Two Muslims, who broke a ban on Muslim prayers at the cathedral in Cordoba, were arrested and two Spanish guards injured after a fight broke out between police and tourists.
Whilst the city was celebrating Easter Week, six members of a group of 118 Muslim tourists visiting the cathedral knelt to pray in defiance of the ban and were promptly ordered to stop by security guards.
As they refused to stop praying, they were ‘invited to continue with their visit or leave the cathedral’ after they refused to stop praying, the Cordoba’s bishop's office said in a statement.
The security guards then called in police, who were attacked by the visiting Muslim tourists. Two policemen were injured and two of the Muslim tourists were detained.
Spanish media, citing police sources, said that one of the Muslims arrested had been carrying a knife.
‘They provoked in an organised fashion a deplorable episode of violence,’ the statement said, adding ‘this was a one time incident that does not represent the genuine Muslim identity as there are many who display attitudes of respect and dialogue with the Catholic Church.’
‘We deplore the damage done to the image of our city and to the peaceful coexistence of visitors and citizens. We hope and desire that this type of incident will not repeat itself in the future,’ it added.
The building had originally been a Visigothic church, prior to being converted to a mosque by muslim invaders. It was converted back into a Christian church in 1236 after King Ferdinand III of Castile recaptured the city from the Moors. Demetrio Fernández González, the recently appointed Bishop of Córdoba, reinforced a ban on Muslims praying in any part of the 24,000sq m (260,000sq ft) building, saying that canon law did not permit it.
A statement from the bishop’s office said: ‘The shared use of the cathedral by Catholics and Muslims would not contribute to the peaceful coexistence of the two beliefs.’