Excerpt:
Descendants of the Muslims who were kicked out of Spain in the 17th century have criticized the Spanish government for only granting citizenship to the country's former Jewish population, saying the move could be "racist".
Moriscos, meaning Moors in English, was the name given to the Spanish Muslims who decided to convert to Christianity to avoid expulsion under monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand in the early 1500s.
Although they were allowed to remain in Spain for over a century longer than their Jewish counterparts, King Philip III decreed the Expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609, forcing them all to flee to neighbouring Muslim North Africa.