Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Sep 05, 2025

History of Great Mosque of Cordoba being rewritten by church, activists claim

History of Great Mosque of Cordoba being rewritten by church, activists claim

Roman Catholic authorities in the Spanish city of Cordoba have been accused of “diluting” Islamic history after a new visitor center at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption played down the building’s past use as a mosque.
A report by Demetrio Fernandez, the bishop of Cordoba, claimed “cultural reductionism” had led to even earlier Christian influences on the site prior to its conversion into the Great Mosque of Cordoba being whitewashed, giving the impression that the city’s history was more Muslim than Christian.

The site has been used as a cathedral since the city’s capture by forces from the Christian kingdoms of Leon and Castile in 1236. The iconic structure of the Great Mosque was constructed on the site of a Visigothic church in 756 by the Umayyads. Some scholars believe that the Visigothic church was itself built over an old Roman temple.

“The need to redesign the entire space derives from the finding that Cordoba is marked with a very powerful cultural label: that of a Muslim city,” Fernandez wrote in his report.

“The cultural reductionism is so strong that it has the capacity to eclipse the brilliant Visigoth, Roman and Christian past, rich in artistic manifestations, which has left indelible traces in the history and the current culture of the city.”

Earlier this month, the Spanish government formally recognized the cathedral as being the property of the Roman Catholic Church, following years of debate over its future, including demands by local Muslim groups to use it for prayers.

Spanish newspaper El Pais called Fernandez’s report, and the Catholic Church’s plans for the framing of the site, an “offensive against the indisputable and evident Islamic influence of the entire monumental ensemble.”

Jose Miguel Puerta, professor of art history at the University of Granada, told the Times: “It is good to value and highlight the Jewish or Christian past of Cordoba and the mosque, but not to the detriment or at the cost of concealing the Islamic side, which, moreover, is impossible because it is the reflection of the greatest moment of splendor of the city.”

The Plataforma Mezquita-Catedral activist group, meanwhile, claimed the bishop was “diluting” the site’s Muslim past.

Fernandez has courted controversy over Cordoba’s history before, saying in 2017: “In reality, the Umayyads, the caliphs, had neither their own architects nor created a new art — it is not Muslim art.

“They went for their Christian countrymen from Damascus and brought them to Cordoba. But the art is not Muslim. It is Byzantine…the Moors only put in the money.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
×