Shafaqna English- In the 1980s, the Muslim residents of Ceuta experienced a process of Spanish nationalization that resulted in the alteration or replacement of their original Arab-Muslim surnames with Spanish ones. Recently, Spain’s Congressional Justice Committee voted to encourage the government to help restore the original Muslim surnames for thousands of families in Ceuta.
It calls on the government to prioritize amendments to Civil Registry regulations and establish an extraordinary procedure – collective, accessible, and free – allowing affected families to reclaim surnames altered during nationalization processes in the 1980s.
Ceuta is a Spanish enclave located on the northern coast of Morocco.
Sources: Morocco World News