Piera moves to avoid being the Catalan Torre Pacheco

PieraThe remains of the fire that devastated the new mosque in Piera early Saturday morning are clearly visible from the outside. Police tape surrounds the new building next to the sign for the construction work. 48 hours have passed since the incident, and the police investigation has not yet determined whether it was a premeditated attack or an accident. However, this Monday, Mayor Carme González, of the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), met with representatives of the Muslim community to strengthen the image of unity in the town of Anoia.

All those attending the meeting were cautious when it came to pointing fingers, but no one could see that it coincides with the Racist incidents against residents of North African origin and their businesses in the municipality of Torre Pacheco, in the province of Murcia. "Piera is a welcoming town, it always has been," the mayor stated after the meeting in a statement to ARA.

It is because of this coincidence that they did not want to wait for the results of the investigation to be available before holding the meeting. And despite insisting that for now it is merely an incident, the mayor does not hide her concern that the burned-down mosque in Piera is the response to the "hate messages that have recently been intensifying on social media from certain political groups," González stated without naming them. Of the 17 councilors in the City Council, two are from Vox.

Integrated Neighbors

Just under 10% of Piera's 17,000 residents are foreigners, many of whom have been here for decades. The Socialist mayor indicates that there is a "peaceful, cordial coexistence" and emphasizes again that the municipality "is a place of harmony," where Muslim residents "are fully integrated."

The mosque only needed one last municipal permit to open. It is located in a single-story building, right on the road and in one of the neighborhoods of single-family houses that populate the town. More than four years ago, the local Muslim community began considering moving and leaving the headquarters they rent in another neighborhood. The damage to the exterior is visible due to the smoke residue on the walls and window frames, but the worst of it has been on the interior.

"Now we'll have to wait to open it and we'll have to continue paying the thousand euro monthly rent," says Yayha Mokharti, president of the Muslim community, who explains that in addition to being a place of worship, it's also a meeting place for the faithful. He also warns that if the fires are intended to "sow hatred" in the town against the Maghrebi residents, "they won't succeed." "We don't know what happened, but I can say that we will emerge stronger and more united," he concludes.

Far-right incitement

The mosque incident is not the first in the town. A month and a half ago, following fights, a group threw flammable liquid at a juvenile care center in Piera, where foreign minors also live. González rules out any connection between the two, but frames both incidents within the context of incitement against foreigners, and especially against Muslims, promoted by far-right groups.

In protest against the attack, some 300 people marched through the town's streets in defense of coexistence and against hate speech. Along the same lines, the City Council plenary also approved a motion presented by the governing team (PSC and ERC), which was approved with all the votes of the representatives, except for those of Vox.

So, the recently created Unit Against Fascism and Racism (UCFR) of Piera was one of the driving forces behind the movement against xenophobia. UCFR spokesperson Sara El Messari Sghiyar has no doubt that the attack on the children's center and the burning of the mosque respond to the same racist and anti-Muslim motivation. She calls for a strong response from the authorities and society to stop xenophobia. "Muslims and foreigners have come here to work, and their sons and daughters speak Catalan; we are teachers, doctors, or political scientists," she says.

There are also voices within the Muslim community pointing to an executor's hand, but Mokharti calls for calm and to give time to the Mossos d'Esquadra team, who are finishing taking samples from the mosque. The president of the Union of Islamic Communities of Catalonia, Mohamed El Ghaidouni, who also attended the meeting, suspects that the fire at a place of worship "goes beyond the borders of Piera," as did the violence in Torre Pacheco. The Director General of Religious Affairs of the Generalitat, Ramon Bassas, left the meeting offering the community the "support" of the entire government pending the conclusion of the investigation.