Father of three-year-old terrorist victim hugs sobbing mosque leader

FOOTAGE of a mosque leader sobbing in the arms of a grieving dad whose child was killed in the Barcelona terror attacks has gone viral, and proven once again that Spain is above racism and stereotypes and is pulling together across the cultural divide following the tragedy.

The youngest victim of the van massacre on the Ramblas was Xavi, three, who fell out of his pushchair.

His mother was seriously injured and her uncle, Francisco – originally from Granada – was killed.

The family lives in Rubí (Barcelona province) and had been on a short break in the city when the tragedy rocked the nation on the afternoon of Thursday, August 17.

Xavi's father was videoed, a week on, walking out of Rubí town hall with the local Iman, or Muslim religious leader, each with his arm around the other.

On the steps, they fell into a close embrace, and the Iman burst into tears, crying into Xavi's father's shoulder.

The above photograph has been retweeted hundreds of times in the last 24 hours to show how Spanish society is an example of unity and solidarity, refusing to descend into knee-jerk Islamophobia in the wake of a terror attack as has been the case in other affected countries.

Spokeswoman for the Islamic association in Barcelona - the Ibn Battuta Foundation – Miriam Hatibi stresses that when DAESH-linked terrorist attacks are committed, for every 'westerner' killed, hundreds more Muslims perish.

Muslims are the primary victims of global Jihad terrorism, since far more of it happens in predominantly Islamic countries – although due to the ongoing conflict in these areas, they rarely hit the headlines as they are not as 'newsworthy' as those who lose their lives when attacks happen out of the blue in the peaceful west, Sra Hatibi says.