The Catalan Nationalist-Mohammedan Axis
In a few posts this week, I've mentioned the bizarre alliance that seems to have been formed between some Catalan nationalists and Muslims. This article goes into it in more detail.
But let's not forget that not all Catalan nationalists feel this way. The PxC are also Catalan nationalists and they are the leading anti-Islam party in Spain.
Neus Torres enters the Igualada Islamic centre barefoot, her feet having recently been washed, where the women gather. At 47, Neus was an active militant in La Crida, the radical independence-seeking organisation which, with the excuse of promoting the Catalan language, carried out all kinds of actions against the use of Castilian Spanish in Catalonia, even demanding the suppression of its official use.
She finds a free space and prostrates herself in adoration until her forehead touches the ground. A cadence of words in Arabic emerges from her mouth. She has gone from defending the Catalan language to the detriment of Castilian to working for the expansion of Islam to the detriment of the religion of her elders.
Like her, hundreds of radical nationalists are embracing the Muslim faith. The new converts renounce celebrating Christmas, cava [Spanish sparkling wine], dancing the sardana [traditional Catalan dance], but they prepare meals with halal meat, read the Koran in Catalan and dedicate themselves to proselytising, especially among the most radical Catalan nationalist circles. “I am learning Arabic,” says Torres. “But I prefer reading the Koran in Catalan, I praise God in Catalan. It’s the language I feel.”
The exact number of Muslims coming from the ranks of Catalan nationalism is difficult to determine because, among other things, the census does not establish religious affiliation and the mosques do not have membership lists. But a growing number of Muslim organisations of indigenous origin, Islamic publications in Catalan and web pages dedicated to this group are a sign of what is happening.
A study carried out by the Centro Islámico de Perpignan [Islamic Centre of Perpignan], closely linked to Catalan Muslims, estimates that there have been more than 7,000 conversions to Islam since 2001. Although the figure represents a very small percentage of the 500,000 Muslims who live in the region, it also reflects a rhythm of dramatic growth. Six out of every ten of these converts had or have nationalist convictions. In fact, the only members of the ERC youth wing who reveal their religious identity are specifically those of the Mohammedan faith. Two out of every 10 members of the republican party already profess this religion. In other radical groups, like Reagrupament, the number of Muslims is also growing unstoppably.
Rejection of Spain and the West
Some experts explain the conversions as the inevitable clash with western culture, which the radicals associate with the Spanish Establishment. “Spain for them is the country of Catholicism, of the great heroes commented on by some historians; heroes who forged their legend through the Christian faith. Renouncing Catholicism is for them a way of renouncing Spain. In fact, many have become Muslims because of their hatred of Spanish customs,” says Vicente Salafranca, an expert on religious matters.
Barcelona has the largest number of converts
In general, the size of the Catalan Muslim population in a given area corresponds to the general size of the population in this locality. This explains why the Barcelona metropolitan area, which has the largest number of mosques per inhabitant in Spain, is also the place where the largest number of indigenous Muslims are apparent.
The imam Muhammad Basri says he didn’t have a single Catalan Muslim when he arrived in the region in 1995. “Today I say many regularly, and that’s only the men”. “It is a type of rebirth, something they carry in the blood,” he says.
The Torres family, nominally Catholic, felt more comfortable with her decision once she explained these aspects of Islamism to them. And when Torres started to use the hijab, the traditional veil covering the head to the neck, they accepted the change without fuss.
She insists that she hasn’t been marginalised by her decision, especially because of the sympathy with which Muslims are viewed within Catalanism. In the respect that many Catalan nationalists draw a parallel between the Reconquista of the former Al-Andalus and what, according to the teaching of some schools, Catalonia has suffered since the 17th century. In fact, Carod-Rovira [pro-independence Catalan politician, former leader of the ERC] himself loses no opportunity to castigate Catalan Catholics and make the Muslims feel he is close to them emotionally. This closeness assumed concrete form during the tripartite government [Catalan government from 2003-2006] which relaunched Muslim activities and multiplied the number of mosques in Catalonia.
“Catalan nationalism always had a masonic component and, for that reason, its representatives were always closer to the imams than to the Catholic hierarchy in the region,” explains Salafranca.
“Today I feel this is my family”, insists the former La Crida militant, who maintains her former pro-independence positions unchanged, although now in an Islamic key. “Islam can be the source of the energy Catalonia has been in need of to free itself from its chains and recover its self-esteem,” she concludes.
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