The Spanish Congress will on Tuesday debate a proposal by far-right party Vox calling for a ban on Islamic festivals such as Eid in Spain, whilst also deciding whether or not to campaign for bullfighting to be protected by UNESCO.
The Spanish Congress is to debate this Tuesday November 11th a proposal by far-right party Vox to prohibit public celebrations of Muslim festivals such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
The proposal has also sparked debates on cultural identity and national traditions, as Vox has also suggested that Spanish customs and festivities should be protected against the spread of “imported practices”.
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Vox argues that these Muslim festivities are “commemorations foreign to Spanish culture” and are “driven by policies of ideological concessions, electoral opportunism and economic pressure”.
Among other points, Vox’s proposal includes is defending traditional Spanish gastronomy against infiltration of halal cuisine, which conforms to strict Islamic dietary rules.
The right-wing party, led by Santiago Abascal, also wants to protect national Spanish holidays such as New Year’s Day, Epiphany, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, All Saints’ Day, and Christmas and revive others such as St. Joseph’s Day, Corpus Christi, and the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
“It is necessary to preserve Spain’s cultural roots against the progressive replacement of our customs,” the proposal states.
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Vox’s proposal has recently been gaining support in the Campo de Gibraltar region, where there is a strong Muslim community. In the town of Algeciras, debates surrounding Islamic celebrations were brought to the forefront this year when the Andalusian Party requested permission from the City Council to use the Las Palomas bullring for the ritual sacrifices of lambs during Eid al-Adha.
The local government refused stating that this was contrary to European regulations on animal welfare, which only permit slaughter, without stunning the animals first, in authorised slaughterhouses.
During the same debate this Tuesday, the centre-right People’s Party will look for support on a bid to inscribe bullfighting on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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According to their text, international recognition would be “crucial for the safeguarding” of a tradition “threatened by political movements seeking to prohibit or censor it”.
The PP also highlighted the economic impact of bullfighting, which generates “thousands of direct and indirect jobs ” and is part of “Spain’s cultural and business identity”.
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This is not the first time that Vox has brought these proposals to the table. Back at the end of October, they tried a very similar proposal in the Senate.
This ended with both the socialist PSOE party along with the Partido Popular (PP) rejecting the initiative to ban the celebration of Islamic holidays.
The plan also sought to prohibit the public celebration of ‘Eid al-Adha’, as well as similar commemorations, considering them “practices incompatible with the identity and customs” of Spain.
However, Vox and PP did vote in favour of banning Muslim celebrations in public buildings in the Murcian town of Jumilla last July.
