Harun Nasrullah

Members of Spain’s socialist-led coalition government have joined anti-racism NGOs in condemning the country’s Christian-democratic People’s Party (Partido Popular) and the far-right Vox Party for voicing “dangerous” anti-Muslim rhetoric following last month’s suspected terrorist attack on two churches in the southern city of Algeciras, in Andalusia.

A 25-year-old Moroccan man was arrested following the machete attack on San Isidro and Señora de La Palma churches on January 25, in which sacristan, Diego Valencia was killed.

The uproar comes as Spain prepares for an election year. Speaking a day after the attack, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition People’s Party, said Christians had long since stopped killing in the name of their faith. “It’s been many centuries since we’ve seen a Catholic or a Christian kill in the name of their religion or their beliefs. But other people have citizens who do that,” he said.

Some said his remarks demonstrated a lack of knowledge of recent history, particularly in Europe, tweeted Spain’s Education Minister, Pilar Alegría, who is also the spokesman for the Spanish Socialist Workers’ party: ‘Sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear responsible than to talk like this,’ he wrote.

Feijóo later attempted to backtrack, insisting that no religion should be stigmatised. “It’s obvious that what’s happened had nothing to do with religion; you can’t criminalise any religion,” he said.

“Fanaticism is one thing, and religion’s something else. That’s what I think. But, having said that, I think we can all agree that there isn’t a problem with Catholic terrorism in the world. However, there is a problem with Islamic fundamentalism in some parts of the world and in some Islamic countries.”

He added, “If anyone wants to twist it, [they] can go for it,” he added. “But I’ve asked for respect for what’s happened, and I’ve asked for prudence and for people not to use one case of fanaticism to stigmatise or criminalise, any religion.”

Vox’s leader, Santiago Abascal, sought to lay the blame on “illegal immigrants” and the government for “opening up the borders and spraying around subsidies”.

He added: “Some open the doors to them; others pay for them, and it’s the people who suffer. We can’t tolerate the spread of Islamism on our soil.”

Ione Belarra, the leader of the far-left, anti-austerity Podemos party who serves as Spain’s social rights minister, described Abascal’s words as “wretched” and a perfect example of how the far right engages in politics by spreading hate against migrants.

“I think it’s awful to spread hatred towards a group that is already very stigmatised because of who they are—especially at a moment as difficult as this,” she said.

In a joint statement on January 27, six NGOs, including the Spanish Committee for Refugee Aid and the SOS Racism Federation, said they were gravely concerned to hear political leaders make speeches “filled with dangerous, xenophobic, racist, and hateful messages about origins and beliefs.”

The NGOs urged political leaders to follow the calm response of the people of Algeciras, adding: “In a pre-election period like this, it’s especially necessary to stay away from strategies designed to win votes by jeopardising social cohesion and to instead opt for inclusive narratives rather than those that stigmatise, criminalize, and harm the dignity of people who are migrants, refugees, and seeking asylum.”

Juan José Marina, the parish priest of Nuestra Señora de La Palma, where Valencia was a sacristan, said the church had always gotten along well with the Muslim community. Marina said about 75% of the people who came to use the services of the Catholic Cáritas charity in the area were Muslims, adding: “We’ve always had a good relationship. There have never, ever been problems.”

In the aftermath of the Algeciras tragedy, Francisco César Garca Magán, general secretary of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, said people should not be so quick to judge. “We cannot fall into the easy discourse of demonising an entire collective, because to do so would be to take the name of God in vain, and that would not be right, just as killing in the name of God is not right,” he said.