PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and CUP, against closing radical mosques

Aliança Catalana presented a motion in Parliament on Thursday to question the Government about mosques linked to radicalization processes. The motion was presented by Sílvia Orriols. The leader of Aliança Catalana insisted on the idea that Islam is incompatible with Western values, statements for which she was fined 10,001 by the Generalitat.

Orriols denounced the institutional "permissiveness" toward the Islamic "counter-community," "whether out of fear, naivety, or to gather votes." This has led, according to her, to Catalonia being "one of the European regions with the most Salafist mosques and radicalization processes."

She pointed to the existence of a hundred mosques "where women are discriminated against and messages of hate against the West are impunely spread." She also warned of a rise in radical Islamism in recent years.

For all these reasons, Aliança Catalana called for the closure of worship centers linked to radicalization and the outlawing of the Annour association with ties to the 17-A terrorists.

The motion was rejected by PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and CUP. Precisely the parties that, without naming them, Sílvia Orriols had pointed out as responsible for complicity with radical Islamism. Meanwhile, the proposal was supported by Vox and PP, who agreed on the danger of Islamist radicalization for security.

Opposition from the majority of parties

One of the parties that opposed the closure of radical mosques was Junts. Deputy Agustí Colomines relied on the equidistance of "neither radical Islamism nor Islamophobia." He said that "one can't fight extremism with another extremism," and proposed Catalan and human rights courses for radical imams.

ERC took the opportunity to make a speech against "the far right," in a vague manner without addressing the substance of the motion. Deputy Joan Ignasi Elena simply referred to the action of "a democratic police that guarantees security."

Andrés García Berrio, from Comuns, also resorted to "the far right" to defend his position against closing radical mosques. He said that the proposal goes against the rule of law and also appealed to the actions of the police forces.

CUP accused Aliança Catalana of using the pretext of mosques to continue exploiting the migrant working class. Deputy Laure Vega invoked Lamine Yamal and Morad to say that "we are all one people."

PSC also voted against the proposal, saying that "there is nothing more dangerous for democracy than institutional racism." They pointed to Sílvia Orriols for wanting to stigmatize Muslims in Catalonia by mixing Islam with terrorism. Deputy Mario García Gómez said that the best antidote against radicalization is "equal opportunities, tolerance, and diversity."