Catalonia has expelled three imams since the start of 2025 over alleged promotion of extremist religious ideologies, the latest being a Moroccan-born Salafi preacher deported on July 11 after his arrest by Spanish police, local media reported.
According to the digital outlet E-Notícies, the expelled clerics were removed for propagating interpretations of Islam deemed incompatible with democratic principles and peaceful coexistence. Authorities accused the most recently deported imam of advocating a strict, radical religious doctrine and inciting gender-based discrimination.
The move comes amid mounting security concerns in the region, with Catalonia increasingly identified by intelligence services as a major operational base for Salafi-jihadist networks in Europe. Police sources told E-Notícies that one in every three mosques in the region is reportedly influenced by extremist ideologies.
Efforts to establish an official register of mosques and imams in Catalonia have stalled, particularly since the deadly 2017 attacks in La Rambla and Cambrils. The Islamic Commission of Spain has not produced a verified list of religious institutions, and Catalan authorities admit they lack a complete record of worship spaces in the region.
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