Muslim demonstration inside cathedral was not offensive to Catholics, Spanish court rules
November 11, 2010
A Spanish court has ruled that forceful entry of Muslim demonstrators into Cordoba’s cathedral was not a violation of a law that provides punishment for offenses against religion. The March demonstration was merely a “public disorder,” the judge said.
The Muslims who attempted to hold a prayer service in the cathedral during Holy Week were not acting in opposition to the Catholic faith, the judge ruled. Rather, they were dramatizing their own plea for joint use of the building. Islamic activists are claiming that the Cordoba cathedral should be made available for Islamic as well as Catholic worship.
Cordoba's cathedral has long been a focus of tension between Catholics and Muslims. The building itself was once a mosque, which was remodeled and rebuilt for Catholic worship. The mosque in turn had been built on the site of an earlier cathedral that was demolished by Muslim invaders. The Catholic archdiocese has said that the building today is reserved for Catholic worship.
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Posted by: damian.riggs8445 -
Nov. 17, 2010 4:15 PM ET USA
Seems like some Islamic folks are confused...no, maybe it's the rest of the world. So tell me, seriously, is it Istanbul or Constantinople?
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Posted by: Defender -
Nov. 13, 2010 11:07 AM ET USA
Doesn't it seem as if the judiciary of the West have all collaborated when anything "Catholic" is adjudicated?
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Posted by: -
Nov. 12, 2010 3:09 AM ET USA
So if a group of Catholics walked into a mosque in Spain and insisted on a praying a Rosary, the authorities wouldn't arrest them for trespassing or anything else..right? I wouldn't bet on it.
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Posted by: Obregon -
Nov. 12, 2010 12:42 AM ET USA
If we, as Catholics, were to break into a mosque and be disruptive, will a court find our actions non-offensive?
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Posted by: Thomas429 -
Nov. 11, 2010 9:06 PM ET USA
???? I suppose we shouldn't expect anything better from the Muslims or the judiciary of any nation . . .
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Posted by: Chestertonian -
Nov. 11, 2010 6:30 PM ET USA
It seems to me a public disorder, so described, would need to take place on actual public property, such as on a street or in a public park. But the Cordoba cathedral is private property belonging to a religious entity, where a religious service was being conducted, and those disrupting the service were doing so in order to conduct another religious service. I don't think the facts support the judge's description, nor the decision. Interesting timing for the decision-just after the pope left.
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Posted by: stpetric -
Nov. 11, 2010 5:57 PM ET USA
This ruling is simply absurd. Forced entry followed by use of the cathedral for religious ceremonies predicated on beliefs that specifically contradict essential Christian teaching is most certainly offensive to *this* Catholic's sentiments.
