Spain’s ombudsman on Friday said he is looking into the Jumilla local authority’s decision to ban Muslims from using public facilities such as civic centers and gyms to celebrate religious festivals.
Jumilla, a municipality in the Murcia region led by the conservative Popular Party, approved a measure banning “cultural, social or religious activities unrelated to the City Council,” including Muslim celebrations like Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, from municipal sports venues.
The measure passed following a proposal from the far-right Vox party, which had called for an outright ban on Islamic events. Vox abstained, allowing Mayor Seve Gonzalez to approve the revised version.
The Popular Party relies on Vox’s support to govern the region.
Ombudsman seeks clarity from Jumilla authorities
Gonzalez told Spain’s El País newspaper that the measure did not single out any one group and that her government wanted to “promote cultural campaigns that defend our identity.”
Ombudsman Angel Gabilondo requested details on how the town plans to accommodate religious groups to exercise their right to worship in public spaces.
He wants to know “the measures planned to facilitate the exercise of acts of worship by religious denominations which, due to their unique characteristics, must be held in public places such as pavilions or sports centers.”
According to El Pais, about 1,500 Muslims live in the town, which has a population of just over 27,000.
Calls to defend public worship
The council said the decision was made to “promote and preserve the traditional values and manifestations of our cultural identity.”
Mounir Benjelloun Andaloussi Azhari, president of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Organizations, described the restrictions as “Islamophobic and discriminatory.”
Mohamed El Ghaidouni, secretary of the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain that represents more than 900 Muslim communities in the country, meanwhile called the ban “institutionalized Islamophobia.”
The Vox party in Murcia welcomed the measure on social media, writing: “Thanks to Vox the first measure to ban Islamic festivals in Spain’s public spaces has been passed. Spain is and will be forever the land of Christian roots!”
“We must protect public spaces from practices foreign to our culture and our way of life,” the party’s leader Santiago Abascal wrote Friday, adding that “Spain is not Al Andalus,” referencing the historic name for Islamic Spain, which fell in 1492 when the Catholics recaptured the lands.
But Spain’s Catholic bishops warned that the move violates fundamental rights and discriminates against all faiths.
Spain’s Migration Minister Elma Saiz said on Friday the ban was “shameful,” and urged local leaders to “take a step back” and apologize to local residents.
Edited by: Rana Taha
