Madrid, June 10th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
More than a third of the 55 mosques in the Madrid region have some kind of connection to radical Islamic groups, or the presence of Moroccan extremists has been detected in them.

Most of the perpetrators of the March train bombings attended these mosques even though Muslim leaders deny this. In the last 12 years, the number of Moslem oratories in Spain has grown from 40 to 230, most of them in ground-floor buildings and garages. In Madrid alone, the number has grown from 3 to 55, and most of them operate as Koranic schools as well. This rapid, and virtually uncontrolled growth, is now showing its darker side.

Islamic radicals have been detected in several of these centres, especially those situated in the suburbs of the Spanish capital, where a large number of North African immigrants live. Atauba mosque in Parla, for instance, was frequented by Abdennabi

Kounjaa, one of the suicide bombers who blew themselves up in a flat in Leganés, and himself directly involved in the Madrid train attacks. Each of the mosques is classified in a confidential Interior Ministry report, with details as to their connections to extremist groups.

The intelligence services believe the Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas, has links with the Tetuán mosque, the second-largest in Madrid. Its imam, Riay Tatary, often the public face of Islam in Spain, strenuously denies any such link. He denies receiving financial help from Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Germany, as the authorities claim, but many other mosques in Madrid say they survive thanks to the assistance they get from the Tetuan mosque. 42 mosques are registered with the Spanish Union of Islamic Communities and Tatary claims they are all self-financing.

One of the weirdest offshoots of Spanish Islam is ‘Morabitum’, a movement of radical converts to Islam founded 15 years ago in Granada by a Scotsman, Ian Dallas. They want a pan-Islamic state, including the restoration of Al-Andalus, and is the first organised Islamic group to exist in Spain since the Moors were expelled at the end of the 15th century.

The shop has been run by the Spanish Bible Mission, who have tried everything possible to keep the shop afloat. Despite much effort and prayer, success has not accompanied the project. A closing-down sale was held in early June and stock sold off at a 45% discount.

Gijón, June 10th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Corsina Fernández, an evangelical pastor in the northern city of Gijón, says “We live in the most ecumenical district.” He is referring to the Contrueces area of the city where, very close together, Evangelical, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness and Mormon places of worship may be found. Yet there is no friction between them; indeed, there is hardly any communication.

The majority religion is Catholic. The local priest, José Aurelio Lloréns, says his service begins “with the apostles” and says his church was built in the area to attend to the needs of the Catholics who live there. As for the other groups, he believes “these groups appear as they do, as sometimes a reaction against other groups which already exist.” He doesn’t think there is any antagonism between the different religious groups, although he admits some people were rather alarmed when they heard the Mormons were coming to the area.

In fact, the Catholic Church is flanked by the Evangelical Church on its left, and the Mormon building on its right. Fernández explains that the Evangelical Church in general came out of the Reformation in the 16th century, although in Spain there was a second Reformation in the 19th, from which today’s churches more directly come. He says their services “are based exclusively on the Bible” and adds that “we have quite a lot of differences with the Catholics” though “they are the ones nearest to us (in belief).” Testimony to this is a joint project to translate the Bible into Asturian, which is ongoing. 

Madrid, June 15th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
Ricardo Blázquez, Catholic Bishop of Bilbao and Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Inter-confessional Relations, has presented a report on the current state of ecumenism in Spain in which he admits things look bleak for those who want to draw closer, but notes the determination of others to keep working for greater unity.

Blázquez talks of “tiredness, fear, stagnation and even retreat due to the lack of interest” in attaining a closer relationship with other churches, in a report given to Catholic bishops on the state of ecumenism in However, in his report he only mentioned one ecumenical centre and one magazine on the subject, which left some wondering whether he is really aware of what is going on ecumenically up and down the country. Blázquez added that ecumenism “also advances in the heart and in love”, for which it is necessary “to strengthen links of friendship, dialogue, trust and cooperation with our separated brethren.” This is the language of Vatican II, but no more.

Blázquez then said that although broad sectors of Christianity barely knew about ecumenism, in recent years cordial relations have been developed with leaders of other churches, “overcoming old prejudices against the Catholic Church.” What about the ‘old prejudices’ against Protestants and evangelicals? If the ecumenist’s dream of a Spanish Council of Churches is to come about, Rome will have to stop reiterating how sinful it is for Catholics and Protestants to hold joint services, and how Rome is the only one true church in existence. On the other hand, if certain sectors of Protestantism have indeed dropped their objections to Roman heresy, then maybe it is just as well the Vatican insists on keeping her distance…

If all this goes ahead, the same will have to apply to evangelicals and Jews, as the other two ‘recognised historic religions’ in Spain. The government is ready to do all this in the hope of restraining Islamic radicalism and bringing ‘respectable’ Islam into the political and religious mainstream. “Economic aid might prove a good antidote to Islamic radicalism and help control (Moslem) places of worship”, says a spokesman. It seems to be the hope that they will not bite the hand that feeds them.

The government considers the current system ­ whereby Catholics are the only group to benefit from tax breaks ­ discriminatory, which of course it is, and has asked for money to be set aside from the amount designated for charitable purposes, and given to the other three religious minorities in question: Evangelicals, Jews and Moslems. The main aim however is clear; to allow Spanish Islamic groups to become financially independent of overseas aid ­ principally places like Saudi Arabia ­ which comes as part of a package with extremist ideas and imams.

Having caused a scandal in evangelical circles by calling, in all but name, on evangelicals to vote for the Socialists at the last election, the Ferede is now hoping to cash in on an improved atmosphere re religious minorities in the corridors of power. The main complaint about the lack of religious equality is well documented, and the government has a thick dossier from the Ferede on the subject. Just to show how chummy everyone has become recently, the Ferede’s Executive Secretary, Mariano Blázquez, was invited to the wedding of Prince Felipe last month.

Whether all the cordiality will translate into real changes to the official treatment received by religious minorities in this country remains to be seen.

Madrid, June 16th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
The Vatican has reiterated its position on the centrality of the nuclear family in society, on its opposition to embryonic research, and on its rejection to the use of contraceptives as an effective or even valid solution to the problem of Aids. Most evangelicals will be in broad agreement.

Cardinal Alfonso López, one of Rome’s foremost spokesmen on family issues, was speaking in Madrid and called contraceptives “a kind of Russian roulette” with regard to their being a solution to Aids or promiscuity. Flanked by the high and mighty in Spanish Catholicism, including Cardinal Rouco and Nuncio Monteiro, López defended traditional values which had been reiterated in the run-up to the European elections, and which clash with the government’s loose morals in their policies on abortion and homosexuality.

It is not every day that a Roman Cardinal praises an evangelical President of the USA, but Alfonso López had warm words for George Bush, and his defence of life and his repudiation of abortion. He, like Bush, also believes pre-marital chastity is the best type of ‘safe sex’, and he castigated the idea of the ‘day-after’ pill. He used even stronger language to denounce embryonic research, reminding his hearers that “every embryo is a human life, an individual”, warning that our society practised a kind of apartheid, getting rid of those considered ‘useless’ at both ends of life; unwanted embryos and the unwanted elderly.

e-Mision is part of a wider project called ‘REDimir’, which is the overall title of a media organisation run by a group of Spanish evangelicals under the general auspices of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance. It includes the Protestant news agency, A.C.Press, which produces this bulletin, the web magazine ‘Protestante Digital’, and now audio recordings on Internet, under the name of ‘e-Mision.’ Test broadcasts may be heard at the above address, and they will be updated weekly, although the format remains provisional and full working will not begin until September.

There is also a song per week, and this week’s offering is ‘They must know’ by Steve Green. The trailer to Mel Gibson’s film ‘The Passion’, and Gospel music are also available. The requirements to see or listen to e-Mision are Windows Media Player (or Real One). Those who have not got this capability may download it free of charge at the same website.

Barcelona, June 16th, 2004 (ACPress.net).
This week sees an interesting Conference on Faith and Politics in Barcelona, organised by the youth section of the centre-right Popular Party, which governed for 8 years until the recent general election.

Three people have been invited as speakers, representing Catholicism, evangelicalism and Judaism respectively. It shows that there is still rather more interest in issues of faith on the political right than in government ranks, who are moving further away from Christian ethics with their raft of policies on moral and family matters.