Spain Denies Citizenship to Moroccan Linked to Islamist Group, Citing Security Concerns

The National Intelligence Center (CNI) opposed the granting of nationality to this Moroccan, warning that he is a leader of the "Justice and Charity" Islamist movement in the province of Toledo and therefore poses a threat to Spain’s national security. It is on this basis that the Directorate General of Registries and Notaries of the Ministry of Justice decided on December 13, 2019 not to grant him Spanish nationality. The Moroccan appealed to the National Court to request the annulment of this decision, but the court has just rejected his request on the grounds that his civic good conduct and his degree of integration into Spanish society required by Article 22.4 of the Civil Code are not proven.

In its report, the CNI recalls that the "Justice and Charity" movement "promotes sharia and its implementation, opposes the inclusion of Muslims in Spanish society and disseminates radical Islamist theses to recruit other people." The group was founded in Morocco in the 1970s by Abdessalam Yassine and defines itself as a non-violent Islamist movement. It does not recognize King Mohammed VI’s title of "Commander of the Faithful," the highest religious authority in the country. This position of "Justice and Charity" leads it to oppose the monarchy and advocate the advent of a republic in Morocco. In 2006, hundreds of its activists were arrested in Rabat, some of whom were eventually sentenced to several months in prison.

The Moroccan rejected these allegations, arguing that in six years of residence in Spain, "he has not shown that he constitutes a danger to national security." He then specified that he arrived in Spain in 1999, that he works and lives there with his children. The Moroccan also recalls a jurisprudence of the National Court in 2012 which asked the CNI to justify its opinion of refusing nationality on grounds of threat to national security. But the court did not consider this argument, considering that in this case, the reasons are "sufficiently" expressed by the CNI and that the granting of nationality would compromise public order and national interests. It asked the applicant to provide counter-proof of the accusations.

It should be noted that in 2015, the Supreme Court had already confirmed the refusal of a request for Spanish nationality by an imam from Cartagena, who led an Islamic community "linked to the Organization for Dialogue and Participation (ONDA), a front association of the "Justice and Charity" movement whose objective is the establishment of a regime governed solely by Islamic law in Morocco." Several other