The Spanish police announced on Thursday that they have arrested a mosque imam and Arabic language teacher, aged 44, who exploited his position to "spread extremism among minors" and recruit potential members for the ISIS organization.

The police stated that the suspect was arrested on November 29 as a result of an investigation that began last year after revealing his connections to "jihadist ideology" and his attempts to instill this doctrine in minors.

The authorities accuse the man, who worked at a mosque in Madrid, of "exploiting his role as a teacher to spread extremist ideas among his minor students and recruit potential members for ISIS."

They added that the detainee presented "a violent perspective of religion using the language of major jihadist terrorist organizations."

They also noted that "he praised, in his talks, the idea of the suicide bomber as a legitimate character in the war against Jews, Christians, and apostates... and expanded on these theories in his lessons as an example of behavior that all Muslims should follow."

The suspect used to lead prayers and teach at a mosque in Madrid, but he was forced to step down after what he was doing became known to his community.

The police also indicated that afterwards "he left the mosque and continued his activities in more private places."

It is noteworthy that since 2015, Spain has been at level four alert, and the country witnessed in August 2017 its last major attack when extremist youths from Morocco ran over pedestrians in Barcelona and a nearby coastal town, resulting in 16 deaths and 150 injuries.

Spain experienced its deadliest attack on March 11, 2004, when extremists inspired by the ideology of Al-Qaeda detonated four trains in Madrid, killing 191 people and injuring about 2000.