Spain: Priest Faces Jail for Criticizing Islam

Eight years later, Fr. Ballester now finds himself in the dock. He says his trial is meant to set an example and scare others into staying silent: “They want to use me as an example so that others censor themselves.”

In recent interviews, he has insisted that he was not speaking about all Muslims, but about radical Islam and the verses that legitimize violence. He said Spanish justice applies hate crime in only one direction: with rigor against critics of Islam, but with indifference toward offenses against Christianity.

While the case has caused great indignation in conservative and religious circles, the country’s bishops have stayed silent. Cardinal Omella, the church leader Ballester criticized in his article, has only offered private words of support, without issuing a public statement.

At the same time, more than 25,000 people have signed a campaign launched by the association Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers) calling for his acquittal.