Spain's government challenges Jumilla's ban on Muslim celebrations over constitutional rights

Ya Biladi

2 days ago

The Spanish government in Madrid has issued an ultimatum to the city council of Jumilla (Murcia province) to repeal a recently approved measure backed by local People's Party officials. Proposed by the far-right Vox party, the motion bans the use of municipal facilities for Muslim religious celebrations, specifically Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice. If the ban is not revoked within a month, the government will take the matter to administrative court, Iberian media reported Monday, citing the socialist government of Pedro Sanchez.
The government has condemned the measure as «racist», arguing that it «arbitrarily restricts» annual festivities and violates the constitutional right to religious freedom, including that of the Muslim community. Last week, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Elma Saiz stressed that her government would ensure «maximum respect for the Constitution».
The Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with Parliament issued a similar statement and coordinated the revocation request with the Department of Territorial Policy. Minister Félix Bolaños also denounced the measure, calling it evidence of the «extremist drift» of the PP-Vox alliance. «We will put an end to their extreme measures, as we did against obstacles to abortion in Castilla-La Mancha or censorship in Murcia», he said.
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) echoed this stance through its spokesperson, Montse Mínguez, who on Saturday accused the People's Party of aligning itself with the ideology of the far right. She warned that this alliance «institutionalizes racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia».
Ban in Jumilla Targets Muslim Community
While the PP continues to back the motion, the government has vowed to overturn it. Jumilla, a town of nearly 27,000 residents, is home to an estimated 1,500 Muslims. The city council defends its decision as a measure to protect «traditional religious values and practices».
According to the government, however, the discriminatory intent is clear, both in the original text and in statements by the Vox spokesperson, who openly boasted about banning Muslim festivities. For Madrid, this is «yet another violation of fundamental rights and freedoms» by local and regional right-wing and far-right administrations, one in which the central government «must intervene to uphold the Constitution».
The executive also argues that the justification for the ban is baseless, noting that the law allows municipal sports facilities to be used for «sociocultural activities». The government reaffirmed its «uncompromising commitment» to combating intolerance and defending «the Constitution, democratic values, and peaceful coexistence». It pledged to «politically and legally challenge any initiative aimed at undermining rights and freedoms and dragging Spain toward an authoritarian path, as seen in other countries governed by the far right».
Criticism from the Catholic Church and Civil Society
Beyond politics, the measure has drawn criticism from the Spanish Episcopal Conference, which cited the constitutional principle of freedom of worship, a position that Vox has rejected. In a province with a significant Moroccan community, civil society groups have also spoken out against the motion.
Sabah Yacoubi, president of the Association of Moroccan Immigrant Workers (ATIM) in the region and national vice-president of the organization, told Yabiladi last week that the decision reflects a longstanding contradiction fueled by xenophobic and Islamophobic sentiment. She warned that the PP and Vox's rhetoric about «activities foreign to the people's identity» is «false and dangerous», especially given Spain's historical legacy under Muslim rule during the caliphate.