Muslim Groups Condemn Writer’s Remarks at Barcelona Festival, Sparking Controversy

In a letter dated September 26 and addressed to the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, these three associations (Union of Islamic Communities of Catalonia, Federation of Pakistanis in Spain and Federation of the Islamic Council of Catalonia) accuse Najat El Hachimi of having "defamed and wounded the faith of Muslims [...] " in her speech during the La Mercè festivities last month. They also criticize her "fierce attacks on the Moroccan and Pakistani culture with which many Barcelonans identify," reports El Confidencial.

Catalonia has a large Muslim community estimated at nearly 617,500 people, most of whom are Moroccans and Pakistanis, according to data from the Andalusian Observatory, a study center linked to the Islamic Commission of Spain. "There are girls who grow up believing that they will only have value if they cover themselves," Najat El Hachimi said on September 22, referring to young Muslim women. "There are girls who are terribly afraid of being taken to Morocco or Pakistan and married to that cousin who needs papers" to legally reside in Spain.

And she added: "It is very surprising that today it is considered controversial to defend fundamental rights in Barcelona and not in Tehran." El Hachimi also criticized the authorities in Morocco, her country of origin, denouncing an "authoritarian regime accustomed to treating its population as subjects worthy of submission." Born in Nador, Morocco, El Hachimi arrived in Catalonia at the age of 7. She studied Arabic literature at the University of Barcelona. In addition to writing novels in Catalan and Spanish, she publishes opinion articles in several newspapers.

El Hachimi denies being Islamophobic, but asserts that she criticizes the rigorous and intolerant version of Islam that, according to her, continues to prevail in many families from Muslim countries. On social networks, several writers like Quim Monzó and Blanca Luz Vidal have defended El Hachimi, while the Muslim associations demand an audience with the mayor "to analyze the incident" and know his position on the subject.