Lecture | Seminar

Iftar in the squares. The public celebration of Ramadan in medium-sized Spanish cities

Víctor Albert-Blanco (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Alex Groves (KU Leuven), Melania Brito-Clavijo (Leiden University / Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Date: Tuesday 16 June 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:30
Explanation: This will be a hybrid event.
Location: Johan Huizinga
Doelensteeg 16
2311 VL Leiden
Room: Conference room (2.60)

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This presentation explores the spatial configuration of itfar, the ritual that breaks the fast during Ramadan, in Spanish cities. Like in other European countries, Spanish cities have experienced a significant pluralization of their religious landscapes. Islam, spread widely through the global diaspora and fueled by international migration and globalization, is one of the most rapidly growing religions. Its expansion is also marked by a strong sense of community through the concept of the umma, a transnational network of believers that unites followers across diverse cultures and regions. This sense of community translates into material traces that manifest in public spaces through places of worship, specialized shops, and symbolic elements. It is also evident in public celebrations, such as the iftars during Ramadan, which take place in various cities. A food-based ritual, iftars have acquired an important public dimension, promoted by local Islamic communities and supported by public authorities. This presentation draws on an ongoing collective research project that analyses the public celebration of iftars in three medium-sized Spanish cities: El Ejido, Melilla and Vic. By analyzing the spatial dimension of these celebrations, we aim to advance critical knowledge on the role of food in the public visibility of religious minorities. Moreover, we want to shift the gaze from big cities and “cosmopolitan” neighborhoods by focusing on other urban and territorial configurations.

Victor Albert-Blanco is a researcher at the Centre for Research on Sociology of Religion (ISOR) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and lecturer at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). He is also affiliated with the Paris Research Centre on Politics and Sociology (CRESPPA). He obtained his PhD in Sociology from Université Paris 8 in 2022, after interdisciplinary training in social sciences across Spain and France, including degrees from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and a Master’s in Euro-Mediterranean Relations (URV/Paris 8). His research lies at the intersection of religion, urban space, and politics, with a focus on the governance of religious pluralism in contemporary cities. His doctoral work compared the regulation of Islam in gentrified neighbourhoods in Paris and Barcelona. He currently examines religious diversity and political dynamics in medium-sized cities, particularly representations of Islam and far-right narratives. He has published in journals such as Religion, State and Society, Social Compass, and Journal of Religion in Europe, and presented at major international conferences (ISA, ESA, ISSR-SISR, AFS, FES). He is also a board member of the Sociology of Religion group within the French Sociological Association (AFS). He has taught at Université Toulouse 2 and Université Paris 8 and has engaged in public dissemination through media outlets such as RTVE, elDiario.es, and El País. He has also collaborated with social organizations and public administrations on issues related to religious diversity and the right to the city.

Melania Brito-Clavijo is a PhD candidate at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and Leiden University. She is affiliated with the Sociology of Religion group at UAB and the International Relations and European Studies group at Leiden, and collaborates with the TRANSMENA research group (UAB) on transnational actors and elites in the MENA region.
Her research lies at the intersection of religion and foreign policy, with a particular focus on “official Islam” as a technology of religious governance. Her doctoral thesis examines the deployment of Moroccan religious diplomacy in West Africa and Europe, understood as a strategy of external projection that mobilizes narratives of “spiritual security” and shared Islamic heritage to reinforce Morocco’s regional leadership. She previously worked as a research project officer in the H2020 CONNEKT project at the European Institute for the Mediterranean, focusing on drivers of radicalization in the MENA region and the Balkans. Her broader research interests include Euro-Mediterranean relations, deradicalization processes, hate speech targeting Muslim communities, sacred music festivals as tools of cultural and religious diplomacy, as well as questions of identity and diaspora, particularly through practices of memory linked to food, among Muslim communities in Europe and Latin America (Brazil). She holds an MA in Contemporary Arab and Islamic Studies from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and an MA in International Relations from the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). Since 2024, she has also been a member of the board of the Spanish Forum of Researchers on the Arab and Muslim World (FIMAM).

Alex Govers Lopez is a PhD candidate in the research group “Deradicalizing the city” at KU Leuven. He conducts an interdisciplinary research in social geography and anthropology on the spatial configuration of EU policies in radicalization prevention. His research focuses on how security policies in the EU are shaped through multi-scalar processes and spatial practices. He holds a master degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from KU Leuven and a bachelor in Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Barcelona.