Malik Abderrahmán Ruiz

Malik Abderrahmán Ruiz is a Spanish Muslim community leader and activist, who has served as president of the Islamic Community of Spain (Comunidad Islámica en España) and chair of the Granada Mosque Foundation (Fundación Mezquita de Granada). As a community leader and organizer of the Muslim population of Andalusia, he led the rebuilding of the first mosque in Granada since the collapse of the Emirate of Granada 500 years earlier.

Early life

Ruiz's involvement in the Muslim community of southern Spain began in 1975, one of the first generation of Spanish people who turned to Islam during the period of democratic transition after the end of the Franco regime. He has since performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, receiving the honorary title "Al-Hajj". Ruiz settled in and focused his socio-spiritual activities on Granada, as a commitment to rebuilding the continuity of Andalusian Islamic history in Western Europe.

Construction of the Granada Mosque

The project to build the Granada Mosque (Mezquita Mayor de Granada) was initiated in 1981, but the project faced various bureaucratic, social and financial obstacles for more than two decades. The project raised financial support and solidarity from various Muslim countries, including Libya, Morocco, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, as well as a contribution from the Emir of Sharjah, Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi. After a 22-year struggle, the mosque was finally inaugurated in July 2003 in the Albaicín area, directly facing the historic palace of Alhambra. Under Ruiz's direction, the Granada Mosque Foundation positions itself as an inclusive cultural center that regularly holds interfaith dialogue seminars, Arabic language classes, and cultural symposiums aimed at integrating Muslim identity harmoniously into Spanish society.

Other activism

In 2016, Ruiz joined a Spanish Muslim delegation to Indonesia to attend the international conference "International Summit of the Moderate Islamic Leaders" (ISOMIL) initiated by Nahdlatul Ulama. During the visit, he was received by the vice-president of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, at the Merdeka Palace to discuss the promotion of moderate Islam, and visited educational institutions such as UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta to discuss the challenges of secularism in modern Europe. In addition to his community organising work in Granada, he is also involved in the European Muslim Forum, advocating for Muslim worship rights in other major Spanish cities, such as plans to build Islamic cultural centers in Barcelona and Sevilla.

Ruiz is a peace advocate, and a vocal critic of all forms of Islamic extremism. Following the Madrid bombings of 11 March 2004, Ruiz strongly condemned the attack in Spanish media, and called on the public not to attach the negative stigma of "Islamic terrorism" towards the minority Muslim community, arguing that the criminal acts were contrary to the essence of Islamic teaching.

See also

• Islam in Spain
• Granada Mosque
• Abdulhasib Castiñeira