Moroccans. The separation in the religious field was sought by both the Spaniards and by the Moroccans, whether soldiers or government officials. On the Spanish part it was motivated by concerns for the feelings of the Moroccan soldiers, but also by the political necessity of maintaining stability and morale in the Moroccan protectorate, as well as the belief that Moroccans could and would never be anything other than Muslim.
