Beni Mellal – The Spanish Islamic Commission has issued its official statement on the commencement of Ramadan for the Islamic year 1447 Hijri, corresponding to 2026, announcing that the holy month will begin in Spain on Wednesday, February 18.
Signed by the commission’s president, Aiman Adlbi, in Madrid, the statement extended its wishes, saying it “takes this opportunity to congratulate Muslims, both in Spain and around the world, on the arrival of this noble month, and prays that the Almighty grants them assistance in fasting and night prayers, so as to attain His pleasure, and that peace and security prevail throughout the world.”
For Spain, the start of Ramadan is considered valid if the crescent moon is sighted anywhere between the 180° meridian (the International Date Line) and the –18° meridian passing through El Hierro in the Canary Islands.
This methodology allows Spanish authorities to rely on confirmed global sightings within a defined astronomical corridor, rather than requiring strictly local observation, aligning religious practice with modern astronomical standards.
Yet, as is often the case with lunar-calendar observances in non-Muslim-majority countries, the announcement does not eliminate variation. Ramadan’s start, tied to the sighting of the new crescent moon (hilal), rarely collapses into a single date across communities.
In practice, this produces a familiar divergence between those who rely on astronomical calculation and others who insist on confirmed local or regional moon sightings. In Spain, that divergence is further layered by the country’s unique social and demographic realities.
A significant portion of Spain’s Muslim population is of Moroccan origin, and many families – particularly in Ceuta and Melilla – align their observance with Morocco due to geographic proximity, family ties, and deeply embedded cross-border religious life.
In everyday practice, the two enclaves are often perceived as “functionally Moroccan” in cultural and religious rhythms, even while remaining under Spanish sovereignty.
Other Muslims in Spain choose to follow Saudi Arabia’s announcements, reflecting the kingdom’s symbolic centrality in Islam and the global weight its religious declarations continue to carry.
As a result, small differences in Ramadan start dates remain a recurring feature of Spanish Muslim life – not an anomaly, but an expected expression of plural reference points within a single national space.
Islam in Spain: History and continuity
Spain’s Islamic presence is neither recent nor peripheral. It dates back to 711 CE, when Amazigh Muslim general Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, from the Nafza tribe of the Rif in northern Morocco, crossed into the Iberian Peninsula at Gibraltar, initiating the Umayyad conquest of Hispania.
Following the defeat of Visigothic king Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete, much of the peninsula came under Islamic rule and became known as Al-Andalus for centuries.
That period included long phases under Moroccan-led dynasties such as the Almoravids, Almohads, and later the Marinids, embedding North African political, religious, and cultural influence deeply into Iberian history.
The end of Muslim rule was followed by a severe Catholic reassertion of control, marked by forced conversions, expulsions, and the systematic erasure of Muslim and Jewish life.
The repression of the Moriscos and the criminalization of Islamic practice were not episodic excesses but foundational traumas – ones that continue to shape Spain’s uneasy relationship with its Islamic past. Scholars often describe this legacy as a lingering “Moorish complex”: Islam preserved as heritage, yet managed as a historical discomfort.
Today, Spain is home to more than 2.5 million Muslims, roughly 5% of a national population approaching 49 million. Moroccans constitute the largest foreign community, with an estimated 1.1 million Moroccan residents. Naturalization has also accelerated: 42,910 Moroccans obtained Spanish nationality in 2024 alone, and more than 237,000 have done so between 2018 and 2024.
For observant families, Ramadan restructures daily life around dawn and sunset. The fast begins after suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, and ends at sunset with iftar, traditionally broken with dates and water. Beyond abstention from food and drink, the month emphasizes introspection, discipline, improved conduct, intensified prayer, and Qur’anic reading, including nightly Tarawih prayers.
Islamic teachings also consistently underline exemptions: the ill, children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, the elderly, travelers, and menstruating women are not required to fast, with missed days made up later when possible.
In Spain’s urban centers, Ramadan becomes increasingly visible. Community iftars and neighborhood initiatives in areas such as Lavapiés in Madrid and El Raval in Barcelona are often hosted by mosques or local associations and extend beyond immediate family circles.
Charitable giving intensifies through zakat and sadaqa, with organizations like Islamic Relief España coordinating food distribution and essential aid for vulnerable households.
Commercial life adapts as well. Shops and bakeries in neighborhoods with significant Muslim populations adjust hours and stock Ramadan staples, such as dates, honey, and traditional sweets. This shows how a lunar religious observance translates into a predictable shift in Spain’s everyday urban rhythms.
