Vatican Rebuffs Spanish Muslims

Once a Roman temple and then a Muslims mosque, the cathedral of Cordoba is important to both Christians and Muslims. Now some Spanish Muslims are asking for the right to pray there - and the Vatican regards this as trying to "take revenge" on the Catholic Church.

Giles Tremlett writes for the Guardian:

"We, too, want to live in peace with persons of other religions," Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, told the Vatican's AsiaNews agency. "However, we don't want to be pushed, manipulated and go against the very rules of our faith." Mgr Fitzgerald criticised the authorities of the southern Spanish city for lobbying to have the building, once one of the world's biggest mosques, opened to Muslim prayer.

"The Holy Father visited the Ummayade mosque in Damascus, praying in front of the tomb of St John the Baptist. But he did not ask to celebrate mass," he said. "One has to accept history and go forward." ... He admitted Muslims had prayed in the Vatican but "they do not lay claim to it".

Not wanting to have regular Muslim religious services there is quite understandable - but the idea that wanting to pray there at all qualifies as trying to "take revenge" is baffling. Why would anyone think such a thing? Perhaps if there were reports of Muslims stating that they intended to "take over" the cathedral and make it a mosque again, there would be some justification of the assertion. Otherwise, it's bizarre.

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