December 26, 2006

Muslims "Demand" Right To Worship At Cordoba

Yeah, that's right, "demand"! (h/t Gateway Pundit):
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.
Reactionary as in the state of Saudi Arabia, which bans all religions other than Islam and forbids churches or bibles or preaching? Or Mecca, which is a "Muslims-only" holy site?

What happened the last time the Muslims "entered" this area?
The Roman Catholic cathedral had originally been a mosque but was converted into a cathedral in the 13th century.

The mosque itself was built on the site of the earlier cathedral of St Vincent which was demolished by Cordoba's Muslim rulers following the Islamic invasion and occupation of parts of southern Spain in the eight century.

In December, Spain's Catholic Bishops Conference released a statement, quoted by newspaper ABC, saying it "did not recommend" Muslims prayed at the Cathedral and was not prepared to negotiate the building's shared use with other faiths.

Spain's last Muslim territory fell with the conquest of Granada in 1492 after almost eight centuries of Muslim rule.
Yet more "evidence" of Islam's "tolerance".

3 Comments:

Blogger Hyunchback said...

Where were these Muslims when the Muslim Turks were threatening this same pope in Turkey?

This makes me totally infuriated! When not in power Muslims want "tolerance" from other religions. When in something close to power they threaten the lives of those who aren't Muslim. When in total power they take lives of those who aren't Muslim or even if it isn't their flavor of Islam.

If Muslims want to pray at Cordoba then try handing over the Hagia Sophia, first!

http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/ibrahim120306.html

Tue Dec 26, 07:43:00 PM  
Blogger Van Helsing said...

Let's hope the Spanish show some backbone on this. So long as we keep stepping back, Muslims will keep pushing us.

Wed Dec 27, 07:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this story. It seems to me a microcosm of Islamists' larger vision to exploit "enlightened" liberal democratic sensibilities to their global advantage. I fear I am not as optimistic as your last commenter about the Spaniards' reaction. Perhaps it's because I'm currently reading Mark Steyn's _America Alone_.

Wed Dec 27, 12:36:00 PM  

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