Catholic World News News Feature

Muslim presence growing in Spain March 26, 2008

The Union of Muslim Communities in Spain (UCIDE) claims that 1.13 million Spaniards, or 2.5% of the country's residents, are Muslim, Vatican Radio reports.

Moroccan immigrants, numbering approximately 565,000, constitute the largest Muslim group in Spain. Also, almost 35,000 native Spaniards have converted to Islam.

UCIDE is demanding Islamic religion classes in public schools in the four Spanish regions with the highest concentration of Muslims: Catalonia, with 279,000; Madrid, with 197,000; Andalusia, with 185,000; and Valencia, with 131,000.