"There is a new reality for Muslims in Spain, which is completely different from 15 years ago," said Shayeb.

MADRID, October 17, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE) must undergo a radical shake-up to cope with the new reality of the Muslim minority in the southern European country, a local Muslim lawmaker has said.

"The commission is still acting with the same mindset of the 1992," when it was established by the government to represent the Muslim minority, Mohammad Al-Shayeb, a member of Catalonia's parliament, said in statements carried by the local media.

"There is a new reality for Muslims in Spain, which is completely different from 15 years ago."

Shayeb, who also heads the Ibn Batuta cultural group, said the CIE in its current composition is not representative of Spanish Muslims, whose number increased over the years.

"The commission in fact needs to be shaken up to be more effective and more representative and consequently credible," he said the legislator and member of the Socialist Party.

Shayeb is the first Muslim MP in a local parliament in Spain, home to some 600,000 Muslims.

The 135-seat legislature is one of the most powerful legislative bodies in Spain thanks to autonomous status enjoyed by the northern region of Catalonia.

Spain has recognized Islam through the law of religious freedom, issued in July 1967.

Shayeb, of Moroccan origin, also urged the commission, headed by Mansour Escudero, to be "democratic" and choose its members through free elections.

"It is not acceptable that the commission’s members are still appointed by the government because it is not compatible with democratic Spain," he maintained.

"The people should have the final say on those who represent them."

The lawmaker said democracy will open the door for more Islamic bodies in Spain, like the Islamic Council in Catalonia, to be represented in the commission.

Shayeb said the government should help the commission translate theses recommendations into concrete steps and amend its bylaws.

His demands were echoed by an official at the Association of Immigrant Moroccan Workers (ATIME) in Spain.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the commission has not yet come out of its shell or realized that there is now a second and third generations, who think differently.

"It is very important for the commission or any Islamic organization or union to democratically choose its members."