Spanish government gives Jumilla a month to revoke ban on Islamic festivals
Jumilla has already agreed to lift the ban if experts deem it illegal amid widespread pressure
The Spanish government has formally told Jumilla Town Council to cancel its decision to stop religious events from taking place in local sports facilities. The decision, made at a council meeting in July, primarily affects two Muslim celebrations that had been held in a municipal sports centre for years.
The government says the ban “violates the constitutional principles of religious freedom, equality and administrative neutrality, and constitutes a clear misuse of power.”
The highly controversial Jumilla proposal states that sports facilities should be used “exclusively for sports or events and activities organised by the Jumilla Town Council, and under no circumstances for cultural, social or religious activities unrelated to the Town Council.”
The central government immediately took issue, arguing that public spaces like sports centres are used the world over for non-sporting activities. It says the reasons given for the ban are weak, even though Jumilla Town Council has claimed the idea had been considered for some time because of “various issues.”
The events affected are the end of Ramadan and the Feast of the Lamb.
Spanish government spokesperson Mariola Guevara said this week that if Jumilla ignores the request to lift the ban, the State Attorney’s Office could take the case to the Administrative Courts. She said other legal options are also being considered to overturn the motion and that legal services are already working on the matter.
Jumilla Town Council has until September 11 to either revoke the decision or explain why it will not do so.
Council sources say they will prepare a legal and technical report to decide whether the ban is lawful.
Mayor Severa González has already promised this review. The council says that if experts find the ban is illegal, it will lift the restriction as the government has requested.
According to the government’s official request, the ban is “an undue restriction of the right to religious freedom, lacking any justification.” Banning religious events not organised by the council “without proving a disturbance of public order or a conflict of customs, constitutes an unjustified restriction of this fundamental right.”
The request adds that this ban “directly affects the Muslim community of Jumilla, preventing the collective exercise of worship without objective justification” and violates both the Law on Religious Freedom and Article 16 of the Constitution.
The national government also says the ban breaches the “principle of the reserve of law” since there is no legal basis for the council to limit religious freedom in this way. It argues that the decision “de facto excludes a minority religious denomination (Muslim), without offering reasonable alternatives or proving functional incompatibility.”
Meanwhile, the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities (Feeri) has announced it will take legal action “to restore the right of the Muslim community to use public spaces on equal terms with other religious denominations.” Feeri is also calling for the ban to be reversed.
Image: Pexels
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