The WebIslam Internet portal in Spanish based in Spain provides a listing of Muslim organizations in Spain that includes the Comunidad Islámica en España (Murabitun) and the Comunidad Islámica en Cataluña (Murabitun) (2001). The Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Bodies (Federación Española de Entidades Religiosas Islámicas, FEERI), described as the largest and broadest association of Muslim organizations in Spain, does not list any group with the name Murabitun among its affiliates (16 Apr. 2002).

A Muslim bookstore in London, England, offers a number of books published by the founder and leader of the Murabitun World Movement and lists a number of Murabitun Internet sites; this source states that the Murabitun movement was founded by Shaykh Abdalq al-Murabit, and adds that the Comunidad Islámica en España is "engaged in building the mosque of Granada" (Portobello Books 21 May 2000).

WebIslam reports on the 1999 presentation of a book in Granada titled La mezquita de Babel: El nazismo sufita desde el Reino Unido a la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía (The Mosque of Babel: The Sufi Nazism from the United Kingdom to the Autonomous Community of Andalucia), a journalist's in-depth report analyzing the last 15 years of activities of the Murabitun Movement led by Scotsman Ian Dallas, also known as "shaij Abdel Kader Al-Murabit" (WebIslam 19 June 1999a). According to the WebIslam report, the Spanish author of the book argued during the presentation that the group, arriving from England and Northern Ireland, uses Islam as a cover (denominación islámica sólo como apariencia) and is led by a Scottish man who professes an admiration for the founder of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler (ibid.). The book reportedly names all those involved in the Murabitun trying to build a very large mosque in Granada, and attempts to establish a difference between new Muslims and those who "disguised as neo-converts of Islam, hide a sincretic neo-nazi movement between the teachings of historic Sufism and the most aggressive nazism" (disfrazados de neo-conversos al Islam, esconden un movimiento neo-nazi sincrético entre las enseñanzas del sufismo histórico y el nazismo más agresivo) (ibid.).

The Comunidad Islámica en España publishes a website that provides some information on its project to build a mosque in Granada, gives an address for the organization in that city and includes articles on a variety of issues (11 Feb. 2002a). The organization states that its goals include propagation of the Islamic message throughout Spain and the Spanish-speaking world, indicating that it has established communities in various locations in Spain, including the Basque country (ibid. 11 Feb. 2002b). Other goals include the teaching and practice of the "Din of Islam" (el Din del Islam), and "doing everything that brings us closer to the complete establishment of the Din on Earth" (todo aquello que nos acerque cada vez más a la completa implantación del Din en esta tierra) (ibid.).

WebIslam also publishes an account of a Muslim gathering in Melilla, Spain, on 4 October 1997, written by a former Murabitun, Abdel Hadi Scott (19 June 1999b). The author states that he was a Murabitun for seven years and had left the group for 13 years; he returned to a gathering expecting it to be open to all Muslims, but found that the exclusivity of their gatherings he knew while a member continued: he and others were expelled by British Murabituns, who forced them out of the mosque where the gathering was taking place (ibid.). The author also states that he had personally witnessed the expulsion of Muslims from the Murabitun movement in England and Spain under orders of its leader, Abdul Qader Dallas (ibid.). Abdel Hadi Scott indicates certainty that the expulsions were to get rid of those who were no longer useful or represented an obstacle "in their quest to obtain money from Muslims" (en su búsqueda del dinero de los musulmanes), but adds that he believes most Murabituns are "sincere Muslims who are simply manipulated" (musulmanes sinceros, que simplemente son manipulados) (ibid.).

The London-based Jewish Policy Research website Antisemitism and Xenophobia Today (AXT) indicated the following in its 1996 assessment of the United Kingdom:

Al Murabitun (Soldiers of Liberation) is an international group of converts to Islam with bases in Norwich and Inverness. The group, which in the past has published in the name of People Against Interest Debt, is antisemitic and its leaflets have alleged Jewish conspiracies (AXT Dec. 1996).

However, the September 1998 assessment of the United Kingdom contains no references to the Murabitun or Al Murabitun (ibid. Sept. 1998).

The only published reference to Basque separatism or nationalism found in relation to the Murabitun is in an article published by the Murabitun World Wide Movement (2 Aug. 2001). The article decries the current economic systems, stating:

Tomorrow, with Islam, the bankers and their criminals will be your slaves. Islam will restore again what was the most commonly acknowledged condition of our ancestors: the universal nobility of the basque [sic], which meant a basque will never work for someone else (ibid.).

However, no published reference to ETA or to other Middle-East groups could be found in the above-cited website.

Additional references on the Murabitun (also found spelled Murabidum and variations thereof) and its presence in Chiapas can be found in MEX38248.E of 28 February 2002.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Antisemitism and Xenophobia Today (AXT), London. September 1998. "United Kingdom." http://www.axt.org.uk/antisem/countries/uk/index.html [Accessed 19 Feb. 2002]

_____. December 1996. "United Kingdom." http://www.axt.org.uk/antisem/archive/archive1/uk/uk.htm [Accessed 19 Feb. 2002]

Comunidad Islámica en España [Cordoba]. 11 February 2002a. "Comunidad Islámica en España." http://www.cislamica.org [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]

_____. 11 February 2002b. "Nosotros/Objetivos." http://www.cislamica.org/os_obj.asp [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]

Federación Española de Entidades Religiosas Islámicas (FEERI), Córdoba. 16 April 2000. "Comunidades adscritas a la Federación Española de Entidades Religiosas Islámicas." http://www.webislam.com/FEERI/comunidades_FEERI.htm [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]

Murabitun World Wide Movement. n.p. 2 August 2001. Umar Ibrahim Vadillo. "The Workers Have Been Told a Lie About Their Own Situation." http://www.murabitun.org/documents/economics/worklie.html [Accessed 20 Feb. 2002]

Portobello Books, London. 21 May 2000. "Links to Other Sites of Interest." http://www.Portobello-books.com/links.html [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]

WebIslam [Cordoba, Spain]. 2001. "España." http://www.webislam.com/Portal/islam/en%20castellano/españa.htm [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]

_____. 19 June 1999a. "Se presenta en Granada, en el palacio de la Madraza, el libro de Tomás Navarro 'La mezquita de Babel'." http://www.webislam.com/99/47_03.htm [Accessed 14 Feb. 2002]

_____. 19 June 1999b. Abdel Hadi Scott. "Elementos murabitunes explusan a un grupo de musulmanes de una mezquita de Melilla." http://www.webislam.com/98/14_01_06.htm [Accessed 11 Feb. 2002]