Spain challenges ban on religious events

(MENAFN) The Spanish government has formally urged the Jumilla City Council in Murcia to overturn a pact between the main opposition conservative People's Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party that bans religious events in municipal sports facilities. Officials argue the ban infringes upon religious freedom, according to local reports on Monday.

Maria Dolores Guevara, the government delegate for the Murcia region, confirmed that the council received the request and has one month to respond.

The restriction originated from a PP initiative that altered an earlier Vox proposal explicitly targeting Islamic celebrations in Jumilla, a municipality of about 27,000 residents with a significant Muslim population.

Sources within the executive described the decision as an “arbitrary restriction” of a long-standing celebration, violating the Muslim community’s right to religious freedom as protected by local and regional authorities governed by right-wing and far-right parties.

They pointed out that existing rules permit the use of sports centers for sociocultural events, and highlighted the “true discriminatory intention of the agreement,” evident both in its original wording and in statements by the Vox spokesperson, who openly claimed credit for banning Muslim holidays.

In its formal request, the government argued that the agreement “incurs an abuse of power, using municipal authority to prevent Muslim religious celebrations in an improper and deviant manner.”

It further noted, “Although it apparently appears to regulate the use of municipal sports facilities, this formal appearance clearly conceals a violation of the fundamental right to religious freedom.”

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