Spain: Muslims continue demand for joint-use of Catholic churches

Spain: Muslims continue demand for joint-use of Catholic churches Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Cordoba, Spain, affirmed on June 12 that any "joint use" by Muslims wishing to worship at the Catholic cathedral in that city is but "a euphemism that means: Catholics, get out! We will not leave, except if we are kicked out, since for 16 centuries there has been Christian worship here." The cathedral, part of which was a mosque for several hundred years until the late 1400s, has been a Catholic place of worship ever since; it is regarded as one of the architectural gems of Europe. This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog - islamineurope.blogspot.com Muslim rights groups have been demanding that the Catholic Church allow Muslims to use the space once again as a mosque in an as yet determined joint use agreement. Bishop Fernandez added, "therefore, the answer to the question about joint use is, no, we will not leave because in this place the Catholic Church has existed for 16 centuries while the Muslims have been here but four and a half centuries." Nonetheless, the bishop said that the Church maintains a good relationship with Muslims and is constantly seeking "peace, justice, and coexistence of nations; that is one thing, but it is quite another to share the same temple for worship, which is impossible." Indeed, said the bishop, sharing the catedral is not possible "neither on the part of Muslims since Muslims do not allow a shared temple, and neither do we Catholics." Speaking on a Friday, the bishop pointed out that it is important "to know, that where Muslims pray, no one else may pray, which is to say, if I permit Muslims to pray in the Cordoba Cathedral, we could go the day after tomorrow; then, to permit the Muslims to pray in the Cathedral is equivalent to telling Catholics to saying goodbye and good night, and that would be irresponsible." Bishop Fernandez averred that "some things may be shared and others are not; and the Cathedral of Cordoba is not to be shared with Muslims."   (more) Source: Spero News (English)