Spain Mosque Fire Raises Alarm

Piera Mosque Arson: A Wake-Up Call Against Global Islamophobia

On July 12, 2025, the sleepy town of Piera, just outside of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, suffered a hateful and intentional act, a mosque was burned in an Islamophobic arson attack. The incident created alarm in the local community, so much so that there was also denunciations by the Muslim community and the Mayor of Catalonia. Local leaders and civil society both expressed outrage and sympathy, and in the wake of these events a concerning trend arose an awareness on the internet, in extreme parts of Muslim–facing social media, especially on Hindutva-acquainted accounts, the attack was being celebrated openly.

The dual response of mourning and outrage on one hand, pleasure and applause on the other, illustrates the dangerous global dimensions of Islamophobia in today‘s world. It is no longer an isolated problem in select Western countries. It is a rising global crisis, fueled by hate, silence and increasingly transnational ideological alliances.

The burning of the Piera Mosque is not just another hate crime. It is an act that strikes a blow to the heart of Islamic history in Europe. Spain, and by extension Andalusia, was once a thriving Islamic civilization. For upwards of 700 years, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together and contributed to a golden age both in sharing and learning, science, architecture, and culture. Attacking a mosque in such a historically symbolic land is an effort not just to instill terror in a local community, but also to obliterate the legacy of the Islamic contribution to European civilization. It is a message by the perpetrators: you don’t belong here; your legacy is unwanted. It is a message by the perpetrators: you don’t belong here; your legacy is unwanted.

No fire can extinguish the legacy of Andalus; it lives on in the architecture of Cordoba, in the philosophical writings of Averroes (Ibn Rushd), and it will forever impact the idea of interfaith dialogue on the Iberian Peninsula.

The arson in Piera must not be seen as an isolated incident.It is a growing trend, a global trend of Islamophobia that has seen Muslims targeted in countries from mob lynchings in India, mosque shootings in New Zealand, and now arson in Spain. Islamophobia and extremism has no borders. With the current technologies and ways of connecting with other people globally including on social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, hate is travelling around the world off of a visa, connecting ideologies and amplifying harmful narratives across continents. In the case of the Piera Mosque, the fire in Spain became a cause for celebration in digital corners of India, a shocking yet telling reality.

Shortly after the event, Indian social media accounts that have been systematically devoted to Hindutva ideology began posting about the burning of the mosque in a celebratory fashion. Some posts derided and vilified the Muslim communities, while others took the opportunity to further their anti-Islamist narratives. While a lot of Indians denounced these responses and actions, the systematic, celebratory responses of far-right elements demonstrate one bleak reality: Islamophobic ideology is being exported – and celebrated – beyond its home country.

This is no longer merely India’s internal issue.When Indian extremists cheer hate crimes abroad, they add to a worldwide network of hate. They find allies in European and North American far-right groups, creating a digital coalition that threatens peace, pluralism, and democracy around the world.
It is not enough just to condemn acts like the Piera mosque arson. To remain silent in the face of hate is to be complicit. If the international community ignores such acts, it increases impunity for hate and sends a message that Muslim lives, worship, and identity may be violated without consequence.

It is essential for human rights organizations, religious leaders, interfaith organizations and politicians to step up. We have to demand accountability, not just justice for the victims in Piera, but also for those who incite and glorify that violence online.

Setting fire to a house of worship is not an act of bravery. It is a cowardly display of fear, fear of diversity, fear of pluralism and fear of shared history. It reveals an insecurity not strength.People don’t erase the past when they attack mosques; they simply reveal their incapacity to come to terms with the present: that Islam is part of Europe, and has been for centuries.

Instead of addressing history with honesty and humility, these aggressors are attempting to erase symbols of coexistence. However, history, however many buildings may burn, can never be erased. The memory of Andalus is strong, and the contributions of Muslims to Spain and Europe remain foundational aspects of the continent’s genealogical ascendency.

There needs to be a common global campaign against Islamophobia, just like the world came together to oppose apartheid or racism. This needs to involve civil society, faith leaders, educators, journalists and online platforms.

Particularly social media companies have to stop platforming hate speech and also stop glorifying hate speech. Their messaging needs to be clear: ban and remove any account that glorifies violence. At the same time, governments need to implement and enforce legislation classifying attacks on places of worship as acts of terrorism.
Most importantly,
communities need to find each other across faith and culture to protect the most fundamental right of all – the right to believe, to worship and the right to live in peace.

The burning of the Piera mosque is a test of our global conscience. Do we allow such acts to become the norm? Do we remain passive as hate turns from ideology into action? Or do we rise to defend not just the rights of our Muslim brothers & sisters, but the idea of human dignity for all?

History will not only point out the criminals behind this act, but those who were silent, and those who spoke. We must say we choose peace over hate, justice over complicity, and humanity over bigotry.
Let us not have the mosque in Piera remembered for its ashes, but for the embers of refugee resistance it sparked around the world. Let it represent, not destruction, but the solidarity of all who recognize that faith, history, and diversity needs to be protected, not burn.