Spanish Town Bans Muslim Religious Festivals

A Spanish town has become the first in the country to ban Muslims from using public facilities to celebrate religious Eid festivals just weeks after a nearby area was rocked by anti-migrant riots.

The controversial ban was passed in Jumilla, a town in the Murcia region with a population of around 27,000 – roughly 7.5 per cent of whom come from majority Muslim countries.

The motion was proposed by Spain’s conservative People’s Party (PP) and backed by the hard right Vox party.

It prohibits public facilities such a sports halls and civic centres being used for ‘religious, cultural or social activities alien to our identity’ unless officially organised by the local council.

It comes less than a month after several people were left injured during anti-migrant rioting in Torre Pacheco, just 70 miles from Jumilla, when a pensioner was reportedly beaten up by three Moroccan men.

A 68-year-old man told Spanish media he was beaten up in the street on July 9 by three young men of North African origin.

Amid the announcement of the latest ban, critics have said the wording is a thinly veiled attack on Islamic traditions, and have warned that the ruling could breach Spain’s constitutionally protected freedom of religion.

The local Vox party openly celebrated the decision, declaring on X: ‘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 move prevents Muslims in Jumilla from gathering in public gyms or civic buildings to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival of sacrifice.

Muslim leaders have condemned the decision.

Mounir Benjelloun Andaloussi Azhari, president of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Organisations, said the ban was a direct attack on the country’s Muslim population, calling it ‘Islamophobic and discriminatory’.

‘They’re not going after other religions, they’re going after ours,’ he told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Referring to the recent rise of racist rhetoric and attacks, he added: ‘We’re rather surprised by what’s happening in Spain. For the first time in 30 years I feel afraid.’

Legal experts have warned the ban could face a constitutional challenge. Article 16 of Spain’s constitution grants freedom of religious belief, with the only restriction being the protection of public order.

The Socialist leader of Murcia, Francisco Lucas, accused the PP of stoking division.

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