Spain faces hatred and extremism: Strict measures and new policies

Mohamed Mohammadi

Hate crime rates in Spain witnessed a remarkable increase during the first half of 2021, which indicates the growth of extremist ideology among many members of society, as embracing extremist ideology leads to the commission of such crimes, which are incompatible with the teachings of all religions and human values.

In a study entitled “Spain in the face of the challenges of hate crimes and extremism”, the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism clarified that the spread of hate speech, especially online, is the main reason behind the increase in the rates of hate crimes and attacks against certain groups in society in general.

A report that includes statistics from the Spanish Ministry of Interior, presented by Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on July 28 during his presentation of the strategy of the National Office to Combat Hate Crimes in Spain for the next three years, showed that during the first six months of 2021, the police and civil guard received 610 complaints of offenses related to hate crimes, an increase of 9.3% over the same period in 2019, that is, before the spread of the corona pandemic.

According to the Al-Azhar Observatory study, about 77.7% of these crimes are concentrated in the three most common areas: “racism, xenophobia, and ideological and sexual orientation.”

Extremist activities

With regard to the activities of extremist organizations in Spain and ways to attract young people, it can be emphasized that indoctrination of extremist thought in its various forms is no longer linked to the presence of meetings and personal interactions to spread it among the minds of young people, which was confirmed by Spanish writer and journalist Manuel Pacheco in his book entitled “Political propaganda and promotion: From the expansion of the 20th century to the transformation in the internet age.”

The book singled out a chapter in which it talked about extremist groups’ exploitation of propaganda and modern means of communication to spread their extremist ideas and attract new elements.

Targeting Spain

The study indicated that one of the factors for the increase in terrorist attacks in Europe is the ease of access of elements of terrorist organizations such as ISIS and those fleeing from Syria and Iraq to Europe, explaining that geographically, it is much easier to reach Europe than to reach the United States or other Western countries as far away as Canada or Australia.

The Al-Azhar Observatory asserted that spreading messages of hate and incitement to violence against certain groups within society is completely unacceptable from a religious and social perspective, as it contradicts the teachings of all religions that encourage tolerance and peace, adding that these messages are incompatible with achieving social security and stability.

The Observatory called for the necessity of tightening procedures and setting policies from the various social media departments to undermine the spread of extremist ideas and messages that incite hatred, sabotage the minds of young people, and threaten the peace and security of societies.

The Observatory also warned that extremist organizations have significantly intensified their activity through online platforms after they suffered many losses on the ground, noting that modern technologies have turned into a primary means for extremists in the process of polarization, which requires working on digital literacy as a means to prevent recruitment for these extremist organizations.

The Observatory stressed the necessity of instilling the values of citizenship, tolerance and acceptance of the other in the hearts of young people, and raising their awareness of the dangers of extremist thought in order to immunize them from falling into the clutches of terrorist organizations.