Muslim Community Struggles to Find Place in Society; Under Increased Scrutiny After Madrid Attacks

March 18, 2004

Source: Deutsche Welle

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,,1433_A_1146159_1_A,00.html

On March 18, 2004 Deutsche Welle reported, "Though Islam is woven into the fabric of the country's history, Moroccans and other Arabs living there today are struggling to find their place in society as well as their role in the Muslim world. Mustafa Bougrine is a Moroccan who has lived in Spain for 19 years. He's married to a Spanish woman and runs a restaurant. He fears that a new feeling of Islamophobia may be growing in the Spanish population...Many Muslims are staying home and out of the public eye as Spanish investigators shift their focus from Basque separatists toward the attack's suspected Moroccan culprits. Spanish newspapers are reporting sources alleging links between Thursday's terrorist attacks and bombings in Casablanca last May that also killed dozens of Spaniards. The developments have sent shockwaves through Spain's Muslim community, which is struggling to establish its own identity in a staunchly Catholic country."