&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Spanish town bans Muslim festivals celebration in public, faces 'Islamophobic' outrage")
A Spanish town is facing massive outrage for being "Islamophobic" after it banned the public celebration of Muslim festivals. The ban in the town named Jumilla, situated in south-east Spain, is the first such incident in the history of the country. As per the ban, Muslims would not be able to celebrate their festivals at places like civic centres and gyms. The ban has been introduced by the conservative People’s party (PP) and passed with the abstention of the far-right Vox party and the opposition of local leftwing parties.
The proposal for the ban said, “municipal sports facilities cannot be used for religious, cultural or social activities alien to our identity unless organised by the local authority," British newspaper The Guardian reported on August 6. The local Vox party posted on the social media platform X and said, “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 president of the Spanish Federation of Islamic organisations, while talking to the El País newspaper, called the ruling “Islamophobic and discriminatory”. He said, “They’re not going after other religions, they’re going after ours."
“We’re rather surprised by what’s happening in Spain. For the first time in 30 years, I feel afraid," he added. Among the 27,000 population in the town, the Muslims comprise around 7.5 per cent, The Guardian reported.
'Freedom of ideology'?
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Now, the ban opposes the constitution of Spain as Article 16 of the Spanish constitution says, “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." Hence, the decision to ban is bound to be challenged.
Francisco Lucas, the socialist leader in Murcia, said on X: “The PP violates the constitution and puts social cohesion at risk simply in the pursuit of power.”
