FROM REACTION TO INCLUSION: POLICY INSTRUMENTS FOR MANAGING THE OPENING OF ISLAMIC PLACES OF WORSHIP AT LOCAL LEVEL IN SPAIN

Abstract

This article addresses the management of religious pluralism in Spain. It pays particular attention to local politics and the policy instruments for managing and governing the opening of Islamic places of worship. A public policy analysis approach to the implementation of policy instruments sheds light on the policy instruments applied to address these problems of coexistence, their strengths, and weaknesses. The research carried out, applying document analysis and in-depth interviews, reveals that, despite the progress achieved since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the legal framework has not improved sufficiently, and municipal governments try to avoid action to the detriment of religious pluralism and the rights of religious minorities. Moreover, when local authorities feel under pressure to act, their reactive response focuses on implementing regulations and information-based policy instruments. Ultimately, our findings on policy instruments suggest the need for new proactive and inclusive responses that will allow to fulfil the religious rights of minorities and maintain the spatial local order without the segregation of part of its population. In this sense, a proactive response could lead to better inclusion and benefit from new policy instruments such as the systematic use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the co-design of participatory tools.