After the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and the coastal town Cambrils, in which 15 people have so far lost their lives, Catalan citizens have showed more unity and solidarity than ever. Catalan society has demonstrated that Barcelona, and Catalonia, is open to the world and is a land of peace, as Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, expressed it hours after the terrorist attack that took place in the heart of Barcelona. Some of the loudest voices in Catalonia condemning the attacks have come from the Muslim and Moroccan communities. On Saturday, just two days after terrorism struck Catalonia, Muslims in Barcelona clamored in favor of peace and against violence, fear and hate in a protest organized by the Catalan Islamic Cultural Center on the Rambla, where the van plowed into crowds of innocent people enjoying one of the city’s most emblematic streets.

The demonstrators gathered to explicitly condemn terrorism and to dissociate their religion from these acts. “Islam is peace,” “I’m a Muslim, not a terrorist,” and “We are all Barcelona” were some of the visible statements during the gathering. The attendees stressed their stance in favor of peace and coexistence and against the stigmatization of Muslims.



In the small town of Ripoll, where the terrorists lived, the Muslim community also condemned terrorism in demonstrations held in front of the town hall over the weekend.



Different communities have released statements condemning the attacks, among them the Pakistani community, saying: “We reject all kinds of terrorist acts that kill innocent people around the world.”



‘I’m from here; I feel I’m from here’

In Cambrils, around 400 people from the Islamic community gathered at the mosque on Sunday to condemn the attacks. “Islam is love” and “Not in our name” were two of the messages on display. According to spokesperson of the community in Cambrils, Samir Ouadi, the community is traumatized, because “people who try to speak in our name –and this is not how it is– do not represent the religion, and use it to do harm.”



Ahmed, a Muslim living in Cambrils for 40 years, claimed that the gathering showed that this community condemns the attacks and rejects “anything to do” with the terrorists. “I’m from here; I feel from I’m here, and I hope that this won’t happen again,” he said. The Catalan-born Josep Maria also wanted to show his support for the Islamic community, “which suffers a lot and are holding up stoically… It is a good moment to show solidarity with them,” he said.



‘Not fair to suspect Moroccan community’



Catalonia’s president, Carles Puigdemont, agrees that it is important not to stigmatize a group of people for what others who share the same origins may have done. In a television interview on Sunday on the Spanish La Sexta channel, Puigdemont made it clear that “it is not fair to suspect the Moroccan community” after the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, which were orchestrated by people of Moroccan descent living in the Catalan town of Ripoll. According to the president, the Moroccan community in Catalonia is made up of 200,000 people.



An immigrant is no threat



Along the same lines, Catalan police chief, Josep Lluís Trapero, categorically stated in a press conference: “I would never allow myself to say that an immigrant is a threat,” when asked by a foreign journalist about how the police aim to find out if the immigrants coming to Catalonia are “a threat or possible terrorists.”



Coexistence, diversity and peace

Catalonia has traditionally welcomed people of all colors and beliefs. And now, they all stand together in mourning the victims of last week’s attacks. “All decent people from all civilizations, religions and social levels are with the victims and with us,” the Catalan president said shortly after the attacks, adding that Catalonia has for centuries “welcomed people” and is and will always be “a peaceful land”.



The Catalan capital’s mayor, Ada Colau, concurred, saying “Barcelona has always been and is still a city of peace, dialogue, democracy, and it is also a city that is brave and open to the world.” She also stressed that Barcelona “is a city that is proud of its diversity, which is cosmopolitan, and will continue to be so.”



Catalan citizens together against stigmatization



“That Muslims should have to protest their innocence, is a nerve. It turns my stomach,” said journalist Pilar Carracelas on Twitter on Sunday. In fact, many Catalan citizens have tweeted these days that they feel embarrassed to see Muslim communities having to show they are against terrorism and the radicalization of religion.



Another example of Catalan citizens against racism was the reaction to an improvised demonstration on Friday, at which a group of people demonstrated against Islam. The demonstration was attacked by members of the public as racist.



Councils and Muslim communities working together

The unity of Catalan society can also be seen through the recent work between town councils and Muslim organizations. On Monday, representatives of Citizens and Immigration of Catalonia and the Municipal Immigration Council of Barcelona met for the first time. The organizations met to condemn the attacks and to defend the model of coexistence.



“Those who want to spread fear and terror do it to feed hate, to build walls and spread rumors; we raise our voice against the ideology of hate to say loud and clear that peace and nonviolence is our way. We will continue building bridges, weaving relations and reconstructing all that they are trying to destroy,” said the organizations after the meeting. A rally is now planned for Saturday under the same idea: “Against hate, one single people”.



At the same time, Barcelona city council representative, Jaume Asens, expressed his concern about some hateful attitudes on social media: “That is playing the game of terrorism,” he said.



“We live together and we want to live together. We are a diverse people and we are one single people with common values; we won’t change them, they won’t divide us, because we are not afraid,” said the manifesto read out by a representative of the Bombo N'Dir organization and Rodrigo Araneda.



Demo against terrorism in Barcelona



Around 50 Muslim organizations have planned a demonstration for Monday evening in order to condemn terrorism all together.