Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba sparks debate

Listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1984, the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, located in Andalusia in southern Spain, has become the subject of discussion after the Catholic Church has laid claim to it.

The episcopacy of Cordoba removed the word "mosque" from the name of the ancient monument at the end of 2014, and named it only "the Cathedral of Cordoba" without announcing the change to any public administration. The episcopacy embezzled the mosque-cathedral in 2006 by taking advantage of the current Spanish laws.

Now an exhibition in which symbols of the church stand out is being held in the mosque-cathedral. It has been announced that Catholic symbols brought from 44 monasteries in Spain will be exhibited there for four months. Even though it is a social platform which has received support from many politicians from the autonomous Andalusian government (which is administrated by a left political party struggling against the regulations of the Catholic Church made for the Mosque–Cathedral of Cordoba), no progress has been made so far during negotiations with the episcopacy of Cordoba.

Federico Mayor Zaragoza, the former secretary-general of UNESCO and a member of the Alliance of Civilizations, has also criticized the attitude of the Catholic Church in a speech given to the Spanish press.

Zaragoza said that the aggressive attitude shown by the episcopacy of Cordoba toward the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, one of the most beautiful places representing interfaith tolerance, is threatening the "values of living together in peace." "If this attitude does not change, I will do my best so that everyone will know what's going on here. Besides, this situation might lead UNESCO to declare the [status of the] mosque-cathedral as a world heritage site to be in danger" he added. It has been said that the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, which received 1.4 million visitors and has been administered by a council of priests, received nine million euros from entrance tickets between January and November last year.

Built on the Catholic cathedral constructed by the Visigoths and dedicated to Saint Vicent, its conversion to a mosque began in 785 on the instruction of Emir Abd al-Rahman I, the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba was converted to a Catholic cathedral in 1236 after King Ferdinand III of Castille recaptured the region. Then many chapels were built inside the mosque structure in the following centuries.