A town in south-east Spain known as Jumilla in the Murcia region has imposed a ban on Muslims using public spaces, including civic centres and gyms, for celebrating religious festivals of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, reports the Guardian. The ban, the first of its kind in Spain, was introduced by the conservative People’s Party (PP) and approved with the abstention of the far-right Vox party, despite opposition from local left-wing groups.Jumilla, a town with a population of around 27,000, has approximately 7.5 percent of its residents originating from predominantly Muslim countries. “Municipal sports facilities cannot be used for religious, cultural or social activities alien to our identity unless organised by the local authority,” the proposal stated. “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 people,” the Vox party stated through a post on X. “They’re not going after other religions, they’re going after ours,” Mounir Benjelloun Andaloussi Azhari, president of the Spanish federation of Islamic organisations, was quoted as saying by the El País newspaper. “We’re rather surprised by what’s happening in Spain. For the first time in 30 years I feel afraid,” he added, noting that the proposal was “Islamophobic and discriminatory.”Opposition leaders and legal experts have raised concerns that the decision may be unconstitutional.“The PP violates the constitution and puts social cohesion as risk simply in the pursuit of power,” said Francisco Lucas, the socialist leader in Murcia, through a post on X. “What do they mean by identity? And what about the centuries of Muslim legacy here?” said Juana Guardiola, a former socialist mayor from Jumilla, reports the Guardian. The decision to ban Muslims in Jumilla from using public facilities is likely to face legal challenges, as it appears to violate Article 16 of the Spanish constitution. This article guarantees “freedom of ideology, religion and worship of individuals and communities is guaranteed, with no other restriction on their expression than may be necessary to maintain public order as protected by law.”The town was once part of the Roman Empire before coming under arab rule in the eighth century. Known as Yumil-la during that time, it remained predominantly Arab for several centuries until Christian forces led by Alfonso X of Castile seized Jumilla in the mid-13th century, reports the Guardian.The local Arab ruler initially negotiated the capitulations of Alcatraz, an agreement that allowed Alfonso to be the king on the condition that the rights of the existing population were upheld. However, soon after Alfonso’s death, Castilian forces invaded Jumilla, bringing an end to Arab rule in the region.
