The motion was proposed by the only Vox councilor at the City Council of Jumilla, Juan Agustín Navarro, but went ahead with the support of the Popular Party, which governs this Murcian municipality of 27,000 inhabitants. The motion prohibits the celebration of the Ramadan or the Lamb Festival in public spaces and has made Jumilla the first session into converting this threat of the extreme right into a real veto in a municipality with a population – according to data from the ine- of about 1,500 people from countries where Islam is professed.
Vox presented his motion in defense of the traditions of the Spanish people in the plenary of July, with a list of points, including the prohibition of Islamic celebrations in public spaces. “What he did was present an amendment bleaching the motion,” explains the former mayor and socialist spokesman in Jumilla, Juana Guardiola. The maneuver consisted of allowing the modification of the Sports Facilities Regulation “so that no activity outside the sport can be carried out, unless it is promoted by the City Council.” At another point “the promotion and promotion of Spanish religious traditions is supported,” says Guardiola. The amendment went ahead with the votes of the PP and the abstention of Vox.
The objective is to prohibit the public celebration of the AID the Fitr (prayer of the end of the month of fasting) and Aid el Adha (the festival of sacrifice). The motion of Vox was justified in that they are acts “outside the identity of the people”, although the decision contravenes the Spanish Constitution and the agreements with the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE), in which the freedom of worship to the Muslim community is guaranteed. The decision has been strongly criticized by opposition councilors, who have described this veto as “xenophobic”.
The Vox councilor argued the defense of “our traditions against the constant ideological offensive of the left for imposing customs outside our identity”; “From the end of Ramadan or the prayer of the lamb will no longer be held again,” he said after the plenary.
“It is an intolerant and sectarian motion, which is missing from the Constitution because public bodies have to cooperate with all religious confessions,” said socialist spokeswoman Juana Guardiola. “What is sought is to remove fundamental rights from a group of people for their religious belief, when institutions must be of all people, think what they think.”
