Islam in Spain

written by Fernando Bravo

Demographics and Immigration
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It is difficult to estimate the size of the Muslim population living in Spain. Available statistics do not distinguish population according to faith, which means we can only estimate quantity using national origin or national identity as sign of religious adherence. This implies a certain margin of error and, indirectly, a certain “ethnification” of Islamic identity that would be determined by ancestry or national origin on the basis of this method, rather than by religious faith.

This should be taken into consideration before drawing any conclusions from the statistics that we will go on to present. Properly speaking we are going to speak about Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese, Pakistanis, etc., and not about Muslims.

If we take the statistics of Spanish and Foreign population coming from, or nationals of, countries with a Muslim majority population (where the Muslim population is estimated at more than 50% of the total population according to The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life1), we obtain the following figures:

2008AgricultureConstructionIndustryServicesTotal
Algerians2021,7522,0506,01210,016
Moroccans3,34838,43418,89476,422137,098
Senegalese2682,1452,5285,82710,768
Pakistanis632,6941,3358,68912,781
*Source: National Statistics Institute (INE: http://www.ine.es). Municipal Register, 1 January 2009. Compiled by Fernando Bravo.

As seen in the table, speaking about “Muslims” in Spain means speaking mainly about Moroccans.

In addition to that figure, the number of converts is uncertain because there is no reliable source.2 But they are certainly a minority compared with Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese, or Pakistanis.

We could conclude that the total “Muslim” population in Spain could be approaching 1,200,000, representing 2.5% of the total population in Spain (46,661,950 on 1 January 2009 according to the INE Municipal Register). But we should remember that this way of proceeding has many problems. For example, although there is an important quantity of Nigerians and although we have included them in the table, we should bear in mind that the Muslim population in Nigeria is estimated at 50.4% of the total population, so there is a high probability that the Nigerian population in Spain could be Christian. Therefore, we could say that 1,000,000 would be a very generous estimate of the number of Muslims in Spain.

Nearly 90% of the total “Muslim” population is made up of foreign nationals. Of these, Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese and Pakistanis together make up 86% of the total. For this reason, we will only speak about Moroccans, Senegalese, Algerians and Pakistanis in order to make an approximation to the “Muslim” population demographic profile.

All of these four communities show a similar tendency in their quantitative evolution. Although the Moroccan community is much larger than the rest, they have all been growing fast since the mid-1990s.

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The figures that we have showed until now come from the Municipal Register, which collects data that includes all residents in each municipality, regardless of their legal status (regular and irregular immigrants alike). But, contrary to what is commonly thought, “Muslim” immigration in Spain shows a high percentage of legality. Since 1996 the percentage of legality among Moroccan immigrants has always been higher than 74% and it is currently the highest among the different immigrant communities, of whatever origin. In the next graph we compare the figures of Moroccans in Spain provided by the Municipal Register with those of Moroccan immigrants with a residence permit:

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For the rest of the four main communities, the percentage of legality has sometimes been lower, but never less than 50%.

The spatial distribution of “Muslims” in Spain is not homogeneous. The four provinces of Catalonia, especially Barcelona (see map of reference), and the provinces of Madrid, Almeria, Murcia, and the three provinces of the Autonomous Region of Valencia concentrate the majority of the population. But all provinces in Spain have a “Muslim” population, never less than 500 “Muslims”.

Moroccans live mainly in Catalonia —specifically in the province of Barcelona— where more than 30% of the total Moroccan population live; but also in Andalusia —mainly in the province of Almeria— in Madrid, in the Autonomous Region of Valencia —particularly in the province of Alicante— and in Murcia.

spain_4

More than 30% of Algerians live in the Autonomous Region of Valencia — in the provinces of Alicante and Valencia, especially. Catalonia, Andalusia and Aragon have also a high quantity of Algerians, but much less than Valencia.

Catalonia is also the main destination for Pakistani settlement (much more than anywhere else), with over 60% of the total Pakistani population residing there.

And finally Catalonia also has the highest population of Senegalese (33% of the total population), followed by Andalusia, the Autonomous Region of Valencia and Madrid.
Catalonia is therefore the main centre of “Muslim” settlement in Spain, especially the province of Barcelona with a joint population of Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese and Pakistani of 178,476 people, representing 15% of the total “Muslim” population in Spain.

In the big cities the “Muslim” population represents a relatively small percentage of the total population. In Barcelona, the city with the biggest resident “Muslim” population (Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese and Pakistanis number 30,814), they represent a 1.9% of the total population. However, in the small town of Manlleu (also in the province of Barcelona), they represent a 16.8% of the total population (20,505). This tendency can be observed in the rest of Spain. We have Madrid with 0.9% of “Muslim” population, but we also have Humanes de Madrid (a small town near Madrid) with 5.04% of “Muslim” population. We always find the higher concentration of “Muslim” population in agrarian villages like Talayuela (in the province of Caceres, with 9,282 inhabitants) with 25.8% of “Muslim” population, or small cities like El Ejido (with an eminently agrarian economy, in the province of Almeria) with a population of 80,987 inhabitants in which the “Muslim” population represents 19.5% of the total population.3

In big cities like Barcelona or Madrid, the concentration in certain neighbourhoods is higher, but never that high. In Madrid, for example, we find the highest concentration in the Embajadores neighbourhood (in the city centre, with a total population of 49,754 inhabitants), with 9.61% of “Muslim” population (and, incidentally, a very important community of Bangladeshis).4 The “Muslim” population in big cities tends to be concentrated in deprived neighbourhoods, with a long history of immigration (national and international alike). Here, the concentration of immigrant population (of any origin) is usually very high, giving it a strongly multicultural character.

Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese and Pakistanis, all show very different age and sex distribution, due to their different immigration history. The Moroccan community is the most long-standing immigrant community in Spain as a result of which it has a more feminine character than the others:

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The rest, Senegalese, Algerians and Pakistanis, show the typical pyramids of recent immigrant communities: mainly men of working age. The Moroccan pyramid still has that profile, but it also has a high number of women and children. It also shows the existence of a small quantity of elders, totally absent in the other three communities. In the Moroccan case, this reflects family formation and the stabilization of the community.

Labor Market
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It is the Moroccan community that has more workers affiliated to the Social Security than any other immigrant community: 238,048 (over the 227,690 Romanians). That means that 33.5% of the total Moroccan population is affiliated to the Social Security, a slightly lower rate than the total population average rate (38% affiliated).

Algerians and Senegalese show an even lower rate of affiliation (29% and 28% respectively), but Pakistanis show a rate similar to that of Moroccans (33.8%).

The great majority of “Muslim” workers affiliated to the Social Security are employees. Just a small minority of the affiliated are self-employed (5.9% of Senegalese, 6.3% of Algerians and 6.9% of Moroccans). Only Pakistanis show a different picture, because 15.3% of them are self-employed.5

The main sector of employment is services. The construction sector has traditionally been an important source of employment for immigrants, and still is, but its importance has heavily decreased owing to the current housing market crisis. This crisis has heavily affected immigrants, of all origins. In the case of Moroccans, Algerians, Pakistanis and Senegalese, their rate of affiliation to the Social Security has decreased since 2007, as we can see in the following tables:

“Muslims” affiliated to the Social Security by sector of employment

Country of originForeignersSpanishTotal% of the total "Muslim" population in Spain
Morocco710,401109,561819,96271.28
Senegal56,0481,89657,9445.04
Algeria55,6246,11061,7345.37
Pakistan53,6911,94155,6324.84
Nigeria41,75067542,4253.69
Mali22,86013222,9922
Gambia21,2881,30322,5911.96
Guinea11,8021,94513,7471.2
Mauritania11,34352611,8691.03
Bangladesh9,3961909,5860.83
Egypt2,9459573,9020.34
Iran2,5181,6084,1260.36
Syria2,3802,5284,9080.43
Turkey2,3574632,8200.25
Tunisia1,8584762,3340.2
Albania1,6951571,8520.16
Lebanon1,4001,4972,8970.25
Indonesia1,3022081,5100.13
Jordan1,1131,2252,3380.2
Iraq1,0115201,5310.13
Burkina Faso990661,0560.09
Sierra Leone9741151,0890.09
Kazakhstan7482229700.08
Saudi Arabia2791944730.04
Total1015,773134,5151150,288

First and second generation immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries

Country of originFirst generation immigrantsSecond generation immigrantsTotalPercent of all immigrants in Denmark
Turkey31,83426,35758,19111.1%
Iraq21,2837,63428,9175.5%
Lebanon12,03511,52823,5634.5%
Bosnia-Herzegovina17,9894,10422,0934.2%
Pakistan10,8279,05319,8803.8%
Somalia10,2316,45816,6893.2%
Iran11,9042,99214,8962.8%
Afghanistan9,7172,47012,1872.3%

Source: Anuario estadístico de inmigración, 2007 and 2008, Secretaría de Estado de Inmigración y Emigración, Ministry of Employment and Immigration. Compiled by Fernando Bravo.

In fact, the current financial crisis has affected “Muslims” working in all sectors. Their presence in services, industry and construction has decreased in the last two years. But, at the same time, the presence of Moroccans, Algerians and Senegalese in agriculture has increased somewhat, possibly on account of having transferred from other sectors.

Within the services sector, Moroccans are preferentially employed in the commerce sub-sector (22,498), and the hospitality industry sub-sector (22,127). On the other hand, within the industry sector they are specially concentrated in the manufacturing industry sub-sector (18,528).

In the case of Algerians, they also are specially concentrated in the services sector and, within it, in the real-estate market sub-sector (1,840) and the commerce sub-sector (1,509). But among sub-sectors, the one where most Algerians are employed is the manufacturing industry (2,017).

Senegalese are also heavily concentrated in the manufacturing industry sub-sector (2,502). Within the services sector, Senegalese are employed in the real-state market sub-sector (1,631) and the commerce sub-sector (1,531).

Finally, Pakistanis are employed specially in the hospitality industry (3,752) and commerce (1,920) sub-sectors.

Apart from these figures, we also have to take into consideration that there might be a relatively high proportion of immigrants working in the “informal sector”, but we have no grounds on which to base speculations in this respect.

Housing
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There are no data concerning the housing of the “Muslim” population specifically. We can only infer their situation from the general situation of the immigrant population according to a published survey.

According to the Colectivo IOÉ, 87% of the immigrant population from East Europe, Africa and South America lives in rented accommodation. In other words, the remaining 13% are house owners. Of this 87%, 30% rents an entire house, while 47% lives in subleased houses, in which they only rent a room or share the rent with other people. This is the case especially for newcomers.6

It is interesting to note that, according to the aforementioned survey, a majority of those polled think that the house they left in their home countries is bigger (84%), more comfortable (81%), and quieter (72%), than the house in which they live now.7

The concentration of immigrant population per neighbourhood depends on the economic situation of the neighbourhood. In the richer neighbourhoods immigrants are scarcely present. However, in the poorer neighbourhoods their concentration is very high.8

Education
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The presence of “Muslims” in the education system is high. The Moroccan is the largest immigrant community in the education system, especially in pre-school and primary education, where Moroccans represent 22% and 16.4% of the total immigrant population at both educational levels. However the situation is different in terms of secondary education, where Moroccans represent the second-biggest immigrant community (12.6%) after Ecuadorians (17.2% of the total immigrant population in secondary education). The situation is even more alarming at Baccalaureate level, where the Moroccans only represent the fourth-biggest community with 5.4% of the total immigrant population, following Ecuadorians (15.4%), Colombians (9.5%), Romanians (8.8%) and Argentineans (6%). At the level of vocational training, the situation is slightly better: Moroccans are the third-biggest community (11.3%), after Ecuadorians (15.6%) and Colombians (11.4%). In the Social Guaranty Program (a vocational training program designed for people who have completed their secondary education without achieving the academic objectives corresponding to that level), Moroccans have the highest percentage (29.5%), far from the 16.8% of Ecuadorians. Therefore, while Moroccans and Ecuadorians have a similar population in the education system, Moroccans are worse off once they pass the primary-education level.

“Muslims” in the education system
(Not university level. As compared with other communities)

2007AgricultureConstructionIndustryServicesTotal
Algerians18236402495688813205
Moroccans3251668942241377720170278
Senegalese24445233147652614440
Pakistanis9146011683910615481
Source: Estadísticas Enseñanzas no Universitarias – Resultados Detallados – Curso 2007-2008, Ministry of Education, http://www.educacion.es/. Compiled by Fernando Bravo.
* FP: Formación Profesional (Vocational training).
** Prog. GS: Social Guaranty Program.

The rest of the “Muslim” communities are scarcely represented in the education system because, as we saw earlier, their population of under-16 year-olds is very small. The Senegalese, despite having a smaller population within the educational system than that of Algerians, Argentineans, Chinese and Pakistanis, represent a higher percentage of the immigrant population in the Program of Social Guaranty.

Apart from the figures already shown, it may be said that the great majority of the immigrant population (including, of course, “Muslims”) attend public schools (82.7%), public schools representing 73% of the total number of schools in Spain.9

State and Church
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Legally speaking, Spain is neutral vis-à-vis Religious confessions. Its 1978 Constitution established that “no religion shall have a state character. The public authorities shall take into account the beliefs of Spanish society and shall consequently maintain appropriate cooperation relations with the Catholic Church and other confessions” (section 16.3).

It is also stated that “freedom of ideology, religion and worship is guaranteed, to individuals and communities with no other restriction on their expression than may be necessary to maintain public order as protected by law” (section 16.1). So Spain is constitutionally a secular State where freedom of religion and thought is both recognised and protected.

In addition to what the constitution stipulates, in 1980 a Religious Liberty Law was approved. The Religious Liberty Law develops what the Constitution already says. It stipulates, for example, the necessity for religious communities to be registered at the Ministry of Justice’s Registry of Religious Entities in order to be recognised by the State as entities with “legal personality”. Among other things, following the constitutional command to “maintain appropriate cooperation” with religious confessions, it also established that the State “shall establish, as appropriate, Cooperation Agreements or Conventions with the Churches, Faiths or Religious Communities enrolled in the Registry where warranted by their notorious influence in Spanish society, due to their domain or number of followers” (article 7.1).

This “notorious influence” is what in the original text is called “notorio arraigo”. “Notorio arraigo” is a status given by the State to a religious confession that recognises that it is deeply rooted in Spain. It is a legal artifice that, in practice, discriminates some religions in their relationship with the State. Their lack of recognition by the State prevents them from enjoying the “same benefits and privileges as other groups with ‘deeply rooted status’”.10

In other words, it is only confessions with “notorio arraigo” that can sign an agreement of cooperation with the State. In practice only four confessions have done so: the Catholic Church, The Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE), the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE), and the Federation of Religious Evangelical Entities of Spain (FEREDE). The Catholic Church signed the agreement in 1979, the others in 1992.11

No agreement of cooperation exists for the other confessions, although some of them have been recognised by the State as religions with “notorio arraigo”. For example, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (in 2003), Jehova’s Witnesses and Buddhists (in 2007), have won recognition as confessions with “notorio arraigo”, but they have not signed an agreement of cooperation with the State similar to that of Muslims, Jews and Evangelicals. That turns their recognition as confession with “notorio arraigo” into dead letter. In addition, the confessions that have not won recognition as confessions with “notorio arraigo” are in an even worse situation of disadvantage.

However, neither recognition of “notorio arraigo” nor the establishment of an agreement of cooperation with the State guarantees actual cooperation, not even the practical recognition of the rights that the agreements stipulate. It was not until recently that the main articles of the agreements of cooperation were put into practice and true cooperation between the State and the Muslim, Evangelical and Jewish communities began.

In all events, the Catholic Church has always received preferential treatment at the hands of the State. In the symbolic sphere in particular, Catholicism has a heavy presence. Institutions like the Crown, some town halls, some public schools, or some public hospitals, although they are State institutions and despite the neutrality the Constitution mandates, publicly identify themselves with Catholicism and its symbols. The presence of Catholic churchmen (and Catholic churchmen only) in institutional ceremonies, and the presence of representatives of State institutions in Catholic ceremonies (and in Catholic ceremonies only) is commonplace.

Muslim in Politics
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The presence of Muslims in politics is very small. There is a member of the Catalonian Parliament, member of the Socialist Party, Mohammed Chaib. There are city councillors in the Assembly of the Autonomous city of Ceuta, both in the Socialist Party and the Popular Party,12 and also in the Assembly of the Autonomous city of Melilla.13 There is also a Muslim city councillor (member of the Popular Party) in a small town in Seville: Gines.14

In October 2099 the first Islamic party of Spain was created in Granada:
the Party of Renaissance and Union of Spain (PRUNE). After its creation
the party opened delegations in other parts of Spain, but it has very
few supporters. Its importance within the Islamic community in Spain is
negligible. 15

Muslim Organizations
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The first Muslim organizations were created in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla (the Spanish autonomous cities in the North of Africa).16 The first one that registered at the Ministry of Justice’s Registry of Religious Entities was the Muslim Association of Melilla in 1968 (right after the promulgation of the Franquist Religious Liberty Law of 1967). Soon after that, in 1971, the Mohamadia-Mahoma Muslim Zawiya of Ceuta also registered.

On the other hand, a little earlier, the Jamaat Ahmadia of Islam in Spain was created in Pedro Abad, in the province of Córdoba (Andalusia), followed by the creation a year later in Madrid of the Muslim Association of Spain (AME). Both associations were founded by students who had arrived in Spain in the 1960s and 1970s from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt, as a result of the rapprochement policy between the Franquist and the Middle East countries during that period.

Later on, after Franco’s death and the establishment of democracy, but one year before the promulgation of the Religious Liberty Law of 1980, the Muslim Community of Spain was registered at the Ministry of Justice’s Registry. This association was created in Madrid and was led by Álvaro Machordom Comins.

Right after the promulgation of the Religious Liberty Law, new Muslim associations came into being. A good many of them were led and made up by converts that played an important role during the first years of the process of institutionalization of Islam in Spain. However, already in the early 1980s some associations made up by immigrant communities began to be organized. It is the case, among others, of the Autonomous Muslim Association of Jaen and Province, registered at the Ministry’s Registry in 1983, with headquarters in the town of Linares and created by Pakistani immigrants employed at the mining industry.

After the promulgation of the Religious Liberty Law, the first steps were taken with a view to signing Agreements of Cooperation between the Spanish State and the Jewish, Evangelical and Muslim confessions.

The first condition required by law in order to sign such agreements was that those confessions had the recognition of “notorio arraigo”. In the case of Islam, the Advisory Commission on Religious Freedom approved the recognition of Islam as a deeply rooted confession on 14 July 1989. By that time, Protestants and Jews had already achieved this status.

But the signing of the agreements was subject to the existence of a single representative of Islam in Spain, a condition laid down by the Spanish government. To this end, days before the recognition of Islam as a confession with “notorio arraigo” in Spain, the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities (FEERI) was created. It was composed originally of nine Islamic religious associations with headquarters in Madrid, Granada, Seville, Almeria, Ceuta and Melilla.

A few months after, the Muslim Association of Spain (the same association that in April 1989 had submitted an official request to the Government for the recognition of Islam as a confession with “notorio arraigo”) created the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain (UCIDE).

The State’s insistence on the presence of a single interlocutor coupled with the lack of harmony between the two federations (FEERI and UCIDE) —something that continues today—, resulted in the need to create an Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE) as an interlocutor with the State. The two federations were kept as independent entities within the CIE and the leading posts within the Commission were distributed equally between them. There are therefore two General Secretaries, one for each federation, and four speakers, two from each of the Federations. In fact the two federations operate independently and the CIE meets only when dialogue with the State is needed.

In April 1992, the cooperation agreement between the Spanish State and the Islamic Commission of Spain was signed, but until recently it has not been put in practice. Islam was not an issue to care about. The bombings on 11 March 2004 were, paradoxically, the incentive for the State to have a higher grade of cooperation with the Islamic community in Spain. The conviction that the bombings were inspired by some uncontrolled radical imam in some “clandestine” mosque pushed the Government to initiate a new policy concerning the Islamic community.17

Soon it became clear that the Registry of Religious Entities at the Ministry of Justice was inefficient in terms of providing a clear picture of the number of mosques in Spain and their location (because registry is not compulsory, nor the data update). So, in order to encourage the inscription of mosques and religious associations in the Registry, the Government initiated a policy of funding projects made by religious communities (not just Islamic, but any religious community affiliated to any of the Federations that signed an agreement of cooperation with the State). In order to pursue that aim, the Government created the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation [Fundación Pluralismo y Convivencia]. Now the State funds projects implemented by individual religious communities, which does to some extent remedy their disadvantage with respect to the privileged status of the Catholic Church, which receives state funds directly (not linked to the execution of any specific project).

The result of all that has been an important increase in the number of Islamic “entities” registered at the Ministry’s Registry (see maps below). So, while there has been an important change in recent years, it has occurred mainly as a result of security concerns, and only secondarily to repair the discrimination that minorities have suffered in Spain.

During these years in which the State has sought a more frequent dialogue with the representatives of the Muslim community in Spain, the lack of representativeness of the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE) has become clear.18 Those communities that feel dissatisfied with the management of the CIE, or do not feel represented by it, have begun to create their own federations, some of them with a marked regional character. In December 2009, a total of 23 Islamic Federative Entities were registered in the Register of Religious Entities of the Ministry of Justice. Besides FEERI, UCIDE, and the CIE itself, and also the 10 regional federations that UCIDE has created during the last years (in Ceuta, Aragon, Valencia, Madrid, the Basque Country, Extremadura, Murcia, Catalonia, Castile-Leon and in Castile-La Mancha), the following federations are registered: Islamic Commission of Melilla, Islamic Council of Valencia, Islamic Federation of the Autonomous Region of the Balearic Islands, Muslim Federation of Spain (FEME), Islamic Federation of Murcia, Higher Islamic Council of the Autonomous Region of Valencia (CISCOVA), Federation of Muslim Communities of Castile-La Mancha, Spanish Islamic Federation of Catalonia (FICDE), and the more recently created Federation of Sub-Saharan Muslim Communities for Dialogue, Culture and Rights (FEDICD), and the Islamic Centre of Catalonia.

With the exception of the Islamic Commission of Melilla, established in 1989 and composed of four communities (Muslim Religious Association, Muslim Religious Council, Muslim Community of Melilla and Association Badr), all these associations came into being after 2005 (especially in 2008 and 2009). The creation of these federations is mainly explained by the lack of representativeness of FEERI and UCIDE and its inoperability in search of a better dialogue with the regional administrations. Among the reasons that have led to the creation of these new federations the existence of different ideological positions cannot be ignored.

In late 2006 the Platform of Islamic Federations of Spain was created, as the product of the junction of five of the aforementioned federations. The Platform seeks to end the dominion that FEERI and UCIDE exert over the CIE. In order to pursue that aim, the Platform has proposed changing the CIE statutes, in order to allow new actors to join. That factor has made the operation of the CIE increasingly difficult, even more since FEERI is immersed in an internal crisis since 2000. The five federations that comprise the Platform are the Islamic Federation of Murcia, Spanish Islamic Federation of Catalonia, the Higher Islamic Council of the Autonomous Region of Valencia, The Muslim Federation of Spain, and the Islamic Federation of the Autonomous Region of the Balearic Islands.

As FEERI and UCIDE couldn’t achieve an agreement to allow other Islamic
communities to join the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE), in April 2011
representatives of 870 Muslim associations decided to create the Islamic
Council of Spain, which included those communities with no
representation in the CIE. The new Islamic Council included nearly 93%
of the 916 Islamic religious entities registered at the Ministry of Justice.

The new Islamic Council included a managing board formed by the
President of the UCIDE, Riay Tatary; 3 members of the Muslim Federation
of Spain (FEME); the Vice-President of Murcia’s Islamic federation,
Munir Benjelloun; and the head of Valencia’s Islamic Cultural Centre,
Amparo Sánchez. 19

Apart from the traditional rivalry between FEERI and UCIDE another factor of instability has appeared: the growing influence of al Ahd wal Ihssan [Justice and Spirituality, the Moroccan Islamist movement] among Moroccan communities in Spain. In the past few years, Justice and Spirituality has gained enough strength to challenge current Moroccan control over FEERI. Morocco, meanwhile, has tried to influence the Spanish Government presenting itself as the sole guardian of moderate Islam, and Justice and Spirituality as a radical group and a threat to Spain. It has also tried to extend its control over imams in Spain, and has tried to convince the Spanish Government that a Moroccan-controlled body of imams would be a guaranty of moderation. In this line Morocco convened a meeting of imams working in Spain. It took place in Marrakech in November 2008.20

Islamic Education
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The Agreement of Cooperation between the Spanish State and the Islamic Commission of Spain states (as do the agreements with Jews and Evangelicals) that, as the Education Law includes the right of having access to religious education in public and private-concerted schools,21 Islamic religion must be taught where parents ask for it (article 10).

The Agreement also states that Islamic religion will be taught by teachers appointed by communities belonging to the Islamic Commission. The subject contents as well as textbooks will be also chosen by the communities belonging to the Islamic Commission.

It is also stated that the Islamic Commission could create its own schools, as well as universities and Islamic training centres.

However, the Agreement has not been implemented to any significant degree. Islam is taught in few schools. For example, in Catalonia and Madrid, where the majority of Muslim population lives, there is not a single teacher of Islam.22

As we can see in the following table, the teaching of Islamic religion lessons in Spanish schools is practically non-existent.

Employment rates for the economically active age group (16-64 years old) from selected predominantly Muslim countries

Country of OriginMaleFemale
Source: Ministry of Education and Different Autonomous Regions with competence on education matters. I wish to thank the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation for providing me with this table.

The Ministry of Justice, through the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation, has tried to facilitate the development of this right by stimulating the publication of two Islamic religion textbooks for primary: Descubrir el islam 1 & 2. Both books have been written under the supervision of the Islamic Commission.

Security and Anti-Terrorism Issues
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Despite the terrible attacks of 11 March 2004 (11-M), Spain has not introduced new anti-terrorist legislation. However, a great many terrorist suspects have been arrested and imprisoned.
The most important trial of jihadists targetted those involved in the 11-M attacks.

The trial of the 28 defendants lasted 4 months.23 The judge finally convicted 3 of the 8 chief defendants to prison terms of 35,000 to 40,000 years. The rest received far lower penalties.24
There has also been a trial against an al-Qaeda terrorist cell linked to the 9/11 attacks. In this trial the defendant “Abu Dahdah” was sentenced to 27 years in prison.25

Other trials have been held against terrorist cells or supposed terrorist cells. In 2007 the Spanish National Court (Audiencia Nacional) sentenced 5 members of the so-called “Dixan commando” to 13 years’ imprisonment.26 Recently, 10 Pakistanis and one Indian received prison sentences of up to 14 years after being found guilty of planning to bomb the Barcelona underground.27

According to one estimate, nearly 50% of those accused of being members of jihadist cells in Spain have been found not guilty. 89 people have been tried since 2005 by the Spanish National Court, of whom 42 were acquitted. Similarly, the final sentences meted out have always been less severe than the penalties called for by the prosecutor.28

As we saw earlier, concern over terrorism and security has also guided the implementation of measures to improve relations between the State and Muslim communities. This policy has paved the way for a more fluid dialogue between State representatives and those of the Muslim communities. It also led to the implementation of the Cooperation Agreements.

Islamic Practice
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Mosques

In May 2004 there were 235 Muslim Religious Entities29 registered at the Ministry of Justice’s Registry of Religious Entities.30 At the end of 2008 there were 641. This does not mean that they were all were created in those four years. Many were, but many others had been created before. The new policy of cooperation between the State and the Muslim communities through the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation has generated greater interest in registering at the Ministry’s Registry.

According to the Agreements of Cooperation between the Spanish State and the Islamic Commission of Spain,31 mosques are inviolable spaces (article 2.2) and they cannot be forcibly expropriated without the Islamic Commission being heard. In addition, they cannot be demolished without their holy character being previously removed, and their archives and documents are protected by law.

Mosques in Spain are predominantly small spaces. They are usually located in garages or warehouses on the outskirts of the towns because communities do not easily find better places or because local authorities or/and neighbours are opposed to mosques being opened in town centres.

There are very few big newly built mosques in Spain, only four: two in Madrid (Abu Bakr Mosque and the Islamic Cultural Centre of Madrid), one in Valencia (Islamic Cultural Centre of Valencia) and another one in Granada.

There are projects for building new big mosques in Seville and Barcelona, but they are still at the work-in-progress stage. The Seville project has met with serious opposition from neighbours.32 Opposition to the construction and opening of mosques is common in Spain. There have been important cases, especially in Catalonia.33

Recently (15 July 2009) the Catalonian Parliament approved a law regulating places of worship in an attempt to solve the problems that religious minorities (not just Muslims) face when they try to open a new place of worship.34

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Cemeteries

There are 24 Islamic burial sites in Spain. The majority (14) are special spaces within public cemeteries. There is also an important proportion of Civil War Islamic cemeteries, created during the Spanish Civil War to bury the Moroccan soldiers that fought on Franco’s side. Of those Civil War cemeteries, some are not in use anymore, but others are still being used by the Muslim communities in Spain. The cemetery in Griñón (near Madrid) is one of those.

There are also two private Islamic cemeteries, property of two Muslim communities and used just by them.

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*The Civil War Islamic cemetery in Griñón (Madrid) Source: http://www.iesoa.pangea.org/IMG/jpg/clip_image001.jpg.

The Agreement of Cooperation states that Islamic cemeteries will enjoy the same legal rights as mosques. Muslim communities are entitled to a special place in public cemeteries, as well as to having their own cemeteries. They also have the right to be buried according to Islamic burial rites (article 2.5).

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Halal Slaughter

According to the Agreement of Cooperation the Islamic Commission of Spain has the right to have food slaughtered according to the Islamic rite and labelled as “halal”, but Islamic slaughter must respect the public health laws. It is also stated that public institutions such as hospitals, schools and the army must do their best to provide Muslims with halal food when required (article 14).

Apart from what the Agreement states and before it was signed, the Islamic Junta, an Islamic organization joined mainly by converts, created the Halal Institute in 1986 to provide Muslims with food labelled as halal.

Holidays

The Agreement of Cooperation states (article 12) that the members of communities belonging to the Islamic Commission have the right to ask to stop work on Fridays in order to attend the mosque (between 13:00 and 18:30). They also have the right to finish work an hour before sunset during the month of Ramadan. However they will have to recover the lost hours.

If an agreement is reached between employees and employer, Muslims could replace the common holidays among the non-Muslim population with the following Islamic holidays: Al-Hiyra (1st. Muharram), Ashura (10th Muharram), Idu al-Maulid (12th Rabiu al-Awwal), Al-Isra wa al-Mi’ray (27th Rayab), Idu al-Fitr (1st, 2nd, 3rd Shawwal), Idu al-Adha (10th, 11th, 12th Du Al Hyyah)

The same holds true for students in public schools.

Ceuta and Melilla, the Spanish Autonomous Cities in North Africa, were the first Spanish cities to officially recognise an Islamic celebration: the Eid al-Kabir.35

As an important Shi’i community lives in Barcelona, the City Council has also allowed the celebration of Ashura with a procession through some streets.36

Marriage

Islamic marriage is recognised by the State as legal if the bride and groom fulfil the legal requisites established by Spanish law (Agreement, article 7).

There are no statistics about Islamic marriages taking place in Spain, but we can make an approximation to the issue by showing the statistics of marriages that have taken place between Spanish and nationals from countries identified with Islam, and between nationals from countries identified with Islam.

TOTALChildhoodPrimarySpecialSecondaryBaccalaureateFP*Prog. GS **ArtisticLanguagesSport
Total702,392119,980295,4772,838199,54828,29427,6837,5353,56217,43243
Algeria5,4011,4922,050241,29216118282101080
Morocco108,73126,44048,56868425,2471,5473,1422,229588142
Senegal3,0199041,05614724341031590250
Pakistan3,6466921,600411,0869193212200
Romania76,25616,34535,23819118,9092,5031,6865712935191
Argentina31,7883,96514,2051048,6691,7401,4961083481,14112
Bolivia34,5896,39916,7421498,871853997324282260
Colombia54,9154,06421,09318921,3212,6893,1687633041,3204
Ecuador101,94011,59544,71847834,3324,2944,3181,2702746574
China17,9423,4436,534345,95768123139509730
Source: National Statistics Institute (INE: http://www.ine.es). Compiled by Fernando Bravo.

As we can see, there are more marriages between Spanish and Moroccans than marriages between Moroccans. This is an indication that marriages of Moroccan residents in Spain probably and preferably take place in Morocco, not in Spain. The same probably holds true for Senegalese, Algerians and Pakistanis.

Hijab

Unlike France, there is no legal ban on the wearing of the hijab in Spain. Controversies have nonetheless been aired in the media when certain schools tried to prevent Muslim girls wearing the headscarf. These few cases have been few and far between.37

In all events, the media discourse in Spain concerning the hijab has been highly influenced by the polemics in France, more than by actual problems in Spain.

Recently controversy was sparked in the media concerning the case of a judge who refused to allow a Muslim witness to wear the niqab and a lawyer to wear the hijab. The case of the lawyer has been especially controversial since she has appealed to the Spanish High Court of Justice in order to have the right to wear it during the proceedings.38

Media Coverage, Intellectual and Political Discourse
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There is no exhaustive study of Spanish media coverage of Islam and Muslims, although there are partial studies enabling us to make an estimation of this coverage in recent years.

If we use the following graph as a sample of this coverage, we could conclude that interest in Islam and Muslims is relatively recent.

El País and ABC are two of Spain’s leading newspapers. Both are addressed to a wide range of readers, albeit on different sides of the ideological spectrum: liberal in the case of El Pais, conservative in the case of ABC. Different as they are ideologically, they show a very similar tendency in the grade of attention they have paid to Islam.

Appearance frequency of the word “Islam” in two of the main Spanish newspapers
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As we can see, they have always paid attention to Islam mainly during International crisis as the Iranian Revolution, the war in Former Yugoslavia, the Algerian Civil War, and above all after 9/11. We can easily identify each crisis by the peaks in the graph. So we can draw the following conclusions: Islam is mainly associated with violence, wars and international conflicts.

We cannot discern how many news items deal with the issue of immigration or Muslims in Spain because concern over this issues only became really apparent after 9/11. In the graph they are easily confused with news about, for example, terrorism, war in Iraq, etc.

Before 9/11 the media paid little attention to Islam. El País, as we can see, paid a little more attention to it during the Civil War in Yugoslavia and Algeria, but nothing compared to what happened after 9/11. Before that, the issue “Muslims in Spain” was dealt with in the context of a broader concern with the issue “Immigration”. Islam still was not a main issue. The main concern was irregular immigration and the integration of immigrants. And when media, politicians and intellectuals spoke about the integration of Muslim immigrants, they almost invariably spoke broadly about their “culture of origin”, not specifically about Islam. The objects of concern were Maghrebis, not Muslims. Few people thought of Maghrebis as Muslims, but as “moros” or Moors (an ethnic rather than religious category). During those years negative discourse about the presence of Maghrebi immigrants in Spain was part of a broader backlash against multiculturalism.39

However this attitude against multiculturalism very soon led to a negative attitude against Islam and Muslims, even more after 9/11. But it was especially after the publication of La sociedad multiétnica [The Multiethnic Society] in early 2001 by Italian political scientist Giovanni Sartori, when a national debate on multiculturalism and the integration of Muslims in Spain began. Sartori argued against multiculturalism and identified it as a threat to democracy. He also considered that European States should discriminate against immigrants on the basis of their “culture of origin” and give preference to the arrival of those immigrants with a culture similar to that of the host country. According to Sartori, the entrance of Muslim immigrants should be avoided because it was so difficult to integrate them.40

The book was broadly discussed in newspapers and heavily influenced politicians, especially –but not only- in the Popular Party, then in power. For example, Enrique Fernández Miranda, who in those days was Secretary of State on Immigration, publicly manifested that he agreed with Sartori on the issue of multiculturalism.41 It also inspired Federico Trillo, Ministry of Defence in 2002, when he argued in favour of the inclusion of South American immigrants in the Army, “because they are of our culture”, and against the inclusion of immigrants of other “cultures” (although Muslim soldiers are already part of the Spanish army).42

As we said before, after 9/11 the national debate on immigration, integration and multiculturalism, swiftly came to focus on Islam and Muslims. The debate oscillated between those who equated Islam with terrorism and was therefore a threat to the “west”, and those who tried to avoid such identifications.

The situation worsened after the attacks of 11 March 2004 in Madrid. Despite the pain, people remained calm and there were few racist or Islamophobic attacks. However, in the media the situation was different. It was not long before op-ed pieces of an Islamophobic character began to appear. In the following months, there was an ongoing debate on the nature of Islam, its supposed violent and intolerant character, and the need for the State to control mosques and what imams said there.43

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*D7 ABC cover, 2 December 2007. Source: http://hemeroteca.abc.es/nav/Navigate.exe/hemeroteca/madrid/d7/2007/12/02/001.html.

In the past two years the situation in the media seems to have calmed down. As seen in the previous graph, the attention paid to Islam by two of Spain’s leading newspapers has returned to pre-9/11 levels. However, given the current economic crisis, immigration has again become a major concern, in the media as well as among politicians.

For example, the municipal authorities in a small city in the province of Barcelona, Vic, recently decided to prevent the registration of irregular immigrants in the Municipal Register. After some controversy, the city hall backtracked and decided to obey the laws in force. The controversy has been used by the Popular Party to call for a reformation in the legislation on immigration and a “integration contract” for immigrants.44 This “integration contract” was proposed by the Popular Party in its 2008 electoral campaign (sparking a great deal of controversy). It was argued that the contract was necessary to make immigrants obey laws, learn the language and respect Spanish customs.45

Public Perception of Islam, Bias and Discrimination
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In September 2007 the Spanish Centre of Sociological Research (CIS) published the results of a national survey on Attitudes toward discrimination based on a racial and ethnic origin.46 Those polled were asked whether they thought there were ethnic, religious or cultural groups that “did not mix with the rest of society”, and which groups sprang to mind. 15.7% of those polled said “Moroccans, Maghrebis, Algerians”, 18.2% “Muslims, Mohammedans”, 11.1% “Arabs” and 7.9% “moros” or Moors. If we put together all these different identifications under the label “Muslims”, then the result is that 52.9% of those polled thought that Muslims did not “mix with the rest of society”, a far cry from the 18.3% that said “Romanians”, and the 17.2% that said “gypsies”.

The situation has not changed much in the last decade. Already at the beginning of 2001 the CIS “barometer” showed similar data: For those polled, Maghrebis (there were no questions about “Muslims”) were the less likeable community among immigrants.47

Again, in 2007 the Real Instituto Elcano (a think-tank that declares itself to be independent but that has strong links with the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) published a survey in which the results showed that 96% of those polled thought that Muslims were sexist, 90% thought that that they were authoritarian, 68% that they were violent, and 37% of them had a “negative opinion of Muslim religion”.48

This has probably triggered incidences of discrimination against the Muslim population, but we have no data in this respect. As the Constitution states, no-one in Spain can be obliged to declare his religious beliefs, and statistics for discrimination complaints do not collect religious affiliation of the victims, nor their national or ethnic origin. In addition, it is difficult to determine whether an act of discrimination or an aggression has been motivated by the victim’s religious, ethnic or national identity. An explicit confession of the perpetrator is needed in order to elucidate this point.

We can also reach a conclusion about the perpetrator’s motivation if his action has a symbolic component. In that sense, currents of opposition to the opening of mosques, to which we alluded earlier, might well have an Islamophobic component. But, even in those cases, we cannot always conclude that this is necessarily the case, because we also find similar situations when Evangelical churches or Jehovah’s Witnesses’ temples are going to be opened. We can also identify symbolic actions of an anti-Islamic character when we find, for example, swastikas painted on the walls of an Islamic cemetery or a mosque.

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*A crossed-out Swastika on the walls of the Islamic cemetery at Griñón (Madrid). December 2009. Photo by Fernando Bravo.

But we can also identify Islamophobic actions perpetrated against institutions and people that have no relation with Islam. For example, in May 2008 the Spanish National Front (an extreme-right party) organized a demonstration in front of Casa Árabe [Arabic House, a cultural institution dependent on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs], because they identified it as an Islamic cultural centre.49

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*National Front poster on the demonstration at Casa Árabe with the Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, wearing a fez and saying: “An Islamic Cultural Centre is exactly what this neighbourhood needs and that’s that!” Source: http://estaticos03.cache.el-mundo.net/elmundo/imagenes/2008/05/13/1210696499_extras_ladillos_1_0.jpg.

In all events, as shown in a recent study by the Institute of Advanced Social Studies (IESA-CSIC),50 there is a lot of ignorance about Islam in Spain. Most people know nothing about Islam, and they cannot even elaborate a negative discourse about it. Negative attitudes toward Muslims used to be based on the traditional aversion towards “moros”, based on traditional racist stereotypes: “the Moor is dirty”, “the Moor is a liar”, “the Moor is a thief”, “the Moor is lazy”, etc.

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PÉREZ-DÍAZ, VÍCTOR; ÁLVAREZ-MIRANDA, BERTA and CHULIÁ, ELISA (2004): La inmigración musulmana en Europa. Turcos en Alemania, argelinos en Francia y marroquíes en España, Barcelona, Fundación “la Caixa”.
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Sources


  1. (2009): “Mapping the global Muslim population. A report on the size and distribution of the world’s Muslim population”, The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, october, http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=451 [last view: 22 December 2009]. 

  2. There have been some estimates. A newspaper report said that the Muslim convert population was 2.5% of the total Muslim population in Spain (1 million); see MOLINA, MARTA (2007): “Nuevos musulmanes”, en El País, 31 July. Juan José Escobar Stemmann said that it was a 2%, without providing any source; see ESCOBAR STEMMANN, JUAN J. (2008): “Activismo islámico en España”, Política Exterior, nº 124, pp. 67-81. 

  3. All figures from INE, Municipal Register, 1 January 2008. 

  4. All figures from Ayuntamiento de Madrid [Madrid City Council], Municipal Register, 1 January 2008, http://www.munimadrid.es/estadistica/.  

  5. All figures from Anuario Estadístico de Inmigración [Yearbook of Immigration Statistics], 2008, Madrid, Secretaría de Estado de Inmigración y Emigración, 2009, http://extranjeros.mtas.es/es/InformacionEstadistica/Anuarios/Anuario2008.html. 

  6. COLECTIVO IOÉ (Carlos Pereda, Walter Actis y Miguel Ángel de Prada) (2005): Inmigración y vivienda en España, Madrid, Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración, pp. 200-201. 

  7. Ibid., p. 203. 

  8. Ibid. 

  9. http://www.educacion.es/mecd/estadisticas/educativas/dcce/Datos_Cifras_web.pdf. 

  10. See “International Religious Freedom Report 2009”, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127338.htm. 

  11. See the agreements (in Spanish) in the Ministry of Justice web page

  12. See a list of the members of the Assembly: http://www.ceuta.es/servlet/ContentServer?isP=CI-InfoInsPage&pagename=CeutaIns%2FPage%2FDiputadosAsamblea&p_pag=DiputadosAsamblea&cid=1120557358018. 

  13. See http://www.melilla.es/melillaPortal/fdes_d4_v2.jsp?contenido=51&tipo=6&nivel=1400&pagina=home&language=es&codMenu=234&codMenuPN=231.  

  14. http://www.webislam.com/?idt=10096. 

  15. See http://www.partidoprune.org/ 

  16. On the contemporary history of Islam in Spain see PLANET CONTRERAS, ANA I. (1998): Ceuta y Melilla. Espacios-frontera hispano-marroquíes, Melilla y Ceuta, Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla, Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta, UNED-Melilla, pp. 107-114; PLANET CONTRERAS, ANA I. (2001): “Un colectivo islámico en la España de hoy. Del sucursalismo a la desobediencia: musulmanes y comportamientos políticos en Melilla”, Anales de Historia Contemporánea, nº 17, pp. 485-500; LÓPEZ GARCÍA, BERNABÉ y PLANET CONTRERAS, ANA I. (2002): “Islam in Spain”, in HUNTER, SHIREEN T. (ed.): Islam, Europe’s second religion. The new social, cultural, and political landscape, Westport (Connecticut), Praeger, pp. 157-174; PLANET CONTRERAS, ANA I. (2008): “Islam e inmigración: elementos para un análisis y propuestas de gestión”, in PLANET CONTRERAS, ANA I. and MORERAS, JORDI (eds.): Islam e inmigración, Madrid, Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales, pp. 9-52; ARIGITA, ELENA (2006): “Representing Islam in Spain: Muslim Identities and the Contestation of Leadership”, The Muslim World, vol 96, nº 4, pp. 563-584; MORERAS, JORDI (2002): “Muslims in Spain: between the historical heritage and the minority construction”, The Muslim World, vol 92, nº 1-2, pp. 129-142. 

  17. For several months after the bombings, the Government was under heavy pressure to control mosques and what was said there. See, for example, (2004): “José Antonio Alonso, Ministro del Interior: «Es necesaria una ley para poder controlar a los imames de las pequeñas mezquitas»”, El País, 2 May; (2004): “La Comisión Islámica califica de disparate el control de los imames”, El País, 3 May; (2004): “El Gobierno quiere llevar la ley de control de imames radicales al Pacto Antiterrorista”, El País, 4 May; (2004): “El Gobierno carece de un registro de imames y de mezquitas para controlar a los islamistas”, El País, 5 May; (2004): “El Gobierno estudia una reforma legal para el control de mezquitas e imames”, El País, 8 May; See also the 6 May 2004 op-ed piece “Interior de las mezquitas”, also in El País. 

  18. On the situation of the Islamic Commission of Spain see ARIGITA: “Representing Islam in Spain”. On the foundation of new regional federations see the case of Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha in LÓPEZ GARCÍA, BERNABÉ, et al. (2007): Arraigados. Minorías religiosas en la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Icaria; GARCÍA ORTIZ, PUERTO, et al. (2009): “Comunidades islámicas”, in GARCÍA ORTIZ, PUERTO y HERNANDO DE LARRAMENDI MARTÍNEZ, MIGUEL (eds.): Religion.es: minorías religiosas en Castilla-La Mancha, Barcelona y Madrid, Icaria y Fundación Pluralismo y Convivencia, pp. 245-278. 

  19. See
    http://www.publico.es/espana/369439/las-entidades-musulmanas-apuestan-por-la-unidad 

  20. See CEMBRERO, IGNACIO (2008): “Marruecos convoca a más de cien imanes afincados en España”, El País, 7 November; PAGOLA, JON (2009): “Fieles a Mohamed VI e islamistas pugnan por el control de los musulmanes en España”, ABC, 1 November. 

  21. Private-concerted schools are private schools that receive public funding. 

  22. See AYLLÓN, DANIEL (2009): “El islam tiene 46 maestros para 150.000 alumnos”, Público.es, 6 September. 

  23. “El juicio por los atentados del 11 de marzo en Madrid queda visto para sentencia”, Europa press, http://www.europapress.es/00309/20070702225224/11-juicio-atentados-11-marzo-madrid-queda-visto-sentencia.html.  

  24. (2007): “España: fallo judicial por el 11-M”, BBCMundo.com, 31 October; Romero, MANUEL & YOLDI, JOSÉ (2007): “El tribunal culpa a una célula islamista del 11-M, descarta a ETA y desmonta los bulos amparados por el PP”, El País, 31 October. 

  25. (2005): “La Audiencia Nacional condena a 27 años de cárcel a «Abu Dahdah» por dirigir la célula española de Al Qaeda”, ABC, 26 September. 

  26. (2007): “La Audiencia Nacional condena a 13 años de cárcel a cinco miembros del ‘comando Dixan’”, El País, 9 February. 

  27. (2009): “Condenados a penas de hasta 14 años los 11 islamistas que planearon volar el metro de Barcelona”, El País, 14 December. 

  28. (2009): “Absueltos casi el 50% de los acusados por terrorismo islamista desde 2005 en España”, LaVanguardia.es, 11 April. 

  29. In Spanish law a “religious entity” is a religious organization with legal personality recognised by the Ministry of Justice. That designation includes religious communities, associations and federations. Therefore, it should not be confused with the number of mosques. All mosques in the Ministry’s Register are religious entities, but not all religious entities are mosques. 

  30. http://dgraj.mju.es/EntidadesReligiosas/. 

  31. Acuerdo de cooperación del Estado Español con la Comisión Islámica de España (aprobado por la Ley 26/1992 de 10 de noviembre, BOE de 12 de noviembre). 

  32. RINCÓN, REYES (2008): “La mezquita de Sevilla se queda otra vez sin suelo por un error municipal”, El País, 17 October. 

  33. See MORERAS, JORDI (2008): “¿Conflictos por el reconocimiento? Las polémicas en torno a los oratorios musulmanes en Cataluña”, en PLANET CONTRERAS, ANA I. y MORERAS, JORDI (eds.): Islam e inmigración, Madrid, Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales, pp. 53-79. 

  34. See http://www20.gencat.cat/portal/site/Departament-de-la-Vicepresidencia/menuitem.231745376b0b41e13a81e810b0c0e1a0/?vgnextoid=8360d49a17e72210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8360d49a17e72210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default. 

  35. See (2008): “El Aid El Kebir de 2010 también será día festivo en Ceuta”, Sur.es; Cembrero, Ignacio: “La fiesta del Cordero será oficial”, El País, 30 November. 

  36. See (2009): “Los chiíes de Barcelona celebran la Ashura con permiso del Ayuntamiento”, ABC, 9 January. 

  37. On the issue of the hijab in Spain see MIJARES, LAURA y RAMÍREZ, ÁNGELES (2008): “Mujeres, pañuelo e islamofobia en España: un estado de la cuestión”, Anales de Historia Contemporánea, nº 24, pp. 121-135. 

  38. CEBERIO, MÓNICA (2010): “El supremo decidirá sobre el uso del ‘hiyab’ en los juicios”, El País, 15 January. 

  39. See ZAPATA-BARRERO, RICARD; GONZÁLEZ, ELISABET and SÁNCHEZ MONTIJANO, ELENA (2008): El discurso político en torno a la inmigración en España y en la Unión Europea, Madrid, Ministerio de Trabajo e Inmigración y Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración; BRAVO LÓPEZ, FERNANDO (2002): Los partidos políticos parlamentarios españoles ante la inmigración (1999-2002), DEA Tesis, Department of Arab and Islamic Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; ABELLA, CARLOS MANUEL (2005): Los discursos mediáticos acerca de la inmigración y el multiculturalismo en España: análisis de los editoriales de ABC, El Mundo y El País, 1994-2002, PhD Tesis, Department of Theory and Method of Social Analysis, Universidad de la Coruña, La Coruña. 

  40. SARTORI, GIOVANNI (2001): La sociedad multiétnica. Pluralismo, multiculturalismo y extranjeros, Madrid, Taurus. 

  41. BRAVO LÓPEZ: Los partidos políticos parlamentarios, pp. 69-71 

  42. Ibid., pp. 72-73. 

  43. See some examples of Islamophobic op-ed pieces in the Spanish media in NAVARRO, LAURA (2008): Contra el islam. La visión deformada del mundo árabe en Occidente, Córdoba, Almuzara; BRAVO LÓPEZ, FERNANDO (2009): Islamofobia y antisemitismo: la construcción discursiva de las amenazas islámica y judía, PhD Tesis, Department of Arab and Islamic Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid. See also BRAVO LÓPEZ, FERNANDO (2009): “Islamofobia y antimusulmanismo en España: el caso de César Vidal”, Revista de Estudios Internacionales Mediterráneos, nº 8, pp. 47-71. 

  44. See (2010): “Los alcaldes del PP exigen una reforma de la Ley de Extranjería”, El País, 25 January; (2010): “El PP retoma la creación de un «contrato de integración» para inmigrantes”, ABC, 23 January. 

  45. See (2008): “Rajoy promete a los inmigrantes un «contrato de integración» si gana las elecciones”, ABC, 6 February. 

  46. See (2007): “Actitudes ante la discriminación por origen racial y étnico”, 19 September, http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Marginales/2720_2739/2731/e273100.html. Similar data can be found in (2009): “Actitudes hacia la inmigración (II)”, 20 September, http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Marginales/2760_2779/2773/e277300.html, and also in DESRUES, THIERRY and PÉREZ YRUELA, MANUEL (eds.) (2007): Opinión de los españoles en materia de racismo y xenofobia. 2007, Madrid, Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales. 

  47. See http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Marginales/2400_2419/e240900.html. 

  48. NOYA, JAVIER (2007): “Los españoles y el islam”, Real Instituto Elcano. ARI, nº 47, pp. 13-17. 

  49. See FIGUERAS, AMANDA (2008): “El Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de Madrid autoriza una manifestación contra Casa Árabe”, ElMundo.es, 14 May. 

  50. The study is still unpublished. It was based on discussion groups.