Local authorities in Murcia, Murcia, in southeastern Spain, forbade Muslims from using public facilities, such as urban centers and gyms, to celebrate their religious celebrations of Eid al-Fitr (Festival for the end of the fasting).

The ban is the first of this kind in Spain. The ban was proposed by the Conservative People’s Party (PP) and was approved after the abstinence of the far -right VOX party and the opposition, the local leftist parties.

The decision states that “Municipal sports facilities cannot be used for religious, cultural or social activities foreign to our identity unless they are organized by the local authority.”

The local VOX party said in a post on the X platform: “Thanks to Vox, the first measure for the ban on Islamic festivals in Spain’s public places was voted on. Spain is and will always be the land of Christians. “

“They do not persecute other religions, they persecute our own,” Mounir Benjelloun Andaloussi Azhari, president of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Organizations, told El País. “The proposal is Islamophobic and biased.”

“We are surprised by what is happening in Spain,” he added, referring to the recent rise of racist rhetoric and attacks. “For the first time in 30 years I feel fear,” he concluded

Humiya has a population of about 27,000 inhabitants, of which 7.5% are largely from Muslim countries.

The decision is most likely to be legally affected, as it violates Article 16 of the Spanish Constitution, which states: “The freedom of ideology, religion and worship of individuals and communities is guaranteed, without any other restriction on their expression from what is necessary to maintain it.”

Francisco Lucas, the leader of the Socialists in Murcia, told X: “The PP violates the Constitution and endangers social cohesion simply by seeking power.”

Huana Guardiola, a former Socialist mayor of Humiya, said: “What do they mean by the term identity? And what about the centuries of Muslim heritage here? “

Humiya was part of the Roman Empire until its conquest by the Arabs in the eighth century. As a Yumil-La remained mainly Arab city for centuries until it was attacked by Christian troops led by Castile’s Alfonso I in the mid-13th century.

The local Arab ruler reached an agreement, known as the capitulation of Alcatraz, according to which Alfonso would be considered king since the rights of the existing population were respected. However, shortly after Alfonso’s death, Castille invaded Humiya, ending the Arab domination.