The parliamentary group of VOX in the Parliament of Catalonia submitted a resolution proposal to declare Islamism as a "political-religious movement incompatible with the West and with the principles of freedom, equality, and democracy." The initiative, based on data and security warnings, sought to acknowledge the growing social concern regarding the expansion of radical Islamism and the formation of parallel communities within Spanish territory.
The text stated that Islamism constitutes "a process of social and cultural transformation that increasingly concerns European citizens" and recalled that migration policies promoted in recent decades—by both national governments and the European Union—have been "ineffective" in curbing illegal immigration from North Africa and Pakistan.
In Spain, worrying symptoms are beginning to emerge. This is reflected in the appearance of parallel communities with social norms foreign to our culture, where radicalism finds fertile ground to expand," the group warned.
According to the latest study by the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain (2023), 2,412,344 Muslims reside in the country, representing 4.94% of the total population and showing sustained growth in recent years. Catalonia, with 660,392 Muslims, has the highest proportion, almost double that of Andalusia, followed by Madrid, Valencian Community, and Murcia. VOX emphasized that localities such as Salt (Girona), El Ejido (Almería), Barcelona, or Ceuta are already experiencing deep transformations in their social and cultural fabric as a result of this phenomenon.
Additionally, the group pointed out that the number of mosques in Catalonia has doubled since 2004, currently exceeding 280. According to estimates from security forces, one out of every three Catalan mosques spreads radical ideas linked to Salafism, which raises serious concerns about the propagation of values contrary to equality, freedom, and integration recognized by Spanish law. This scenario, VOX warned, has led to a 20% increase in forced marriages in a single year, even affecting minors.
In light of this situation, VOX proposed declaring that "Islam, as a political-religious ideology, is incompatible with the West, with freedom, human dignity, equality between men and women, democracy, our civil laws, and our way of life." However, the Partido Popular aligned itself with PSOE and rejected the project in the Committee on Interior and Public Safety of the Catalan Parliament, a decision that confirms PP's distancing from firm stances in defense of Western civilization.
