Haman Serroukh is a Spanish woman of Moroccan origin who, at age 15, fled a forced marriage. Today, she is speaking out publicly against the problem of Salafism, the strict version of Islam that is most problematic in European countries. She has written a book entitled "Coraje-El precio de la libertad ("Courage-the price of liberty"). She also speaks out against forced marriages of young Muslim girls in Spain, which is also used as a tool to enable men to immigrate to Europe.
The Spanish site, InfoCatolica, has just published an article on an interview Serroukh gave to El Mundo. It is translated by Fousesquawk.
(She) is one of the most critical voices against the advance of Salafism.
Hanan Serroukh: "We increasingly see more girls in Spain totally veiled and dressed in black."
The daily, El Mundo, has interviewed Haman Serroukh, who, after fleeing from a forced marriage, converted into a voice against Salafism in Spain. In her book, "Courage-The price of liberty", she denounces the expansion of Islamism in certain neighborhoods, the institutional inaction, and the increase in forced marriages among Muslim girls in Europe.
9-13-2024 at 2:11
(El Mundo/InfoCatolica) Hanan Serroukh, born in Barcelona in 1974, and of Moroccan descent, escaped from her family at age 15 after refusing a forced marriage. Today, she is one of the most critical voices against Salafism and denounces what she considers a "blindness" of European institutions faced with the expansion of Islamism in certain neighborhoods. In her new book, "Courage-The price of liberty" (Publ. Sekotia), Serroukh shares her personal experience and warns of the dangers of Islamic extremism in Europe.
A life marked by the fight for liberty
Serroukh relates how, at a very early age, she was confronted with the hard reality of living under an oppressive system. "The hardest (part) is realizing that you are in a living prison, that they are attacking your freedom, and you have to flee," she says. In her case, though it was difficult, she thinks that she grew up in a context less influenced by Salafism than now, which permitted her to recognize her rights as a Spanish citizen. Nevertheless, she stresses that today the situation is different. "To be born in Spain doesn't guarantee that you grow up with European democratic values," due to the growing influence of Islamist actors in some neighborhoods.
The escape and the price of repudiation
At age 15, Serroukh made the most difficult decision of her life: to escape. "The hardest moment was going out onto the street and knowing that you would not return to feeling that you had a mother, a family," she confesses. She was found in Gerona by two officers of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalunya State Police), who seeing her disoriented, offered her assistance. This was the start of her new life, marked by the repudiation of her family and community for having chosen liberty.
The troubling increase in forced marriages in Spain
Serroukh denounces the growing number of forced marriages among girls in Spain, signaling the existence of "parallel societies" in certain neighborhoods controlled by Salafism. According to her, in these environments, democratic values are replaced by rules that limit the rights of minors. "We increasingly see girls in Spain totally veiled and dressed in black," she laments and adds that many of these girls assume that the lack of rights is normal, which makes it difficult to report their situation.
The indifference of the institutions and the lack of effective policies
Serroukh sharply criticizes the inaction of the public administrations, and in her opinion, they have not understood the magnitude of the problem. According to her, the imposition of the hijab and the duty to attend madrasas are not just examples of how girls are subjected to a system alien to democratic values. "The administrations do not understand the social diversity, instead of constructing a collective idea and one of citizenship, they are giving answers segregated by (groups)," she reports.
The use of marriages to regularize the entry of immigrants
Serroukh also warns of the practice of sending girls to countries of origin of the families to marry them and facilitate the legal arrival of men in Europe. "They are being deceived," she claims, giving as example cases in which the minors have been rescued by Spanish authorities, though she emphasizes that many times it is impossible to help them due to the pressure that Islamist communities exert, even including justifying physical violence as occurred with the two sisters murdered in Tarrasa (sic)*.
The difficult situation of unaccompanied foreign minors (menas)
Serroukh was a minor cared for by the Spanish protection system, and from this perspective, she criticizes the current handling of the menas (unaccompanied foreign minors). "Europe will not be able to care for Africa's children," she states bluntly, and adds that the system of protection of minors in Spain is "completely broken". For Serroukh, it is fundamental to improve the resources and policies of prevention, but it is also crucial that the countries of origin, like Morocco, assume their responsibility in the protection of minors.
* Translator's note: In 2022 two Pakistani sisters residing in Tarrassa, Spain, were lured back to Pakistan and murdered when they refused arranged marriages.
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