They were born in Catalonia more than 20 years ago. They have studied in the linguistic immersion system, and while at school they made ‘cagar el tio’ or drew ‘vella quaresma’, at home they celebrated Ramadan and the festival of the lamb. “Our parents, almost all immigrants from Morocco, built the mosques that we know today in Catalonia. Now it is we, Catalans and Muslims, who will have to take charge of this structure and adapt it to our needs and our context, which is very different from theirs,” says Illias El Ghaidouni. He is part of the Entre Joves groupcreated four months ago in the Union of Islamic Communities of Catalonia (UCIDCAT), an entity that wants to involve and reconnect young people with Islam and centers of worship. Illias, along with seven other colleagues, organized an Islamic congress aimed at Catalan Muslim youth last weekend. “It has been a complete success,” he says, proudly.
More than 200 young people participated last weekend in the 14th edition of the Islamic congresses organized by UCIDCAT. And many others were left out because they filled the capacity. The Joventut, religion and the question of identity congress held in El Prat de Llobregat was a complete success. “Until now Islamic congresses were held in Arabic and were designed for our parents’ generation, but now we have changed this approach, we need a network of young people with whom to share our realityweave alliances and organize ourselves,” says another of the promoters of the event, Sara El Bahri.
“We are not immigrants, people have to understand that we are Catalan Muslims. Once a year we go to Morocco and When they speak badly of Catalan to us we get outrageds, but, at the same time, here they also shout at us to return to our country when they see us with the veil. Whenever I talk to young and Muslim people the topic of identity comes up. And I feel like we need to have a safe place to talk about thiswhere we can express ourselves and be heard without judging us… feel that we are not alone,” continues Imam El Ghaidouni.
She is 22 years old and just six months ago she decided to wear the hijab. She has studied a university degree in Biotechnology and is now finishing a master’s degree that she combines with a job in a company in the sector. “Neither academically nor professionally have they ever made me feel like a foreigner,” she says. At work she has gotten her company to recognize her. a place where you can pray during the hours set by your religion. “It’s normal and that’s how I live it. I talk about Ramadan with my friends at school, for example, who are atheists. When I was little I was more ashamed but not anymore, I see it as natural,” continues Imam, a resident of Collblanc. On the other hand, El Bahri, a 20-year-old Food Engineering student, has lived for many years on a border.
“As a child I never felt different. Until one day a new kid came to school and we had to introduce ourselves. I said: ‘My name is Sara, I’m from Barcelona and I like who knows what.’ And then a kid jumped up and said: ‘How can you be from here if your parents are from Morocco?’ That’s where my mess about identity began, I realized that, despite being born in Catalonia, I was not part of society, I had to integrate,” says the young woman, from Ciutat Meridiana. She decided putting on the veil at 12 years old. “Even my mother was surprised and said, ‘Are you sure?'” It was from then on that she noticed the most radical change. “In my neighborhood, with my neighbors, I am the same as before, but you go to the CAP and They treat you like you’re stupidin the supermarket they often don’t want to serve you and people on the street shout at you: ‘Take off your cloth, go to your country.'”
Islamophobia and “thick skin”
Illias has also noticed this rejection. “The ‘moor of shit’ for me is already a joke and I take it with humor… It’s been many years because from a very young age you already hear this type of things,” says the young man, 23 years old, graduated in Sciences and Technologies del Mar. “I think that Islamophobia, in Europe, is something normalized. I have a thick enough skin so that it doesn’t matter to me, but there are many people who do not have that strength, you have to be prepared psychologically,” he adds. “At the congress, for example, we have done an emotional intelligence workshop for things like this. I have not had problems at work because in my sector there are very few people and we are very specialized. But if I had another job, in view of the public, of course it would have been difficult for me,” continues his sister Imam.
Illias and Imam are sons of Mohamed El Ghaidouni, the historic president of UCIDCAT. “We need to involve young people in mosques, the legacy cannot be lost,” he maintains. Unlike the Catholic Church, in Islam there is no hierarchical structure that governs, orders and organizes worship: each mosque is managed autonomously, and the imam simply fulfills the function of an expert spiritual reference who masters the Quranic texts. That is to say: it is the believers involved who maintain the religious structure.
“I remember accompanying my father in many mosques, he had to experience the rejection of his first years,” says Illias. “I remember when there was the attack and his vacation was over and he came to Catalonia… These are things that mark you. What I do think is that now our reality is different.” For example, he explains the need to implement halal menus in schools with families who want it. “It can’t be that they give us a pork loin… it’s just that we also have rights and we are going to fight for them,” Imán insists.
Homosexuality and terrorism
Related news
His vision of Islam is also particular. They are evidently against violence and terrorism, and they feel that Islamic radicalism affects young people who have more identity doubts and have felt more social rejection. But they go further. “Moroccan culture is one thing and the Muslim faith is another. They are different and sometimes contradictory things,” says El Bahri. “Now it seems that Ramadan is very good because of Morad’s fashion, of being MDLR… but we have to go further, being a Muslim is more than just fasting once a year,” he insists.
The girl knows the Koran so thoroughly that she even recites some fragments by heart. “The important thing about Islam is the relationship you establish with God: no one can tell you if what you do is right or wrong,” she continues. “Imposing or forcing something on others is a sin (‘haram’),” says the young woman, speaking of those who are forced to wear a veil or marry with the excuse of religion. And what do you think of homosexuality? From the outset, they recognize that Islam does not support people from the LGTBI community. “But if a person is homosexual and wants to be Muslim, who am I to tell him that he is wrong? I am nobody, let them do what they want,” says El Bahri. The rest nod their heads. “Yes, in the end it is as basic as respect.”