by Soeren Kern
May 15, 2012 at 5:00 am
May 15, 2012 at 5:00 am
Muslim parents are now pressuring local educational authorities to begin teaching Arabic in public schools. The Islamic Council of the Basque Country says Basques should view the speread of Islam in their region "not as a problem, but as an opportunity."The Basque regional government in northern Spain is drafting a controversial new Law on Religious Institutions, which states that mosques and prayer rooms with a capacity of fewer than 300 people will no longer require the prior local government approval.
The draft law is generating considerable opposition from elected officials of all political stripes, who fear the new measure will encourage the proliferation of mosques throughout the Basque region.
The mayor of the Basque capital Vitoria-Gasteiz, Javier Maroto, said in an interview that the practical effect of the new law will be that "any fruit and vegetable shop can be converted into a mosque and there will be nothing we can do about it." He has promised to fight the new law, which he believes will encourage "mosques to spring up like mushrooms."
The debate comes as a new survey shows that one in four Basques reject the idea of having a mosque in their neighborhood, and according to a new survey commissioned by the Basque regional government in northern Spain, one in five do not want a Muslim as a neighbor.
The new study, entitled Religious Diversity, was commissioned by the Basque government as part of an effort to assess public support for the new law. The survey shows that while nearly half of all Basques say they have had personal interaction with Muslims, 49% say they are opposed to the construction of more mosques in the Basque Country.
The Basque Country is home to more than 50,000 Muslims, as well as two dozen officially licensed mosques and hundreds of unofficial Islamic prayer rooms and cultural centers.
Hailing mostly from Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa, Muslims in the Basque region have become increasingly assertive in recent years.
In May 2011, for example, more than 2,500 radical Muslims gathered in the Basque town of Trápaga for the third annual Salafist Congress. The president of the congress, a Moroccan named Jamal Ennaciri, said the purpose of the meeting was to find ways to live together side-by-side with Spaniards. He characterized the congress as "intercultural dialogue."
But Salafism is a branch of radical Islam that seeks to establish an Islamic empire (Caliphate) across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, particularly Spain. The Caliphate would be governed exclusively by Islamic Sharia law, which would apply both to Muslims and to non-Muslims. Salafists believe democracy, because it comes from man not from Allah, is an illegitimate form of government.
In October 2010, residents of the Basque city of Bilbao found their mailboxes stuffed with flyers in Spanish and Arabic from the Islamic Community of Bilbao asking for money to build a 650 square meter (7,000 square feet) mosque costing €550,000 ($735,000).
Up until just recently, the Islamic Community of Bilbao had the following statement posted on its website: "We were expelled [from Spain] in 1609, really not that long ago. … The echo of Al-Andalus still resonates in all the valley of the Ebro [Spain]. We are back to stay, Insha'Allah [if Allah wills it]." Read the rest on:
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