In Spain, Islamic education is overlooked despite increasing demand and need for inclusivity in schools

After years of mobilisation by Muslim families and civil society groups, Islamic education has been introduced in a small number of schools across Spain, often referred to as a "pilot plan" or "experiment."

Recent discourse has centred on these initiatives, particularly regarding their failure to become widespread or permanent once they have concluded.

One recent example is the four-year experiment in Catalonia, which aimed to introduce Islamic religious education as an elective in schools and sixth forms.

This experiment has recently concluded, and there are currently no clear prospects for the subject to become widely or permanently integrated into the Spanish education system.

Speaking about the four-year experiment, Professor Francesc-Xavier Marín, a member of the research group assessing the Catalonian experiment, said, "The administration has no interest whatsoever in establishing it permanently, which leads those interested in teaching to shift to other fields."

Jordi, one of the only five teachers who taught the subject in a region with seven million inhabitants, also weighed in on the matter: "After four years of developing the subject from scratch and building it with great dedication, I have had to give up the job. I feel tired and lonely in the face of abandonment and discrimination by the institutions."

Currently, Catalonia is home to the largest number of Muslim students in Spain, approximately 660,392, according to statistics from the Union of Islamic Communities in Spain.

Jordi adds that the region is 32 years behind in implementing Islamic religious education, which should have been introduced following the 1992 cooperation agreement between the Spanish State and national Islamic entities. According to this agreement, all Muslims in Spain are entitled to receive religious education in schools and sixth forms.

In light of the current situation, Jordi is now urging the Department of Education to extend the pilot plan and normalise the teaching of Islam in schools. He is also calling on both regional and national authorities to respect this codified right under Spanish law.

What is the 1992 cooperation agreement? 

The 1992 cooperation agreement marked a significant milestone in recognising the rights of Spain’s growing Muslim community. It addressed various aspects, including education, mosque-building regulations, marriage, religious holidays, and more. However, the Islamic Commission of Spain argues that the Spanish State did not anticipate the full extent of what would be required to uphold these rights.

Ihab Fahmy, Education Coordinator at the Commission, explained to The New Arab, "The Muslim population in Spain was less than 200,000 at the time, and there were barely any Muslim students in schools. This is why they put article number 10 — the one on Islamic religious education — as something very difficult to materialise."

"At the start of every academic year, people have requested Islamic religious education, but the request has been politically sidelined for years"

Since then, the Muslim population has grown significantly, particularly after mass regularisations during the Socialist Party's government in the 2000s. For example, the number of Moroccans in the civil registry increased from 173,000 in 2000 to 746,000 in 2010. Today, the Muslim population in Spain approaches 2.5 million.

"At the start of every academic year, people have requested Islamic religious education, but the request has been politically sidelined for years," says Francesc-Xavier Marín, an Islamologist and member of various religious dialogue research centres.

Previously, there was no university Master's programme in Spain that qualified aspiring Islamic religious education teachers, preventing them from joining official waiting lists for school positions. Francesc-Xavier considers this a significant failure in the system.

However, only in September 2024, the V Centenario University Residence in Jarandilla de la Vera hosted the launch of the Interuniversity Master's Degree in Religious Pluralism, Law, and Society, a programme that now enables students to qualify as teachers of Islamic religion in public schools.

Additional factors contributing to Spain's lack of Islamic education

Other factors have contributed to the lack of Islamic education in Spain.

The first factor is the limited information that Muslim students and their families have about their rights.

“I never knew that it was my right to receive an education about my religious beliefs,” Firdaous Alaoui tells The New Arab. “Similarly, the majority of Muslim students and their parents are unaware of the 1992 law... We are already excluded in many ways in schools.”

"We observe that many Muslim students face specific challenges that can negatively affect their academic performance, whether due to cultural or economic barriers, or the lack of an education that fully respects their religious identity”

The second issue is Spain's lack of understanding of Muslim identity, which Firdaous acknowledges has not been easy for her while growing up.

The 21-year-old activist, who advocates for youth and minority rights in national conversations, shares her experience with The New Arab: “Since I started wearing my hijab in Year 8, I was actively alienated by my peers and verbally bullied. My teachers also kept questioning my decision and asking me intrusive questions. I have always been an overachiever, and during high school, I had to overcompensate for being different.”

Lina Ball Ben Boubaker, a member of the Spanish Association of Muslim Students, is among those working to make Muslim students feel more included amid the lack of Islamic education options available in the Catalonia region.

Lina tells The New Arab that one of the association’s most pressing demands is for the Spanish education system to implement effective measures to combat dropout rates in their community.

“We observe that many Muslim students face specific challenges that can negatively affect their academic performance, whether due to cultural or economic barriers, or the lack of an education that fully respects their religious identity,” Lina states.

According to Lina, the absence of prayer rooms, halal options in canteens, and Islamic religious education as an elective equivalent to Catholic education “forces students to seek inappropriate alternatives or to forgo their religious practices during school hours, which can lead to a sense of exclusion.”

Mustafa Aoulad Salam, a former member of a platform against the increasing manifestations of Islamophobia in Spain and a civil society organiser, weighed in on the matter and told The New Arab that this issue for Muslims “reflects a lack of commitment to laws, democracy, and respect for diversity and the civil rights of minorities, especially the Muslim minority.”

Mustafa adds, “The Islamic religious education class in state-subsidised schools would make a large part of the teaching staff and many families of students uncomfortable because of this active Islamophobia rooted in hatred, fear, and an obsession with anything that has to do with Islam.”

Finally, the third factor is Islamophobia, which skyrocketed in Spain, especially between 2014 and 2017, when the Citizens Platform Against Islamophobia reported a 1,200% increase in Islamophobic incidents.

The 2023 annual report from the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia revealed that people of North African origin are the primary victims of hate speech (33.7%), followed closely by Muslims in general (26.2%).

“The formal and structured teaching of Islam within the educational setting provides an opportunity for students to understand the true values and principles of their faith while promoting diversity and respect among students of different religions,” believes Lina, who is in talks with the administration to make their demands heard.

She adds, “It contributes to the creation of a more tolerant and cohesive society, where all religions can be understood and respected on an equal footing, bringing social value to the entire school community.”

'A huge strategic mistake'

Despite championing Catalonia's four-year experiment, researchers like Francesc-Xavier and involved teachers like Jordi admit that they will not be able to continue teaching due to a lack of guarantees and support.

Despite this reality, they have acknowledged that the initiative has received positive feedback.

“The feedback from the students has been very positive,” Jordi says. “On several occasions, Muslim students have told me that Islam is respected at the school. This statement has great implications, as it reaches the families and reinforces cohesion and harmony within the educational community.”

“Our children deserve to learn about the history of their faith and their practices and to feel confident practising it freely in school, without having to hide it, because there is nothing to be ashamed of”

Jordi argues, “Islam is the most important aspect of life for the majority of Muslim pupils and their families. If this crucial facet of their lives is excluded from the education system and relegated to spaces outside schools, it encourages segregation in society. Not teaching it in the classroom is a huge strategic mistake with unknown consequences.” 

These arguments, along with the positive feedback from many parties involved in Catalonia’s experiment, have currently been compiled in Francesc-Xavier's assessment and report, which he hopes will help policymakers finally address this historic demand of the Muslim community in Spain.

“One of the things I often think about is what kind of environment I want my children to grow up in,” Firdaous admits uncomfortably.

“I am hopeful that in the next few years, things will improve and that Muslims, especially Muslim women, will feel safer living, working, and raising the next generation here.

“Our children deserve to learn about the history of their faith and their practices and to feel confident practising it freely in school, without having to hide it, because there is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Currently, in countries like Belgium and Germany, Islamic religious education has also entered the school curriculum as an elective to meet similar demands and to combat the rise of unregulated religious education that is vulnerable to extremist discourses.

Bianca Carrera is a freelance writer and analyst specialising in Middle Eastern and North African politics and society. She has written for Al Jazeera, The New Arab, Al-Quds Al-Araby, EU Observer and others. She is based between Spain, Morocco and Egypt.

Follow her on X: @biancacarrera25