Islamic Radicals Infiltrate the Military

Out with Muslim Soldiers

The Spanish Army is systematically replacing its

Muslim soldiers with new recruits from Latin America.

The Spanish military is quietly monitoring its Muslim soldiers in an effort to prevent the spread of Islamic radicalism within its ranks, according to a classified Defense Ministry document that has been leaked to the Spanish media.

The Spanish Army has also been systematically replacing its Muslim soldiers with new recruits from Latin America in an effort to reduce the potential for trouble in areas of Spain that have a large Muslim population.

Spain abolished the draft and transitioned to a professional military in 2002, but has been unable to find enough native Spanish volunteer soldiers to fill the ranks—due to a mix of apathy, pacifism and declining birth rates (Spain has a fertility rate of just 1.36 (2011), one of the lowest in the European Union) reports the Gatestone Institute.

Like other European countries facing a similar dilemma, the Spanish Defense Ministry, in a desperate search for soldiers, is increasingly relying on Muslim recruits. But the push to boost Muslim enlistment has been a double-edged sword: while Spain needs the extra manpower, it also worries that some Muslim soldiers harbor extremist ideologies.

The leaked document, entitled, "Measures to be Applied to Military Personnel Identified as Showing Signs of Radicalism," was issued by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Spanish Army, Lieutenant General Jesús Carlos Fernández Asensio, on October 24, 2013.

The document—classified as "confidential" and published by the Madrid-based newspaper El País on November 19—states that the Spanish Army has detected within its ranks "the existence of personnel with clear indications of radicalism (ideological, religious or criminal)…in their private and social lives." The document continues:

"The conduct of these individuals constitutes a vulnerability for the institution of the Army and poses a potential threat to national security. In an effort to neutralize or at least reduce this risk, the Army has instituted a series of measures that will be applied by unit commanders on suspected military personnel to be determined at any given moment."

The measures include revoking the security clearances of any soldiers suspected of radicalism, and preventing such individuals from holding any job position where they might pose a security risk in any form or may have access to sensitive information.

The document lists more than a dozen jobs or locations that should be off limits to suspected radicals:

"Military police and other security-related units; the general staff headquarters; any premises where classified documents are handled; armories, arsenals and weapons depots; communications centers and locations housing information systems; job positions involving drivers, escorts and bodyguards, as well as those involving sharpshooters or the deactivation of explosives; or any other location determined by the unit commander."

Military units are also charged with monitoring "everything related to a suspect's proselytizing activities or actions, their level of radicalism and their public activities (social media, Internet surfing, types of newspapers being read, etc.)."

There are no official statistics as to how many Muslims are serving in the Spanish armed forces, which currently has 140,000 active duty service members and 5,000 reservists.

Muslims constitute approximately 30% of the Spanish troops stationed
in the Spanish North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

Fencing out Muslim illegal aliens
Spanish security forces control the border of Melilla, an exclave of Spain
located in North Africa. Security has been heightened since an influx of
Muslim illegal aliens made their way into the European territory.

Spanish security forces control the border of Melilla, an exclave of Spain located in North Africa. Security has been heightened since an influx of refugees made their way into the European territory

But the issue of Muslim troops serving in the Spanish military is especially acute in the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern coast of Morocco, which has long demanded that Madrid cede sovereignty of the territories over to Rabat.

Muslims constitute approximately 30% of the Spanish troops stationed in Ceuta and Melilla, where the real unemployment rate tops 40%.

In July 2012 it emerged that the Spain's National Intelligence Center (CNI) was investigating a tip it received from the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that al-Qaeda operatives had infiltrated Spanish military units based both in Ceuta and Melilla, territories the Algeria-based Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has long threatened to "reconquer" for Islam.

As a result of the investigation, the Spanish military has replaced dozens of Muslim soldiers with recruits from Latin America. The mass discharges—due to "lack of trust or dubious loyalty"—have only increased tensions with the local Muslim community, who have distributed thousands of leaflets denouncing the "persecution of Spanish soldiers of the Muslim faith."

Spanish Soldiers march with a goat, the mascot of Spanish Army, in National Day
military parade held in the capital city of Madrid.

 

Melilla is a Spanish city on the north coast of Morocco, with an area of 12.3 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi). Melilla, along with Ceuta, is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities in mainland Africa.  Ceuta and Melilla have been integral parts of the Spanish state since the 15th century.