I thought hutzpah was a yiddish word
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| Mon, 04-19-2004 - 8:29pm |
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/19/1082357118088.html
Muslims across Spain are lobbying the Catholic church in Cordoba to make a symbolic gesture of reconciliation between faiths by allowing them to pray in the city's cathedral.
Cordoba's Renaissance-era cathedral sits in the centre of a 10th century mosque complex, and local Muslims want to be allowed to pray there again. They have appealed to the Vatican to intercede on their behalf.
Zakarias Maza, director of a mosque in neighbouring Granada, said: "We hope the Vatican will give a signal that it has a vision of openness and dialogue.
"Cordoba has been a symbol of the union of three cultures for centuries. Even now, Jews and Muslims live together with Christians in the neighbourhood around the mosque."
The number of Muslims in the south of Spain is growing as a result of immigration from north Africa and Spaniards converting. Cordoba has about 500 Muslims, too many for the present mosque.
A spokesman for the local bishop said that the proposal faced many obstacles and it would be many years before it came to anything. The proposals have also provoked anger from some Catholics. "Will Christians be able to pray in the mosques of Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran or Kuwait?" demanded one contributor to a Catholic website.
Muslims are going out of their way to portray the proposals as a union, and not a clash of faiths.
Nowadays, Cordoba is a small provincial capital, but 1000 years ago it was one of the great cities of the world. As the capital of Moorish Spain, it became one of Islam's holiest places and a centre of Islamic art and scholarship to rival Baghdad.
The original mosque was built in the eighth century, following the conquest. It was expanded by successive generations of rulers until the Christians took the city again in the 13th century.
With its hundreds of marble columns and distinctive red-and-white brickwork, the mosque is considered one of Moorish Spain's greatest legacies.
It stands at the heart of a UNESCO world heritage site.
The addition of the cathedral was only the most recent change of use for a site that has seen the ebb and flow of the world's great religions.
The Guardian

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Considering it's history, it should be open to any and all who wish to pray there.
But why do they want to pray inside the mosque? Isn't it full of the sort of imagery that is forbidden in Islam?
What does this 'complex' consist of? Can they build a mosque next door?
>"It would be great if all could share that space with respect."<
ITA
And you think within weeks of Islamofacists killing hundreds of people and ranting about the second conquest of Spain is the time for Muslims to demand access to a Spanish church in the name of 'reconciliation' and 'unity?'
Here's a thought. Why don't the Spanish Muslims invite Jews and Christians into their mosques in the name of reconciliation, unity, and hospitality, and then wait for the invitation to be returned.
Renee
Catholic churches are maintained and supported by the Catholic faithful for the purpose of Catholic religious practice. They are not a multipurpose space.
"Zakarias Maza, director of a mosque in neighbouring Granada, said: "We hope the Vatican will give a signal that it has a vision of openness and dialogue."
I take the phrase "openness and dialogue" to mean "ready to make concessions when requested".
Read the blurb below and find the quote "reclaim a part of their history" as one of the intentions of the Muslims who want to use the Cathedral for Muslim prayer.
If Spain permits Muslims to "reclaim" sites after a 500 year absence, they will have a Holy War a la Jerusalem on their hands. I think this is a disasterous idea.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1852971.stm
"Controversy came when a group of about 20 delegates, men and women, insisted
on praying inside Cordoba's Great Mosque, which was converted to a Catholic
cathedral in the 13th century.
As they bowed to Mecca, security guards moved in to break up the gathering,
saying it was forbidden for Muslims to pray within the property of the
Catholic Church.
Worshippers said they wanted to reclaim a part of their history.
Some said it had been 500 years since such an event had taken place in the
Cordoba mosque.
While that may not be true, it was clearly an emotional moment, leaving some
of the participants in tears."
<mature enough to handle them...sigh...
Miffy
I hear that!!! Do you ever wonder how many problems and deaths could be avoided if religion didn't exist in modern times?
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