Hundreds protest against mosque attack on outskirts of Barcelona

Piera has 17,000 inhabitants and is just 55 kilometers inland from Barcelona. Late on Friday night, the city saw over 400 people, according to local police, demonstrating against an attack on the city's mosque in the early hours of July 12.

The rally started in the Gall Mullat park and after almost a two-hour walk, it reached the mosque where the Islamic community and other organizations condemned the attack, as well as "hate speech, islamophobia, and the constant criminalization of several groups."

During the rally, people chanted, "We are neighbors, we are diverse," "Yes to the mosque, no to hate," or "antifascist Catalonia." Residents and politicians attended the protest, except members of the Spanish far-right Vox, the Catalan far-right Aliança Catalana, or the conservative People's Party.

Some of the posters read, "It was not a fire, it was a hate crime." At the moment, the mayor of Piera, Carme Gonzàlez, said that "by the hour, the hypothesis that it was an intentional attack is becoming stronger." Although the investigation is still ongoing, these words are similar to what the Catalan interior minister, Núria Parlon, said in the aftermath of the fire.

Both are part of the Socialist political party.

The fire took place in the early hours on Saturday, July 12, in the mosque, funded by the local Islamic community. The building was almost ready to open its doors, and an open day was scheduled in the upcoming weeks.

Due to the flames, the interior of the 150-person capacity temple burned down completely.

"United"

Before the rally started, Yahya Mokhtari, president of Piera's Islamic community, said that "they have damaged our mosque, but they left the Islamic community more united with Piera's residents."

In less than a week, the group has received over €60,000 in donations to fund the temple's renovations.

During the next city council's plenary, the Socialists will file a motion condemning the attacks and urging "new legislation to guarantee an equal respect to all temples."

"We are by all residing communities that build Piera on a daily basis," she said before telling media outlets after the rally, that in Piera "there are no problems with coexistence between any community, nor the Islamic one nor any other."

Piera "is a town of social coexistence with a peaceful life," she concluded.