Spanish town bans Muslim religious festivals weeks after anti-migrant riots in nearby area

The ban in Jumilla, in Murcia, is a first in Spain and was introduced by the conservative People’s Party (PP) and backed by the hard right Vox party.

The proposal states "municipal sports facilities cannot be used for religious, cultural or social activities alien to our identity unless organised by the local authority".

The move comes less than a month after several people were left injured during anti-migrant rioting in Torre Pacheco, just 70 miles from Jumilla, when a pensioner was reportedly beaten up by three Moroccan men.

Vox posted on X: "Thanks to Vox the first measure to ban Islamic festivals in Spain’s public spaces has been passed. Spain is and will be forever the land of Christian people."

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Mounir Benjelloun Andaloussi Azhari, president of the Spanish federation of Islamic organisations, labelled the proposal "Islamophobic and discriminatory" when speaking with El País newspaper.

"They’re not going after other religions, they’re going after ours," he said.

Francisco Lucas, the socialist leader in Murcia, said on X: "The PP violates the constitution and puts social cohesion as risk simply in the pursuit of power."

Jumilla has a population of about 27,000 - with roughly 7.5% coming from largely Muslim countries.