Ceuta, a sliver of land in North Africa, is an anomaly for Spain: a city where Muslims and Christians live in almost equal numbers.
asserted
Muslims → live → numbers
But a monthslong migration crisis in the exclave, which Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will visit on Tuesday, has exposed religious and ethnic fault lines in a place that bills itself as a beacon of coexistence.
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that → visit → coexistence
Others say the divisions were always there.
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divisions → say → ?
The crisis was triggered when about 80,000 people poured into the Spanish exclave in late July from neighboring Morocco, driven by rumors online that Spain had opened its border.
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Spain → trigger → border
Most of those who crossed left within days, but up to 15,000 migrants stayed, leaving the city under strain and pitting residents against one another.
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migrants → cross → one
The burden of the crisis has been shouldered unevenly
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burden → shoulder → crisis
Many migrants who remained in Ceuta have sheltered in Muslim neighborhoods, sleeping on streets, in doorways and makeshift tent camps and centers run by NGOs and locals.
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who → remain → NGOs
Residents say the chaos never ended for them and have grown frustrated.
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chaos → say → them
“What do they want? That we feed all of Ceuta?” asked Mohamed Susi, a resident of El Principe, a Muslim-majority neighborhood, in early October.
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Susi → want → October
Hundreds of migrant boys had gathered at a church next to his house before a visiting minister’s appearance.
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Hundreds → gather → appearance
“Find a solution already!” Susi said, slamming the door shut.
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Susi → find → door
Next to one of the city’s main mosques, volunteers and workers at a Muslim charity filled plastic to-go containers with stewed lentils and pasta on a late September day.
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volunteers → fill → day
Halima Ahmed, spokesperson for the Luna Blanca charity, said it has distributed between 3,000 and 5,000 meals per day to migrants still in the city.
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it → say → city
The volunteers and workers have received threats and insults for doing so, she said.
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she → receive → threats
“There’s tension,” Ahmed said.
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Ahmed → ’ → ?
“People are fed up with the situation.”
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People → feed → situation
Ceuta’s downtown, frequented by Christians and Muslims, regained a sense of normalcy within days of the initial rush.
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downtown → frequent → rush
People returned to restaurants, bars and open-air terraces.
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People → return → restaurants
Shops reopened.
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Shops → reopen → ?
But signs of the city’s discontent abound.
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signs → abound → discontent
Storefronts carry signs that read: “Ceuta stands its ground — Ceuta won’t give up!” while the flags of Spain and Ceuta hang from balconies.
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flags → carry → balconies
Spanish police and thousands of soldiers have been deployed, patrolling the city center and areas near the border.
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police → deploy → border
Residents have staged regular protests as the crisis persisted.
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crisis → stag → protests
At a demonstration outside the city government in early October, around 200 people demanded solutions from Spain’s left-wing national government.
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people → demand → government
Men and women draped in Ceuta’s black-and-white flag banged on pots and pans and expressed their dissatisfaction with what they described as the Spanish government’s slow response.
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they → drape → response
Francisco Luna, 45, the owner of an auto repair shop, said coexistence has been frayed.
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coexistence → say → shop
He described the atmosphere in one word: “terrible.”
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He → describe → word
Some Muslims in the city are protecting migrants, he said, which made him question their loyalty to Ceuta.
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him → protect → Ceuta
“We have always lived together well,” Luna said.
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Luna → live → ?
“Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus — we’ve never had any problems.
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we → have → problems
But now, I do see it, because there are Muslims who defend the (migrants) from Morocco.
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who → see → Morocco
Historic divisions run deep in Ceuta
Ceuta has belonged to Spain for centuries.
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Ceuta → run → centuries
Many are from the mainland, while most of the city’s Muslims trace their roots to Morocco.
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most → trace → Morocco
Many have relatives there and speak Moroccan Arabic.
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Many → have → Arabic
The city has smaller Jewish and Hindu populations.
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city → have → populations
The territory is poorer than much of Spain, and Muslims experience higher rates of poverty compared to the rest of the exclave, a 2025 report published by the Catholic charitable organization Caritas said.
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report → experience → organization
It reported that 44% of Muslim households were marginalized, compared to 28% of the city’s overall population.
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% → report → population
Some predominantly Muslim neighborhoods on the city’s peripheries, with narrow and steep mazelike streets, have high crime rates.
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neighborhoods → have → rates
Muslims and Christians frequent downtown shops, lively plazas and broad avenues, but the Muslim-majority neighborhoods see less mixing.
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neighborhoods → frequent → mixing
Local politician Mohamed Mustafa described the divisions as predating the most recent border crisis.
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Mustafa → describe → crisis
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
