Posted on 01/04/2007 4:18:49 AM PST by ovrtaxt
Few buildings are as emblematic of Europe's Muslim past as the Great Mosque in Cordoba.
The southern Spanish city was once the capital of Moorish Spain, where the mosque was promoted as the third Islamic pilgrimage site after the Kaaba of Mecca and the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
Declared a United Nations World Heritage Site in 1984, the stunning mosque pays tribute to the architectural and artistic achievements of Muslim Spain, which also shone as a beacon of science and scholarship in 10th-century Europe.
Cordoba residents still often call the building "mezquita" (mosque), though it has in fact been used as a cathedral since the 13th century when Christian troops conquered the city from the Moors.
A mysterious dim light typical of Catholic churches now surrounds the forest of pillars ending in red-and-white-striped arches, which has been compared to a Muslim tent in the desert.
A Catholic altar, a choir stall and chapels have been erected inside, mingling with Islamic features such as the mihrab or prayer niche.
So who does the building, with a prayer hall measuring 23,400 square metres, belong to?
Is it the heritage of Arab-Berber-Spanish Moors, who ruled large parts of Spain for some 800 years and for whom emir Abd ar-Rahman I started building it in the 8th century?
Or does it belong to Christians, who completed their Reconquest of Spain from the Moors in 1492 and whose King Charles V financed the mosque's definitive conversion into a cathedral in the 16th century?
Until recently, few Spaniards questioned the Catholic Church's exclusive use of the building, but the arrival of some 800,000 mainly Moroccan Muslim immigrants over the recent years has raised new questions about the sanctuary.
Thousands of Spaniards have also reclaimed their Muslim roots, converting to Islam in cities such as Granada, once a Moorish stronghold.
Mansur Escudero, a convert who heads Spain's Islamic Board, prayed in front of the mosque recently to claim Muslims' right to use it for prayer.
The board has written to Pope Benedict XVI, proposing that the mosque be turned into an ecumenic temple where Christians, Muslims and representatives of other religions could pray together and "bury past confrontations."
It has sent a similar letter to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
Spain's Islamic organizations have distanced themselves from Osama bin Laden's call on Muslims to "reclaim Al-Andalus," the traditional name for Moorish Spain.
They condemned the 2004 Madrid train bombings, staged mainly by Moroccan Islamists, which killed 191 people.
The mosque, a building with an "enormous symbolic power," could show the way for a "universal spirituality," Audalla Conget, secretary of the Islamic Board, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview.
"Spain could be the key that opens the door to peace," he says, recalling the Moorish period when Christians, Muslims and Jews lived in a relative harmony.
After the Reconquest, however, Spanish identity was largely based on a militant brand of Catholicism as a sign of differentiation from Islam.
It is only recently that Spaniards have begun toning down traditions which could be offensive to Muslims, for instance removing a statue of Saint James "the Moorslayer" from Santiago de Compostela cathedral.
Some villages have modified traditional plays or spectacles in which "Christians" kill "Moors."
Ricardo Blazquez, the head of Spain's Episcopal Conference, initially showed sympathy towards the idea of Muslims praying at the Cordoba mosque, but the conference quickly issued a statement saying he had not authorized any Islamic prayers at the cathedral.
Cordoba bishop Juan Jose Asenjo rejected the Islamic Board's request, saying joint use of the temple would confuse believers and promote religious indifference.
The Vatican has rejected earlier petitions by Muslims to pray at the Cordoba mosque, but Conget was hopeful that Benedict XVI would have a more favourable attitude.
The Cordoba bishop's negative answer contrasts with "interesting gestures" by the pope, such as praying at an Istanbul mosque, he said.
A spokeswoman at the Cordoba bishop's office declined to comment, saying the office had "nothing to add" to what the bishop said earlier.
By Sinikka Tarvainen
© 2007 DPA
How about we make a deal: we'll give them freedom of worship in all lands we control and give back every mosque that was ever converted into a church or synagogue, when they give us freedom of worship in all lands they control and give back every church or synagogue that was ever converted into a mosque.
No takers? Are those crickets I hear?
Yes, and it's also a fact that Allah was a minor Bedouin deity before he started talking to the demon possessed Mohammed, convincing him that he was the new YHWH.
“How about we make a deal: we’ll give them freedom of worship in all lands we control and give back every mosque that was ever converted into a church or synagogue, when they give us freedom of worship in all lands they control and give back every church or synagogue that was ever converted into a mosque.”
I think that is a great idea! Not that I’m gonna hold my breath waiting...
Who knows, maybe the cricket will learn to speak Arabic?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.