{"id":24045,"date":"2025-08-20T09:52:52","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T08:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=24045"},"modified":"2025-08-20T09:52:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T08:52:53","slug":"contrary-to-viral-claim-spain-not-banning-islamic-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/contrary-to-viral-claim-spain-not-banning-islamic-festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"Contrary to viral claim, Spain not banning Islamic festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: Different Facebook users claimed<\/a> that Spain is fighting back against the Muslims\u2019 presence in the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: <\/strong>Misleading. <\/strong>Only <\/strong>Jumilla, a town in Spain, banned religious events that were unaffiliated with the local council from public facilities. Contrary to Islamophobic fears, the ban affected all religious festivals, including Jews and Christians. The Spanish national government also condemned the town\u2019s decision, stating that the move contradicted the country\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Spain, a European country, experienced a golden age of Muslim rule during the Al-Andalus<\/a> era between the 8th and 15th centuries. However, the period featured a complex coexistence and regular conflict between Christians, Muslims, and the Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the fall of Granada to Castilian authorities in 1492<\/a>, the country has witnessed a religious change to Christianity as many citizens converted from Islam to Christianity. Mohammed Ajana, the Secretary of the Islamic Commission in Spain, revealed<\/a> that about three million Muslims live in the country as of 2023. Meanwhile, data from WorldAtlas disclosed<\/a> that about 67.4% of the population identifies as Catholics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, reports claiming that different towns in Spain banned Muslim celebrations went viral. Simon Philips, a Facebook user, shared an 11-second<\/a> video depicting a gathering of Muslims. In the caption, he wrote, \u201cBreaking: Spanish towns have just banned Muslim festivals like Eid in public places.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Aug. 9, 2025, the post has gained over 20,000 reactions, 2,500 comments, and 2,000 reshares since it was posted on Aug. 7, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another Facebook user, Rhema Today, shared the same claim<\/a> in a post and said, \u201cSpain is officially fighting back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post gained over 2,400 reactions and 208 reshares, as of Aug. 9, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chukwuemeka Ijioma, quoting Matthew 16:18, said the news indicates that the Church prevails. \u201cThe gates of hell are the likes of the lying and deceitful religion that will never prevail against the truth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Naomi Pennoh prayed that Liberia would also do the same. She wrote, \u201cLiberia was a Christian nation built on Christian principles until it was changed to a secular state to incorporate other beliefs, which is not right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On his part, Emmanuel Udofia encouraged other countries to follow suit, saying, \u201cIt is time for the Europeans to wake up and take their rightful place as the forerunners of the gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The implication of the claim on efforts to promote religious tolerance prompted DUBAWA to fact-check the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA conducted keyword searches and discovered that the ban only affects events not affiliated with the city\u2019s local councils. The town hall modified the Regulations for the Use and Operation of Municipal Sports Facilities at an ordinary plenary session<\/a> on July 28, 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The modification banned the use of the sports facilities for any cultural, social, or religious activities outside the town. DUBAWA observed that no anti-Islamic term was mentioned anywhere in the amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Severa Gonzales, the town hall\u2019s mayor, said the municipality\u2019s regulation was modified to allow the town’s sports facilities to be used exclusively for sports or events and activities organised by the town hall. He accused<\/a> media platforms pushing Islamophobic narratives of being misinformation propagators. The municipality\u2019s spokesperson, Maria Carmen, also said neither Jumilla nor any town council in Spain can implement a ban on Muslim-related festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, the regulation is a local municipal decision, not a national government policy. In reaction to the viral news, the national Spanish government explicitly condemned<\/a> the measure and labelled it unconstitutional. Elma Saiz, the minister of inclusion, social security, and migration, revealed in an interview with Television Espa\u00f1ola, a state-owned television channel, that Spain\u2019s constitution guarantees citizens\u2019 freedom of religious worship and non-discrimination on religious grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She revealed<\/a> that the ministry is investigating the Jumilla City Council\u2019s decision. The intent is to assess potential violations of constitutional rights to religious freedom and dignity. The ministry is also monitoring hate speech that is potentially inflamed by this local ordinance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The claim that the Spanish government is fighting back against Muslims as a nation-wide policy is misleading. The national government condemned the local ordinance, and an investigation is ongoing to ensure constitutional protection of religious freedom in Spain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: Different Facebook users claimed that Spain is fighting back against the Muslims\u2019 presence in the country. Verdict: Misleading. Only Jumilla, a town in Spain, banned religious events that were unaffiliated with the local council from public facilities. Contrary to Islamophobic fears, the ban affected all religious festivals, including Jews and Christians. The Spanish national government also condemned the town\u2019s decision, stating that the move contradicted the country\u2019s constitution. Full Text Spain, a European country, experienced a golden age of Muslim rule during the Al-Andalus era between the 8th and 15th centuries. However, the period featured a complex coexistence and regular conflict between Christians, Muslims, and the Jews. Since the fall of Granada to Castilian authorities in 1492, the country has witnessed a religious change to Christianity as many citizens converted from Islam to Christianity. Mohammed Ajana, the Secretary of the Islamic Commission in Spain, revealed that about three million Muslims live in the country as of 2023. Meanwhile, data from WorldAtlas disclosed that about 67.4% of the population identifies as Catholics.  Recently, reports claiming that different towns in Spain banned Muslim celebrations went viral. Simon Philips, a Facebook user, shared an 11-second video depicting a gathering of Muslims. In the caption, he wrote, \u201cBreaking: Spanish towns have just banned Muslim festivals like Eid in public places.\u201d As of Aug. 9, 2025, the post has gained over 20,000 reactions, 2,500 comments, and 2,000 reshares since it was posted on Aug. 7, 2025. Another Facebook user, Rhema Today, shared the same claim in a post and said, \u201cSpain is officially fighting back.\u201d The post gained over 2,400 reactions and 208 reshares, as of Aug. 9, 2025. Chukwuemeka Ijioma, quoting Matthew 16:18, said the news indicates that the Church prevails. \u201cThe gates of hell are the likes of the lying and deceitful religion that will never prevail against the truth,\u201d he said. Similarly, Naomi Pennoh prayed that Liberia would also do the same. She wrote, \u201cLiberia was a Christian nation built on Christian principles until it was changed to a secular state to incorporate other beliefs, which is not right.\u201d On his part, Emmanuel Udofia encouraged other countries to follow suit, saying, \u201cIt is time for the Europeans to wake up and take their rightful place as the forerunners of the gospel.\u201d The implication of the claim on efforts to promote religious tolerance prompted DUBAWA to fact-check the information. Verification DUBAWA conducted keyword searches and discovered that the ban only affects events not affiliated with the city\u2019s local councils. The town hall modified the Regulations for the Use and Operation of Municipal Sports Facilities at an ordinary plenary session on July 28, 2025.  The modification banned the use of the sports facilities for any cultural, social, or religious activities outside the town. DUBAWA observed that no anti-Islamic term was mentioned anywhere in the amendment. Severa Gonzales, the town hall\u2019s mayor, said the municipality\u2019s regulation was modified to allow the town’s sports facilities to be used exclusively for sports or events and activities organised by the town hall. He accused media platforms pushing Islamophobic narratives of being misinformation propagators. The municipality\u2019s spokesperson, Maria Carmen, also said neither Jumilla nor any town council in Spain can implement a ban on Muslim-related festivities. Also, the regulation is a local municipal decision, not a national government policy. In reaction to the viral news, the national Spanish government explicitly condemned the measure and labelled it unconstitutional. Elma Saiz, the minister of inclusion, social security, and migration, revealed in an interview with Television Espa\u00f1ola, a state-owned television channel, that Spain\u2019s constitution guarantees citizens\u2019 freedom of religious worship and non-discrimination on religious grounds. She revealed that the ministry is investigating the Jumilla City Council\u2019s decision. The intent is to assess potential violations of constitutional rights to religious freedom and dignity. The ministry is also monitoring hate speech that is potentially inflamed by this local ordinance. Conclusion The claim that the Spanish government is fighting back against Muslims as a nation-wide policy is misleading. The national government condemned the local ordinance, and an investigation is ongoing to ensure constitutional protection of religious freedom in Spain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[437,3812,3815,123],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[3263],"class_list":["post-24045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facebook-checks","category-headline","category-homepage","category-mainstream"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-6fP","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":3263,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"phillip-anjorin","display_name":"Phillip Anjorin","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/98daaf5d9d7a2c5cd4ce1c417532d1cfa2ca293247710cf46a925146cc2e90e1?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/horseback.png?fit=800%2C492&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24045"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24047,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24045\/revisions\/24047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24045"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=24045"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=24045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}