"My business is legal. I pay my taxes. I don't sell contraband. So what are they so worried about? This is called discrimination."
Source/Credit: NPR
By Lauren Frayer | March 1, 2015
Spain's Mediterranean coast is home to the country's biggest Muslim community. And in one town there, local politicians have proposed new zoning laws that have people pondering what it means to be Spanish, or Muslim, or both.
Ruling conservatives in the town of Tarragona want to limit the number of kebab shops and Internet cafes in the town center, keeping them 500 yards apart to "protect traditional Spanish businesses" and prevent what they call ghettos.
But just what is a traditional Spanish business?
"You tell me! My tomatoes are Spanish, and so are the potatoes I sell," says Nouari Benzawi, an Algerian immigrant who runs a kebab shop and halal grocery store.
"Please explain this to me!" he exclaims, stomping around his shop, pointing out Spanish products. "Do I need to sell pork to be a traditional Spanish business? Do I need to sell wine?"
He doesn't sell these items, for religious reasons. Benzawi, 52, is a Muslim who has lived in Spain for 20 years. He's married to a Spaniard and holds a Spanish passport.
"My business is legal," Benzawi says. "I pay my taxes. I don't sell contraband. So what are they so worried about? This is called discrimination."
Authorities have said the new zoning laws, if passed, would not force the closure of existing businesses, but would regulate how and where new ones can open. Benzawi believes the proposal unfairly targets a certain type of business that is often owned or run by immigrants like himself.
Spain has a relatively small Muslim population, at about 2 percent of the total. The largest concentration is along the Mediterranean coast, in the region of Catalonia. In some coastal towns, including Tarragona, Muslims comprise about 10 percent of the population.
Muslims in Spain tend to be first-generation immigrants, originally from just across the Mediterranean — Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. While Spain doesn't track unemployment data by religion, community leaders insist Muslim immigrants have been disproportionately hurt by the country's economic crisis. They estimate their jobless rate is several points higher than the national average of 23 percent, and double that for youth.
In Tarragona, the overall unemployment rate tops 30 percent. Benzawi worries the new zoning proposal will only make matters worse, disrupting existing businesses and discouraging creation of new ones.
Benzawi is an electrical engineer and speaks multiple languages, but says he couldn't get hired by a Spanish company.
"So what am I supposed to do?" he says. "Rob, beg? The only way to survive is to have my own business. So this zoning proposal is totally contrary to the free market and to our assimilation in Spain."
The man behind the proposed "kebab law" is Alejandro Fernández, the spokesman for Tarragona's branch of Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party, who is also running for mayor. He exchanged emails with NPR but refused to comment for this story, instead recommending another PP leader, Carles Pellicer, mayor of the nearby suburb of Reus. Pellicer also said he was unable to comment.
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