The expelled imams had been working in Figueres and La Jonquera for years.

Figueres / La JonqueraThey were not newcomers. Imams expelled by the Interior Ministry The leaders of these Islamic communities have admitted that they had been working in Figueres and La Jonquera for years for having spread radicalising speeches that were dangerous to public safety.

The Figueres resident, Mohamed Azougah, had lived there since 2011 and had been in charge of leading prayers in one of the municipality's mosques, the one located in the Marca del Ham neighbourhood, since 2017. "He left by his own decision in August 2023, after receiving a letter from the police," says the president of this Muslim collective, who prefers to remain anonymous. For his part, the La Jonquera resident was an imam for six years in the only mosque in the town. Last December he was held in a foreign internment centre (CIE) and then deported to Morocco. "He is a good person. We do not understand what has happened," the two affected Muslim communities agree in saying about the expelled imams. The Figueres woman even collected signatures to express her support.

At the entrance there is a half-peeled sign that says "Al Imam Warsh mosque". This is the name of the oratory where the imam of Figueres who has been expelled worked. It is in a kind of industrial estate, a few metres from the town's wastewater treatment plant, in the Marca del Ham neighbourhood, which is particularly poor and where between 60 and 75% of the population is of immigrant origin, mainly North African and sub-Saharan, according to data provided by the mayor of Figueres himself, Jordi Masquef.

In fact, from the outside, the mosque looks like just another industrial warehouse. It has a large green iron door for the entry of vehicles, and another small metal door exclusively for women: this is indicated by a sticker with a feminine logo, like those found in toilets, and the word "ladies". Shortly before four in the afternoon, men begin to arrive to pray: some go by car, others on foot, one rider He arrives by bicycle…

A member of the board of directors of the Muslim Community Association of the Marca del Ham, which is in charge of managing the mosque, looks worriedly at a video on his mobile phone that Vox has spread on social networks where he says that "the mosque in Figueres" is "the largest in Catalonia" and criminalizes the community. In Figueres there is not just one mosque, but at least four. And the Al Imam Warsh mosque is by no means the largest in Catalonia.

"The [expelled] imam left the mosque in August 2023, after receiving a letter from the police. He himself said that he did not want to continue so as not to have problems," says the board member, who also prefers to remain anonymous. "Now we have another imam. We brought him from Morocco. They are within the law." However, he admits that they do not understand why the Ministry of the Interior has expelled the imam they had before. "He lived in Figueres since 2011 and his four children were born here," he says to show that the man was supposedly integrated. For his part, the president of the religious entity affirms: "When a person respects everyone and does not hurt anyone, they should not worry. And we are not worried."

On the street, it is difficult to find a dissenting voice. A group of Maghrebi women giving a talk in a small square next to the Joaquim Xirau civic centre say they are aware of the expelled imam, but none of them knows anything about the radical speeches. Neither do two teenagers of Maghrebi origin who also knew the mullah. "He gave me Arabic lessons," says one of them.

The law of silence

It turns out that last Tuesday the mayor, Jordi Masquef, met with the president of the Islamic Community Association of the Marca del Ham. However, at the meeting they did not talk about the expulsion of the imam, although the local press had already echoed it the day before. "Within the community, the law of silence prevails," argues the mayor to justify his not raising the issue. "It is such a sensitive issue that it is better that the information does not flow because there may be leaks," he adds, showing understanding that the National Police did not inform him of the controversy before it hit the press.

However, the one who had raised the issue was the spokesperson for the municipal group of the Popular Party, Ángela Domènech i Roqueta, who in the last plenary session on February 6 expressed her concern about the existence of "a new imam who seems to be radicalizing his followers," as she herself explained. But the mullah was not new; he had been in Figueres for years. And then he had already been expelled. "There is a social alarm because it seems that many boys and girls, when they return from the Christmas holidays, arrive wearing veils and djellabas, and what is worse, some do not return because they have been married off," said the PP spokesperson in the plenary session, reproducing information disseminated on the social network X in mid-January by several users.

As for the case of La Jonquera, the mayor, Miriam Lanero, prefers not to comment because "it is a matter of national security and, therefore, it should be managed by the Civil Guard and the National Police." The mosque in this town is located on a street parallel to the N-II highway, where all kinds of shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and parking for cars and trucks are concentrated. When it starts to get dark, the atmosphere is somewhat sordid.

The mosque building, on one floor and with beautiful wrought iron windows, is completely new: it was built only four years ago. In contrast, the expelled imam had been working in the municipality for six years. "We did not expect that this could happen. Everyone knew him," says a surprised Hassan Essadek, who runs one of the shops on the N-II and is president of the El Firdaous Islamic Cultural Center, which manages the mosque. According to him, the mullah of La Jonquera had put down roots in Catalonia: his three children were born here.

For the moment, the Muslim community of La Jonquera has been looking for a temporary imam for Ramadan, which is just around the corner: it begins on March 1. However, their hope is that the deported imam can return: "We have hired a lawyer to appeal against his expulsion."