{"id":3029,"date":"2025-07-14T16:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T16:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=3029"},"modified":"2025-07-14T18:05:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T18:05:03","slug":"a-silent-war-on-moroccans-in-spain-two-nights-of-violence-extremist-threats-and-a-troubling-silence-from-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/a-silent-war-on-moroccans-in-spain-two-nights-of-violence-extremist-threats-and-a-troubling-silence-from-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"A Silent War on Moroccans in Spain? Two Nights of Violence, Extremist Threats, and a Troubling Silence from Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3934\" data-end=\"4270\"><strong data-start=\"3934\" data-end=\"3991\">From Murcia to Catalonia, from Torre Pacheco to Piera<\/strong>, Moroccan residents in Spain have recently experienced a wave of violence and fear, recalling some of the darkest moments of xenophobia in Europe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3934\" data-end=\"4270\">Targeted attacks, incitement to hate, arson, and open threats have spread \u2013 and <strong data-start=\"4221\" data-end=\"4270\">Moroccan authorities remain glaringly silent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4272\" data-end=\"4315\"><strong data-start=\"4279\" data-end=\"4315\">Violence erupts in Torre Pacheco<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4317\" data-end=\"4789\">In <strong data-start=\"4320\" data-end=\"4346\">Torre Pacheco (Murcia)<\/strong>, several Moroccan nationals were attacked by far-right groups wielding sticks and stones, targeting their homes and businesses.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4317\" data-end=\"4789\">The violence reportedly stemmed from an alleged assault involving a Moroccan youth and an elderly Spaniard \u2013 yet without verified proof.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4317\" data-end=\"4789\">Despite intervention by the Civil Guard, several injuries were reported. Still, <strong data-start=\"4696\" data-end=\"4779\">no official response has come from Morocco\u2019s foreign ministry or its consulates<\/strong> in Spain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x193iq5w xf7dkkf xv54qhq x1k70j0n xzueoph xzboxd6 x14l7nz5\">\n<div class=\"x6s0dn4 xal61yo x1obq294 x5a5i1n xde0f50 x15x8krk x78zum5 xdt5ytf x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x1n2onr6 xh8yej3\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"xl1xv1r\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTanja7com%2Fvideos%2F1256281512606756%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=267&amp;t=0\" width=\"267\" height=\"476\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4791\" data-end=\"4836\"><strong data-start=\"4798\" data-end=\"4836\">\u201cBloody war\u201d threats spread online<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4838\" data-end=\"5094\">Disturbingly, far-right digital accounts have been circulating videos threatening to launch a <strong data-start=\"4932\" data-end=\"4977\">\u201cbloody war against Moroccans\u201d on July 19<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4838\" data-end=\"5094\">These threats have deeply shaken neighborhoods with a high Moroccan presence, especially in Murcia and Catalonia.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5096\" data-end=\"5145\"><strong data-start=\"5103\" data-end=\"5145\">Islamic center attacked near Barcelona<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5147\" data-end=\"5351\">Amid this climate, <strong data-start=\"5166\" data-end=\"5213\">an Islamic center in Piera (near Barcelona)<\/strong> was attacked and set on fire during the night.<br data-start=\"5260\" data-end=\"5263\" \/>Authorities suspect an act of revenge fueled by Islamophobia and anti-Moroccan rhetoric.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5353\" data-end=\"5584\">The attack has reignited memories of <strong data-start=\"5390\" data-end=\"5406\">Younes Bilal<\/strong>, a Moroccan youth fatally shot in Murcia in 2021 by a racist extremist shouting slurs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5353\" data-end=\"5584\">Other incidents, like pig heads placed outside mosques, have also shocked the community.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5586\" data-end=\"5644\"><strong data-start=\"5593\" data-end=\"5644\">The largest foreign community \u2014 but unprotected<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5646\" data-end=\"5982\">With <strong data-start=\"5651\" data-end=\"5681\">over 1.1 million residents<\/strong>, Moroccans are the <strong data-start=\"5701\" data-end=\"5739\">largest foreign community in Spain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5646\" data-end=\"5982\">More than <strong data-start=\"5753\" data-end=\"5798\">261,000 have acquired Spanish nationality<\/strong> since 2018, yet many remain trapped in a legal limbo between the two countries: Spain demands nationality renunciation, while Morocco does not recognize the loss of its citizenship.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5984\" data-end=\"6028\"><strong data-start=\"5991\" data-end=\"6028\">Institutional vacuum from Morocco<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6030\" data-end=\"6255\">In response to recent events, the <strong data-start=\"6064\" data-end=\"6105\">Union of Islamic Communities of Spain<\/strong> called for urgent government action to <strong data-start=\"6145\" data-end=\"6198\">protect Islamic centers and prosecute hate crimes<\/strong>.<br data-start=\"6199\" data-end=\"6202\" \/>Yet from Moroccan institutions: <strong data-start=\"6234\" data-end=\"6255\">absolute silence.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6257\" data-end=\"6424\">This raises serious concerns: Where is the diplomacy? Where is the state\u2019s duty to protect its diaspora?<br data-start=\"6363\" data-end=\"6366\" \/>Are Moroccans abroad only seen as a source of remittances?<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6426\" data-end=\"6482\"><strong data-start=\"6433\" data-end=\"6482\">A call for urgent action before it\u2019s too late<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6484\" data-end=\"6755\">The threats of July 19 are being taken seriously.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6484\" data-end=\"6755\"><strong data-start=\"6536\" data-end=\"6593\">The Moroccan community in Spain cannot be left alone. <\/strong>Moroccan diplomacy must <strong data-start=\"6620\" data-end=\"6633\">speak out<\/strong>, consulates must activate emergency mechanisms, and officials must uphold their responsibility to protect their citizens.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6757\" data-end=\"6873\">Because beyond economic figures, <strong data-start=\"6790\" data-end=\"6873\">these are lives, communities, and a national capital no country should abandon.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Murcia to Catalonia, from Torre Pacheco to Piera, Moroccan residents in Spain have recently experienced a wave of violence and fear, recalling some of the darkest moments of xenophobia in Europe. Targeted attacks, incitement to hate, arson, and open threats have spread \u2013 and Moroccan authorities remain glaringly silent. Violence erupts in Torre Pacheco [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,42,76,66],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-europe-russia","9":"category-the-maghreb","10":"category-video"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3031,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029\/revisions\/3031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}