Granada Attracts Spanish Reverts in Ramadan

By Al-Amin Andalusi, IOL Correspondent

GRANADA, October 25, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – With a special Ramadan aura, the southern Spanish city of Granada attracts many Spanish reverts seeking to fulfill their spiritual needs during the Muslim holy fasting month.

Still preserving its Islamic architecture and heritage, Ramadan tastes special in Granada, the capital of Al-Andalus which fell to the Spanish forces in 1492, says IslamOnline.net's correspondent.

"Granada has become an attraction for tens of Spanish reverts," Ali Badr Al-Din, a Moroccan immigrant, told IOL.

Recalling the past glory of the once Muslim stronghold, the reverts come in drove and spend most of their time praying in the city's Grand Mosque.

Many of them wear traditional Arabian costumes, with men putting on the famous Moroccan white Jalabiya and red Tarboush (turban) and women wearing long dresses and headscarves.

Restaurants across the city prepare Arab-styled meals, including Moroccan soup, dates and bread, giving Granada yet another Islamic touch during the dawn-to-dusk fasting month.

Granada is home to a 20,000 Muslims, mostly of Moroccan origin.

After an absence of almost 500 years, the Adhan (call to prayer) and the muezzin’s cry of "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) rang on July 10, 2003, from the minaret of the Great Mosque of Granada.

The site of the mosque was bought 22 years ago, when it was still a small plot of farmland squeezed between a convent and a church on the crest of the Albaicin, the last Muslim quarter of Granada.

Seville Too

Ramadan aura also fills the air in Seville, southern Spain.

"Year after year, the fasting month tastes special in Seville," said Abdul Salam, who owns a small shop downtown.

For the city's Muslims, Ramadan is a golden chance to bond together.

They throw iftar (fast breaking) banquets, recalling the Ramadan atmosphere in their homeland.

"We are keen to meet together, whether Moroccans, Algerians, Pakistanis or Asians, on iftar banquets in Ramadan," said Hamid, who left home for Seville ten years ago.

Many restaurants in the city also prepare special Ramadan menus for hundreds of immigrants to break their fast.

Like the case in Granada, the majority of the Muslims in Seville are traders and merchants.

Happy Events

This year's Ramadan has brought many happy events to the Muslim minority in the European country.

On October 13, Mansur Escudero, president of the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE), was invited to attend Spain's national day celebrations for the first time.

"This unprecedented occasion was an opportunity to discuss with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero his proposed alliance of civilizations initiative," Escudero said.

The alliance initiative was first unveiled by Zapatero at the UN General Assembly in New York in September of 2004.

It was later co-sponsored by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a March summit between both leaders.

US ambassador in Spain Eduardo Aguirre also hosted on Ramadan 10th an iftar banquet for members of the Muslim minority in the country.

The diplomat was keen to choose the banquet's menu from halal food and allocated a space in his official residence for his guests to perform prayers.

The CIE presented a copy of the Noble Qur'an to the American ambassador in appreciation to his gesture.

Spain has a Muslim minority of about 600,000 people out of a total population of 40 million.

The country has recognized Islam through the law of religious freedom, issued in July 1967.