By Abdul Salam Basha, IOL Correspondent

BARCELONA, May 25 (IslamOnline.net) – Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alunsu announced Monday, May 24, that his ministry will allow citizens of Arab descent to join the police and will triple the number of its anti-terror force.

Addressing the parliament’s security committee, Alunsu said Arabs will be enlisted to serve in the information department, national police and civil guards.

He added that those joining the information service, which is responsible for gathering and analyzing information on domestic security, will enjoy more financial privileges.

In statements to El Mundo newspaper on Tuesday, Monday 25, the interior minister said the plan will also see the tripling of anti-terror personnel in cities with sizable Muslim population in less than two years.

According to the paper, there are around 600,000 Muslims living in the capital Madrid and 400,000 in Catalonia .

The Islamic Cultural Center in Spain , however, put the number of permanent Muslim residents in the European country at between 700,000 and 800,000, mostly of Moroccan origin.

Illegal Arab and Muslim immigrants are estimated at hundreds of thousands. 

Priority To Translators

Under Alunsu’s plan, priority will be given to Arabic-language translators.

The focus on translators came after the Spanish intelligence community failed to track down phone calls in Arabic before Madrid blasts last March, the minister said.

He recalled that the appointment of translators was not on the ministry’s budget before the deadly attacks.

Alunsu’s plan, which is expected to be approved by the lawmakers, also seeks to enhance anti-terror cooperation with other countries, chiefly France and Morocco .

Morocco offered on May 10 to help Spain monitor mosques in a bid to end "internal problems of extremism" in the southwestern European country.

The proposal came a few days after Alunsu had announced plans  to monitor imams and censor mosque sermons.

The move was denounced by politicians, rights groups and Muslims as a violation of religious freedom and unconstitutional.