http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,,1979139,00.html Pope asked to let Muslims pray in cathedral · Córdoba's former mosque 'must be open to all faiths' · Letter follows Islamic anger over papal remarks Dale Fuchs in Madrid Thursday December 28, 2006 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/> The Guardian An organisation of Spanish Muslims has asked Pope Benedict XVI for permission to worship alongside Christians in the former Great Mosque of Córdoba, an elegant vestige of Moorish rule that was turned into a cathedral in the 13th century. In a letter sent on Christmas Day to the Pope's ambassador in Spain, the Spanish Islamic Board requested that the world heritage site - known for its red and white arches and often filled with more tourists than worshippers - be opened for prayer by all religions as a model of tolerance and a way to foster inter-faith dialogue. It was timed to capitalise on the Pope's recent goodwill gestures to defuse Muslim anger after he quoted disparaging remarks by a 14th-century Christian emperor about the Prophet Muhammad, said the president of the Islamic Board of Spain, Mansur Escudero. "We invite you to create a new example, to send a message of hope to the world," says the letter, which was published yesterday on the Spanish Muslim website Webislam. "Do not fear. Together we can show the violent, the intolerant, the anti-semites, the Islam-phobes and also those who believe that only Islam has a right to remain in the world, that prayer is the strongest weapon imaginable." Mr Escudero told the Guardian: "I believe there is a new climate of understanding. He is rectifying his position, and this is the right moment to make the bid. It would be a message of humanism that could have positive repercussions." The letter refers to the Pope's visit last month to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, where he removed his shoes and prayed beside the city's Grand Mufti, Mustafa Cagrici. "Our proposal does not fit within a framework of false dialogue, as the Spanish Catholic Bishops' Conference claims, but it is inspired by the optimism caused by the image of Your Holiness in the Blue Mosque saying a prayer shoulder to shoulder in Islamic style." The Spanish Muslims, the letter says, do not intend to take control of the building or "recover a nostalgic Al Andalus", the name for the large part of modern Spain that was under Islamic rule from the 8th century for about seven centuries. Rather, they seek to restore the "spirit of Al Andalus", as Mr Escudero put it, when Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed in relative harmony. This is not the first time the organisation, made up mainly of Spanish Catholics who converted to Islam, has broached the subject with the Vatican. In 2004, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue rejected a similar request, leaving the decision to Spanish church authorities, who oppose Muslim prayer at the cathedral. The former mosque, built in the 8th century on the site of Visigoth church and a Roman temple, was once the second largest in the world. It was the jewel of the Muslim caliphs who ruled Córdoba when this small provincial capital was an international centre of scholarship. The mosque was expanded by successive rulers until the 13th-century Christian reconquest, when it became a cathedral. Today the dark paintings of saints contrast with the stark rows of marble columns installed by caliphs. The mihrab, a stucco-decked prayer niche in the wall facing Mecca, is usually flanked by tour groups with video cameras. Any member of Spain's growing Muslim community who kneels to prayer before the mihrab will be scolded by a church security guard. "It's scandalous," Mr Escudero said. Will his letter reach the Pope's inbox? He is certain that it will. The Pope's ambassador in Spain has confirmed receipt and emailed it to the Vatican, he said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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