Is Hanan Serroukh a Spanish version of Ayaan Hirsi Ali?
Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from InfoCatólica.
NB: Gates of Vienna is not in agreement with the use of the term “Islamism” as expressed in this article. As Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “Islam is Islam, and that’s it”:
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 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.
September 13, 2024
(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 madrassas 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.
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, such as Morocco, assume their responsibility for the protection of minors.
Hanane Serroukh is a Moroccan woman just seeks money and fame.
Islam is not a religion. It is an evil political ideology that calls for death to Christians and Jews.
Islamists should be destroyed by any means possible. Their fake Jesus or Issa is the Christian anti-Christ.
And yet despite these well-known facts, westerners weĺcome muslims. Get ready for the increasingly harsher consequences of your actions. Truly amazing. Willfull ignorance!