Spain Cathedral Refuses Muslim Requests to Form 'Ecumenical Temple'

The Roman Catholic bishop of Cordoba in Spain has rejected an appeal from Muslims asking to be allowed to pray in the city's cathedral.

Juan Jose Asenjo rejected the request for Muslims to use the Cathedral, a former mosque, which was made by Spain's Islamic Board in a letter to the Pope.

The Islamic Board had asked for the cathedral to become an ecumenical temple where believers from all faiths could worship. However, the bishop of Cordoba said the proposed move would not help to pave the way for the peaceful co-existence between people of different religions.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the bishop explained that the joint use of temples and places of worship would only generate confusion amongst the faithful.

Shared use of places of worship could make sense in airports or an Olympic village, but not in a consecrated Catholic cathedral, the bishop emphasised.

Spain's Islamic Board, represents a small community of some 800,000 in the traditionally prominent Catholic country of 44 million. They had taken the argument to the pope saying that the move in Cordoba could serve to "awake the conscience" of followers of both faiths and help bury past confrontations.

The letter stated, "What we wanted was not to take over that holy place, but to create in it, together with you and other faiths, an ecumenical space unique in the world which would have been of great significance in bringing peace to humanity," according to the BBC.

The board's general secretary, Mansur Escudero, said Muslims came from around the world to see Cordoba's cathedral, but Muslim worshippers were often told not to pray inside the Christian Cathedral, which is no longer a mosque.

The Cordoba mosque was turned into a Catholic cathedral in the 13th Century after the city was conquered by King Ferdinand III.