Spain after local authorities banned Muslim festivals like Eid from public facilities.
Hi, you’re welcome to the Dixon’s view.
Um on this video we shall be watching the action of the Spanish people who have decided to ban the celebration of Islamic festivals in Spain.
Let’s watch this video together.
Part of Spain has done it.
But will we ever see Muslim celebrations banned in parts of Britain? It’s time for that to head.
Well, it’s kicked off a little bit in Spain after local authorities banned Muslim festivals like Eid from public facilities.
Well, the conservative local council over there says that events quote alien to our identity can’t use civic spaces.
Obviously, some people are calling it Islamophobic and discriminatory, etc.
And Muslim leaders say that they’re being singled out, while opposition parties say it risks dividing communities, but the decision marks a first in Spain and a potential legal flash point as well.
It got me thinking, do you think we’d ever see anything like that in Britain? Well, I’m joined now by the former chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, Muhammad Amin, and journalistic commentator, Kadijah Khan.
Thank you very much, Kada.
I’ll start with you.
Well, do you do you think we we could ever see anything like that in Britain? Would it be okay, do you think, if anyone tried to introduce that in Britain? Thank you so much for having me.
Um, uh, it’s it’s not about what I personally like or dislike.
It’s about the legitimate concerns and when we have majority consensus, then such prohibition should be in place.
Especially when these rituals and these traditions, religious festivals are unnecessary and not required by religion and such prohibitions do not curtail religious freedoms given that what happened in spaces or Islamophobic as the leader of the conservative uh people’s party say is that the mayor does not single anyone out for their beliefs.
Yes, a fringe element of the farright Fox party praise it for banning Islamic celebration because they want to keep the Christian outlook of their town intact.
This is something called theocratic attitude which is prevalent in Muslim culture.
This is why we see certain section of Muslim communities in the west uh flexing their muscles, occupying public places and using their gatherings as a show of strength and the local people feel uh threatened by the growing influence of another religion.
So why it is racism and Islamophobia when this happens in Spain and claimed by a far-right element uh but all fine and fair uh when Muslim fundamentalists do it and they do it with impunity.
The bottom line should be keep religion out of political and social sphere be consistent when you are talking about hyper manifestation of religiosity.
Okay Mhammedina I’ll bring you in now.
I mean would it really be that bad if we decided to do something like that in Britain? I mean, I do think there are quite a few Muslim countries where Christians wouldn’t be allowed to go out on the streets or dominate public buildings and pray and celebrate.
Well, first of all, I’m not here to talk about other Muslim majority countries.
We can talk about some of them if you want later on, but I haven’t repaired, not looked at them.
What I’m interested in is our country, Britain.
Now, we have an established church, which is the Church of England.
The Church of England does not want other religions to be treated as secondass or downtrodden.
It’s perfectly normal for local authorities to rent out premises that they own to community groups, to religious groups to hold all kinds of events and festivals.
When the Pope came to Manchester, I think it’s about 40 years ago, there was a massive open air mass held in a public park and everybody was fine with that.
All that I require is that all religions are treated equally and fairly rather than discrimination against one religion, namely mine.
Okay.
So you you would view this as being discrimination because I’ll come back to Cedra in a minute, but I think Cathedral’s view is that really it was a democratic decision made by whoever’s in charge in that particular town at that time having been elected by the people of that area.
So, so should should the desires of the Islamic community in that area trump democracy? What I’ve read the story in the Guardian about that town in Spain and what that town has decided to do is to treat one religion, namely Islam, worse than another religion, Christianity.
And that is wrong.
It’s also against the Spanish constitution and I expected to be overturned in Spanish courts.
Okay.
Kadijah, I suppose at its core, if we take at what they’ve said at face value, which is that I’ve got exact quote in front of me now, but it was along along the lines of we don’t we don’t want uh uh these practices that that are alien to our own.
I think they they use that similar sort of phrase to that, i.
e.
they are a Catholic country and they they obviously feel in that particular area that the only real public building celebration should be for Catholicism.
Um do do they have a right to do that? I mean, you know, in this country, we talk about being a Christian country, but I I suppose we’re not really anymore, are we? Uh, but we see that this kind of uh uh attitude is prevalent, as I said, in Muslim majority country.
And um as I was uh looking at the headlines uh with such lauded words such as outrage, anti-immigration, racism, islamophobia.
These words have been used to report a piece of information that a Spanish town has voted to prohibit the use of municipal buildings such as sports centers and civic calls for events marking Idulu Lazada and Idu Fetra.
It is deliberately made um I I I think all about an attack on Islam or an attack on Muslims without having a nuance discussion on it.
Muslims in Morocco will abstain from from the animal sacrifice ritual and the reasons are the deepening economic hardship and agriculture crisis and this ritual is very important on the occasion of Eid and in 2024 Tajakhstan has prohibited religious celebration in public places.
The reasons are to preserve local culture, prevent superstition and fanacism, curb extravagance in celebrations and evade the spirituality of the Tajic people and protect the rights and freedoms of children fostering their education in the spirit of humanism and patriotism.
Not to mention that Tajakhstan’s population is 98% Muslim.
So my concern is when these discussions uh on such topics have long been debated within Islamic tradition in Muslim majority countries why can’t we have these discussion in constructive manner in western secular democratic countries without descending into what abouties this has there has been you know Patrick I don’t know why we don’t discuss these things here there has been a reckoning and awakening in Muslim majority countries when it comes to counter religious fanaticism while we are still refusing to drag oursel out of this all is well utopian world where everything is right as long as it is politically correct.
Well, okay fine and and I’ll give you words to you on this M.
Obviously, anything you want to come back to on that, but I’m just going to pick up on something that Khadijah I I think alluded to earlier, which is that maybe sometimes these very public and mass demonstrations and celebrations in very public areas are not necessarily just about the religious festival itself.
It could be seen as a show of force or cultural dominance.
That’s nonsense.
I’ve attended open air prayers occasionally in parks.
It’s there because it’s a large number of people and they want to get together and pray.
If some if other people get upset by seeing large numbers of Muslims together uh praying then it’s those other people that have got a problem.
Okay.
And it’s the same goes for for the other side and I want to emphasize on one thing that there is no Islamic commandment that insists on celebrating these religious festivals in public places.
In fact such lavish festivals meal aar or e parties are deemed to be innovation in Islam.
Muslims have been instructed through and through to focus on charity which is sukhan during the month of Ramadan or on the occasions of Eid.
I think that is the most important thing that Muslims uh they are instructed to do.
saw from the lady’s analysis and her explanation so far that the essence of this is not to enhance or support Islamophobia as they allege but the essence is to cope fanatism you know and extremism to their society because they in a in a country where people should be free enough and coupled with the fact that Spain is a Christian country is a country where Catholism is practice in full.
So why do you try to bring your religious festival when you know your religion is is not compatible with their way of life, their their own religious belief, you try to make it so open in public places.
They believe the essence of the government doing this is to make sure that in any way push up extremism or religious fanatism I mean Islamic fanatism in their society.
Everywhere you see them even in the middle of the road, a busy road, a public road, you just see some group of people just come out in the name of being religious and you know block the road while um practicing their religious uh ritual.
It’s not okay and I think other countries will have to emulate what Spain has done.
Without these actions, this measures there will be a problem.
There would be problem because from this stage coming out to practice your religious ritual publicly without minding if it is offensive to the others who are playing host who are majority just as it is in other country like Syria, Iran, Iraq and even Saudi Arabia, UAE where you don’t see Christians openly you know practicing their faith and rituals and you want to do that in other Christian countries even be arguing the fact that it is your right or see it as an attack on your religion.
It will be very necessary.
Some of other western countries have to learn and take similar action to save their country from extremism and other form of attack that will manate from them.
And these are my thoughts and my views and I would really want to know what are your thought and your views as well in the comment section.
See you in our next video.
Bye.
