Figueres imam deported for being a Salafist
Her legacy is more veiled women, isolated teenagers and a more closed community.
‘Al Imam Warsh’ Mosque of Figueres
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The expulsion order was issued on 8 August 2023, after Spanish intelligence services deemed him a preacher of the Salafist-Wahhabi ideology, which the authorities classify as extremist. The National Police carried out the expulsion last January.
Azougah had amassed a long criminal record in the Alt Empordà region, with multiple arrests by the Urban Guard, the Mossos d'Esquadra at the Roses station and the National Police's anti-terrorism unit. The authorities considered him a potentially dangerous individual to public safety.
Neighbours' suspicions
Azougah had amassed a long criminal record in the Alt Empordà region, with multiple arrests by the Urban Guard, the Mossos d'Esquadra at the Roses station and the National Police's anti-terrorism unit. The authorities considered him a potentially dangerous individual to public safety.
In recent years, in @ajfigueres These Christmas holidays are really noticeable. Students who don't return, cheerful students who come back sullen and wearing a headscarf. It is believed that there is a #imam Very fundamentalist; everyone knows it, but no one dares to do anything about it. https://t.co/HTLUKaZFac
— Petit Comitè 🏳️🌈 (@petitcomite_) 14 January 2025
The testimony of Hanan Serrouck
In an interview published on 19 November 2024 Emporda.info, Activist and writer Hanan Serroukh addresses the presence and normalisation of Islamism in Figueres. Serroukh explains how this phenomenon has transformed the city, making aspects such as the Islamic veil a barrier that divides communities.
According to her, this reality has not arisen from a natural process but from the growing influence of radical imams who restrict individual freedom. She believes that these religious leaders play a key role in normalising practices that perpetuate gender inequality and social division.
Serroukh recounts her own experience and how the arrival of an imam in Figueres changed her life at the age of eleven: she was forbidden from going to school, taking part in athletics and swimming, and from having any contact with non-Muslims. At just fourteen, she had to flee an arranged marriage in Figueres.
All her experiences have given her a critical perspective on the current situation, in which she believes that the imposition of certain religious practices is leading to a regression in women's rights. She also points out that there is a widespread silence on the issue for fear of being labelled racist or Islamophobic.
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