**6. Conclusions**

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. Jokes can give an indication about which topics are important to non-believers. These subjects include direct criticism about the legal restrictions of liberties for non-believers and perceived allies such as the LGBTQ+ community and feminist groups. Other jokes mock religion or reflect on society's views towards non-believers. Not every joke carries an activist message or is told with a political intention, yet, many jokes have the potential to convey controversial opinions that challenge religious expectations and questions of authority.

Humor can therefore be seen as a form of resistance. Jokes on the Internet offer a way to covertly express dissent in a country where religious authority is perceived as hegemonic and closely linked to political legitimacy. In this context, non-believers perceive the Internet as a relatively safe space, while being aware of perils, such as surveillance. Jokes can break the taboos about leaving and criticizing religion and make the unspeakable discussable. Hereby, most jokes do not target a single person that incorporates religious power, such as the King, but rather criticize religious authority as a structural component that permeates the whole society. Nevertheless, joking about religion and its messengers, as well as religious leaders and followers, can undermine the religious basis of the political system. In addition to that, self-satire indirectly questions the religious status quo by reflecting on the position and personal experiences of being not religious in a Muslim-majority society. While humor can be a powerful weapon of the weak, it can also cross the boundaries of the acceptable, as the line between religious criticism and blasphemy remains thin. Especially in a digitalized and globalized world, jokes can reach others within no time, who might disagree about the funniness of the message. Humor that criticizes religion does not only depend on the context, but also on the (power) position of the person who is telling the joke.

To conclude, challenging authority is one, but not the only purpose. Humor can also bridge incongruities when laughing together and it can lead to a feeling of identification. This becomes especially visible during Ramadan when the social pressure on practicing religion increases. In this period, jokes are a possibility to vent about shared struggles, such as having to pretend to fast. Lastly, humor can also function as differentiation, as has been the case during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the jokes contrasted the reactions of religious leaders with those of scientists and doctors. While self-expression, identification, and differentiation might not challenge religious authority directly, they might contribute to activism in the long run. Online communities, such as (closed) Facebook groups can

have different functions. They are not only places to laugh but also to exchange ideas, to mobilize, and to support each other. This is important, as activism does not start out of nowhere, but often begins with informal online debates about social and political issues. Facebook groups, such as "Atheists in Morocco", do not constitute a big movement so far, but mocking religion and humorously reflecting on the situation of non-believers can contribute to vivid discussions that might develop into louder activism in the future.

**Funding:** This research was funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, ITN-MIDA 813547.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of Humanities of the Radboud University (protocol code 2020-5876, approved 09.03.2020).

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all interviewees involved in the study.

**Acknowledgments:** I would like to sincerely thank Karin van Nieuwkerk, Araceli González Vázquez, and Sebastian Elsässer, as well as the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. I would also like to express my gratitude to Rayane Al-Rammal, Josias Tembo, and Hayat Douhan for critically thinking with me. Lastly, I'm grateful to my interviewees for kindly sharing their thoughts and experiences on this topic.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
