For years, Spanish people have been converting to Islam almost every Friday, pronouncing the words of the shahada, or Islamic declaration of faith, and joining the world’s fastest-growing religion.
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In a video shared by Anadolu Agency and Euro News, a Spanish young man, Jose Miguel, is seen reciting the shahada at the Grand Mosque of Granada after Friday prayer.
“Almost every Friday (there is) a Spanish convert to Islam in our mosque,” said Umar del Pozo, President of the Spanish Islamic Society Association and Granada Great Mosque Foundation, Yeni Safak reported.
“There is a big increase in the number of Spaniards who converted to Islam, especially after the pandemic. This makes us happy and proud.
“About 36,000 Muslims live in Granada’s cities and districts. About 3,700 of them are Spaniards who converted to Islam and their third-generation children,” Del Pozo added.
Secretary of the Islamic Commission of Spain Mohamed Ajana said that the Muslim population living in Spain increased 10 times in the last 30 years, exceeding 2.5 million, according to official records. Non-official figures say that about 3 million Muslims live in Spain.
According to the Union of Islamic Communities (UCIDE), Muslims make up 3.8 percent of the Spanish population, 40 percent are Spanish, and 60 percent are immigrants.
Muslims in Spain are mostly from Morocco. Yet, there is a significant number of Pakistani and Senegalese Muslims in cities like Barcelona, Valencia, and Logrono.