Muslims arrested for Trying to Pray in Córdoba’s Former Great Mosque
Muslims arrested for trying to pray in Córdoba’s former Great Mosque
Two Muslim tourists were arrested when they tried to pray inside Córdoba’s famous former mosque, breaking a ban imposed by the Roman Catholic Church.
Half a dozen Austrian Muslims knelt to pray at the same time in the vast marble building, which was converted to a cathedral in the 13th century after Muslims were driven from Spain.
Security guards stepped in and “invited them to continue with their tour or leave the building”, according to cathedral authorities.
When two refused a scuffle broke out and police were called. Two security guards were seriously injured. Spanish media, citing police sources, said that one of the Muslims arrested had been carrying a knife.
The two men who were detained were part of a group of 118 Austrian Muslims on an organised tour for young European Muslims. All bought tourist tickets for a tour of the cathedral on Wednesday.
The six who started to pray faced charges of disturbing public order when they appeared before a judge in Córdoba.
The clash happened as the building was filled with tourists visiting the cathedral during Holy Week when thousands flock to the town for the parades of penitents in coned hats and long robes carrying huge images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
In a statement Catholic authorities condemned the incident: “They provoked in an organised fashion a deplorable episode of violence.”
After being asked to stop praying, it added, “they replied by attacking security guards, two of whom suffered serious injuries”.
The Great Mosque of Córdoba was converted into a Christian church in 1236 after King Ferdinand III of Castile recaptured the city from the Moors. The building later became the modern-day Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption.
Muslim organisations have long campaigned for the right to pray inside the building, which was once one of the biggest mosques in the world.
However, Demetrio Fernández González, the recently appointed Bishop of Córdoba, reinforced a ban on Muslims praying in any part of the 24,000 sq m (260,000 sq ft) building, saying that canon law did not permit it.
A statement from the bishop’s office said: “The shared use of the cathedral by Catholics and Muslims would not contribute to the peaceful coexistence of the two beliefs.”
The Roman Catholic Church cited archaeological reports that said before the Mosque was built in the 8th century remains of an earlier Christian temple had stood on the same spot.
Despite the prayer ban, the rules have been bent for a number of high-profile Muslim dignitaries, as well as some notorious members of the faith.
Saddam Hussein and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi both stopped off at Córdoba to prey at the former mosque, which comprises 300 yellow and red arches and 1,300 columns.
Mansur Escudero, of the Junta Islamica group, which has been pressing for Muslims to be allowed to worship at the mosque, condemned the incident. He said: “Our organisation has made reiterated petitions in a peaceful way and from a strict respect for law so they would permit the shared ecumenical use of the temple. We would have avoided what happened yesterday.
“They publicise the building as a mosque because that brings in tourists but they do not allow the Muslims who pay money to go inside to pray.” He added that if a space were provided for Muslim prayers it would not convenience visitors or disturb the cathedral and could promote understanding between the two religions.
Alexander Osman, spokesman for the the Association of Young Austrian Muslims, said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to the Christian authorities for what happened.”
13 comments:
Hi .
The building was begun in approximately 600 AD as the Christian Visigothic church of St. Vincent. Thus even before Muhammed recieved his first "revelation "from God. Emir Abd ar-Rahman I bought the church, and he and his descendants reworked it over two centuries to refashion it as a mosque, starting in 784. Additionally, Abd ar-Rahman I used the mosque (originally called Aljama Mosque) as an adjunct to his palace and named it to honor his wife. According to some authors the church of St. Vincent was demolished after it was bought from the local Christian community.
When the Moors came, in 711, the church was razed and its materials incorporated in the Mezquita, the "Great Mosque" of Cordoba.
So at first it was a Christian Church!
Will.
Pastorius,
I'm sorry, I hate to be rude, but didn't you already cover this story here recently?
Heh.
Did I?
The stories are all starting to look the same to me, Damien.
"He added that if a space were provided for Muslim prayers it would not convenience visitors or disturb the cathedral and could promote understanding between the two religions."
um hmmm... Sure, Just ask Israel! The Muslims will not stop until they have swallowed the entire continent of Europe, and liberal multiculturalism will allow them to do it.
Excellent point, Will, but the Muslim agitators are impervious to such historical facts. They'll just invent some story about Muhammad flying on a winged horse there or something, like they did with Jerusalem.
B@stards - they claim the "right" to "PREY" (love that "misspelling" in the article BTW) where ever THEY want - but persecute JEWS who want to PRAY at the holiest place in the world for us - the Temple Mount.
May every Muslim admit to their hypocrisy and apostasy, soon and in our day....
Chag sameach v'shavua tov...
Silverfiddle,
If we were less politically correct society, someone would have asked these people about their hypocrisy and the police would arrest them when the Jihadists tried to kill them.
"He added that if a space were provided for Muslim prayers it would not convenience visitors or disturb the cathedral and could promote understanding between the two religions."
And if a Christian or Jew or Hindu or Zoroastrian or . . .name a non-Muslim entity who would request appropriate prayer accomodations be made in any local Muslim Community Center, Mosque, Masjid . . .whatever Islamic gathering place . . .the Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, Zoroastrian etc. can expect exactly what kind of reception from the Muslim community?
I'd expect the Muslim community would be quite insulted and upset to the point of crying racism or worse.
Pound sand Muslim.
Anonymous,
I agree they should asked these Muslims, what their opinion is on Muslim and Muslim countries not letting non Muslims use their houses of worship. Heck in Muslim countries, even Christians and Jews, which they sometimes refer to as people of the book, are not allowed to build new churches or synagogues. If the said Muslim doesn't have a problem with stuff like that when his fellow Muslims do it, and he demands to be allowed to pray at a non Muslim house of worship, he should be told to pound sand.
"didn't you already cover this story here recently?"
Don't you know all the major networks do reruns during holidays?
:)
I am sure this story is covered from time to time as these "riot-ish" encounters happen from time to time.
In fact, the Church of San Vicente Mártir (Saint Vicent Martyr) was the most important Christian temple of the city in the 6th century A.D. The Muslims, after hte conquest, imposed a division on it: one part was used for the islamic rites and another for the Christian ones, as long as taxes were payed on time. But the compromise wasn't fulfilled and the Christian-dedicated part was sometimes used for other civil purposes, such as the trial of the the "yemeníes"' leaders in their conflicts with the "muladíes".
You can see here some of the discovered ancient mosaics from the "Saint Vincent Martyr" Church, discovered in recent excavations.
In the end, it was not bought freely to Christians, but expropiated and later destroyed in 786 to build the mosque.
But the actual discussion is ridiculous. I mean, what would Turks do if an Orthodox Christian begins to pray in Haghia Sophia of Constantinople / Instambul, which was converted into a mosque after 1453 and is now a museum?
There are more photos here, from the Museum of Saint Vincent Martyr. Click on the images to see them on a greater scale.
Interesting that canon law prohibits Muslim 'preyer' in any part of the former mosque that was originally a church. Can we get a Church ruling on the Temple in Jerusalem that is now occupied by a mosque and Jews are prohibited from praying in?
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