HIBAPRESS – Omar Razzini (Barcelona Office)
In the harsh winter nights that hit the city of Barcelona and its suburbs, churches have turned into open shelters for the homeless, protecting them from the danger of freezing and slow death in the streets. A humanitarian initiative that received widespread praise, but in return, ignited a heavy question on the collective conscience: Where are the mosques from this humanitarian role?
The question is no longer theoretical or postponable, after the death of a Moroccan youth in the city of Terrassa due to the severe cold, in an incident that shook public opinion and revealed a painful reality experienced by a number of immigrants and the homeless, away from the spotlight and speeches. The incident brought back to the forefront the discussion about the stark gap between the religious discourse that talks a lot about mercy and solidarity, and the human reality in which the weak suffer without real support. While the churches opened their doors without hesitation, most mosques remained closed, content with prayer and the sermon, without extending their hand to save threatened lives. Activists in civil society considered what happened in Terrassa, the suburbs of Barcelona, "a moral alarm bell," demanding that those in charge of mosques and Islamic associations take on their social responsibilities, and not just be content with the preaching role. They also called for turning houses of worship into living spaces that serve humanity before anything else, especially in harsh climatic conditions. The death of the Moroccan youth is not just a number in the death register, but the story of a person who ended silently in the cold of the street, while there were doors that could have been opened… but they were not opened. And between the initiatives of the churches and the silence of the mosques, the question remains suspended in the sky of Barcelona and Terrassa: Do we need a new tragedy to regain the essence of the values that we raise as a slogan?
