Spain’s central government has ordered the town of Jumilla in the Murcia region to reverse its newly introduced ban on holding religious celebrations in municipal sports facilities — a move widely condemned as an attempt to shut down long-standing Muslim events.
The Jumilla council passed the measure last week with the backing of the right-wing People’s Party (PP), framing it as an effort to ‘promote and preserve the traditional values’ of the area. The far-right Vox party had pushed for the ban as part of a deal to support the PP mayor’s municipal budget. ALSO READ: Outrage after town in Murcia region bans Muslim festivals in public venues.
Vox had stated on social media platform X: ‘Thanks to Vox the first measure to ban Islamic festivals in Spain’s public spaces has been passed. Spain is and will be forever the land of Christian people.’
Madrid reacted swiftly. Inclusion and Migration Minister Elma Saiz (main image) branded Jumilla’s new ruling a ‘racist motion’, while Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres said on X that the order to repeal the ban had been formally delivered, citing constitutional violations.
According to Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE, the Jumilla town council has a month to respond to the annulment request sent by the central government, in which they have been asked to backtrack and cancel the restriction on using public facilities for religious celebrations.
Home to around 27,000 residents, the wine-producing town has a sizeable Muslim community, many employed in agriculture. For years, they have used local sports halls to mark major occasions such as Eid al-Fitr, which ends the month of Ramadan.
The dispute comes shortly after nights of unrest in Torre Pacheco, another town in Murcia, where far-right activists and immigrant residents clashed following an assault on a retired man by a young North African. ALSO READ: Strong police presence, as fewer than 100 turn up for latest anti-migrant protest in Torre Pacheco.
The Catholic Church in Spain has also criticised the Jumilla ban, stressing that public displays of faith are protected under Spain’s guarantee of religious freedom.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal said he was ‘perplexed’ by the Church’s intervention, implying it could be linked to public subsidies or to the clergy’s paedophile scandals that he claimed have ‘gagged’ the institution.
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Desde el Gobierno de España, enviamos un requerimiento al Ayuntamiento de Jumilla, en Murcia, para que anule la moción que impide la celebración de actos que la comunidad musulmana venía realizando desde hace años.
El requerimiento se ha enviado esta mañana, con informe… https://t.co/zxExVggV8i
— Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez (@avtorresp) August 11, 2025
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