Spanish town ordered to reverse ban on muslim religious festivals in public facilities

The Spanish government has ordered the town of Jumilla to repeal a ban on religious gatherings in sports centers, a move widely seen as targeting Muslim religious freedom. 

The council in Jumilla, a town of about 27,000 residents, including roughly 1,500 Muslims, approved the ban last week, sparking accusations of discrimination.

The initiative began as a proposal by the far-right Vox party, which initially aimed to impose a complete ban on Eid al-Adha celebrations in municipal sports facilities. 

Vox presented the measure as a defense of Spain’s Christian heritage and traditional “uses and customs of the Spanish people,” portraying it as a response to what it described as an extremist Islamist ideology hostile toward women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and children.

Following Vox’s lead, the local People’s Party (PP) adopted a diluted version of the proposal that restricted the use of sports halls and other municipal facilities for any “cultural, social or religious activities foreign to the city council.” The amendment removed direct references to Eid festivals but effectively barred Muslim religious events not organized by the local government.

according to a Spanish outlet “EL PAÍS”, Jumilla’s mayor, Seve González, defended the amendment by saying it did not seek to “prohibit” collective Muslim prayers but acknowledged it limited the municipal spaces available for such activities

Ángel Víctor Torres, Spain’s minister for territorial policy, wrote on social media, “There can be no half-measures when it comes to intolerance.” He warned that rightwing parties “could not choose who has freedom of worship and who does not.”

The ban was initially welcomed by far-right supporters and racist groups, with Vox supporters touting it as Spain’s first measure to ban Islamic festivals in public venues. However, backlash was swift and widespread.

The government in Madrid gave the council one month to respond to its request to repeal the ban and warned that failure to reverse the policy could lead to legal challenges citing Article 16 of Spain’s Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom.