Muslims ask to worship at Cordoba [Spain's Cordoba Cathedral........]

Al Jazeera ^

[Sub-Driver]

Muslims ask to worship at Cordoba More than a million of Spain's 44 million inhabitants are Muslims [GALLO/GETTY]

Spanish Muslims have written to the Vatican to demand the right to worship at Cordoba Cathedral.

Spain's Islamic Board wrote to Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, calling on him to grant them permission to worship in the cathedral, parts of which were built as a mosque during Spain's period of Islamic rule.

The group said in their letter: "What we wanted was not to take over that holy place, but to create in it, together with you and other faiths, an ecumenical space unique in the world which would have been of great significance in bringing peace to humanity."

They said that senior Spanish Catholic clergy had earlier rejected requests for Muslims to be allowed to prostrate themselves inside the Cathedral.

Mansur Escudero, the board's secretary general, said security guards often stop Muslim worshipers from praying at the old mosque.

He said: "There are reactionary elements within the Catholic Church, and when they hear about the construction of a mosque, or Muslim teachings in state schools, or about veils, they see it as a sign we are growing and they oppose it."

Mansur said Muslims came from around the world to see Cordoba's Cathedral, which is still commonly known as the Cathedral-Mosque.

[muawiyah]

If by Greek Orthodox you mean the broad masses of people who are Greek Orthodox, then that would indeed be something new under the Sun.

During the days of the Empire that facility was essentially a private chapel for the Emperor.

[longtermmemmory]

and in Hagia Sophia in Turkey, the Church is limited to being a "museum" but allowed to have the mosque wing used as a mosque.

This is about what is yours is ours and what is ours is ours.

[VeniVidiVici]

Kinda funny that Al-Jazeera didn't mention the Muslim uproar over even the possibility that the Pope would pray at the converted-to-mosque Hagia Sofia while visiting Istanbul.

Further proof this "religion" is a one-way street.

[muawiyah]

Check my post 81 just before yours. Common Greek Orthodox people NEVER worshipped there as you imagine.

[Convert from ECUSA]

I guess I don't have enough "charity", and am completely "politically incorrect", but if I were in the Vatican and got this type of letter my very swift reply would be: "Dear Muslims, regarding your request to perform your Islamic worship in Cordoba's Catholic cathedral - not only NO, BUT H*** NO!" Which is probably why I'll never be a Vatican official.

Bloody damn nerve they have, asking such a thing! With all the mosques going up everywhere like mushrooms after a rainstorm, you think they'd be satisfied. But then, they want the whole world to be Islamic, and under their Shaira (or whatever the heck it is) law.

[longtermmemmory]

I find no references to support your contention. True or not true.

The fact is that it is a Cathedral and not a mosque and thus should be restored to a church.

At the very least it should be used as a place of christian worship.

If you really oppose christianity that much then it should be turned over the Patriachate of the Greek Orthodox Church and allow them to perform services.

Somehow I don't follow the concept that the most beautiful Cathedral of the time would be used as a private chappel when it could be used to impress the masses.

The above article is an aljazeera special. They gloss over the fact that the moslems of spain want THAT Cordoba Cathedral as a symbol of reconquest. Once conquered by islam they don't want to let anything go from their death cult.

[Antoninus]

Spain's Islamic Board wrote to Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, calling on him to grant them permission to worship in the cathedral, parts of which were built as a mosque during Spain's period of Islamic rule.

Benedict's response (should be): "Sure thing...when Christians are allowed to pray in Hagia Sophia and the thousands of other Churches in Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, and North Africa which were converted to Islamic/secular use by their Muslim rulers. Get back to me, will you?

[virgil]

That's right. The muslims were definately out of their territory when they were in Spain. The other churches, like the church of St.Sophia, they got through conquest too. The Pope should say no unless Christians are granted reciprocity in churches like St. Sophia.

[Ghengis]

This is because they like the pews' rich corinthean leather? /obscure 1970s Ricardo Montalban reference

[muawiyah]

You don't follow the concept of Emperor of the Roman Empire either.

Yes, the Emperor had a chapel. There it is. Although I might well have qualified to attend services with him (assuming we lived at the same time), you probably wouldn't, nor would any non-noble, non-invited person.

You can find the references to how the building was used in virtually every history book that covers more than a few centuries of the history of the Byzantine Empire.

Over in a different building the Emperor also had a throne that was raised above the audience by invisible/unobervable cords. (I don't recall the exact material.) The effect was to make it seem that the Emperor could float in the air.

Now that impressed folks. Christ Pantocrator on the ceiling of his private chapel simply wasn't open for view by the broad masses.

The Byzantines were very fascistic, and believed by the Arabs to be the very model of how to run a government.

[muawiyah]

BTW, taking a good look at the Arian Christians who ruled Spain at the time of the Moslem invasion(s), an unbiased observer would have to suggest that the Roman Catholics had no more claim to Spain than did the Moslems.

Spain went from Roman Paganism to Arianism, to Islam, to Roman Catholicism over a very long period of time.

[Whispering Smith]

"Same people ~ two religions. This happened to the Serbo-Croations as well."
Are you attempting to compare the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic split to the Christian Mohammedan differences?

[muawiyah]

You were aware, of course, that the Serbo-Croations were "split" by several events ~ the division/redivision of the Roman Empire (and that is later reflected in the Roman/Orthodox dichotomy within Christian belief) AND, later on, by the Turkish invasions and conquests.

Some ended up Christian and some ended up Moslem.

In both senses, the Spanish historical situation is very comparable. First, due to changes in head of state (in the small kingdoms period, which is the greater part of Spanish history since the first Moslem conquest of the place), some ended up Christian and others ended up Moslem.

You probably thought I was going to equate one or the other of the two major brands of Christian ecclesiastical authority to the Moslems didn't you.

Remember that both Spain and the Balkans are "border regions" between and part of different ancient empires, language groups, and religious persuasions.