I thought hutzpah was a yiddish word

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-25-2003
I thought hutzpah was a yiddish word
24
Mon, 04-19-2004 - 8:29pm
Muslims want to pray in Catholic cathedral

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

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2003
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 10:05am
>>As far as Catholicism goes, I'm not an expert on it having never considered it for my own path. However, considering all the old and revered Catholic churches and cathedrals around the world, I think some might disagree with you.<<

Well, there are a lot of sites in the world that used to be Catholic churches and are no longer - I don't think the Vatican is set on reclaiming them (Hagia Sophia is a major one).

Catholic churches are consecrated and are considered sacred spaces - this is not true of Protestant Christianity, which may not necessarily have an issue with sharing space.

However, to allow Muslims to pray at a Catholic altar would be in violation of their faith.

And I'm still a little confused as to why they would even want to.

I think whren makes a good point - if Spanish Muslims want access to a Catholic church for prayer, why not open a mosque as a gesture of goodwill?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 2:48pm

I honestly have no problem with that.


iVillage Member
Registered: 07-25-2003
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 5:14pm
<< IMHO, ALL sides could make a huge difference it they just showed tolerance and respect towards one another's beliefs.>>

Agreed, but the timing and location also need to be considered, and it needs to be handled with a bit of finesse and a gernerous and humble spirit.

A good example of how to bring the faiths together is Thanksgiving Square. The city of Dallas built this beautiful park and chapel to promote the spirit of Thanksgiving. Of course it is non-denominational and interfaith. There is a Protestant communion and a Muslim prayer service there weekly. Everyone is welcome to come in to pray or meditate during the day. Groups of all faiths may hold events and meetings, and the interfaith council sponsors an annual Friendship Among Faiths conference and other events and educational programs designed to explore commonalities and build bridges between all faiths and cultures.

In that spirit, it was this council that was behind the establishment of a National Day of Prayer modeled on the one the Constitutional Convention called for when they asked the people to pray for the country and for God's guidance as they conducted the government's business. It was conceived of as a companion to Thanksgiving--in the spring Americans pray to ask for God's protection and blessings, and in autumn they give thanks for His blessings.


http://www.thanksgiving.org/


IMO, this is the way to go about promoting unity and understanding between different faiths, and what is going on in Spain is a transparent selfish desire to re-establish a Muslim presence in a historic mosque.

PS

For several presonal reasons, I used to think that if I were to ever get married, I'd want to do it at Thanksgiving Square, but they are no longer holding weddings. :(




Edited 4/26/2004 9:28 pm ET ET by wrhen

Renee

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 04-26-2004 - 9:02pm

There are interfaith get-togethers at different sites (churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.) here as well.


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