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| Cordoba, the city with many faiths | Cordoba, the city with many faiths |
| (4 days later) | |
| The history of the Spanish city of Cordoba includes a period as an Islamic capital and later as the seat of the Spanish Inquisition, which brought persecution of Muslims and Jews, leaving it with a tangled legacy as David Edmonds reports. | |
| Tourists believe the cathedral in Cordoba is a mosque | Tourists believe the cathedral in Cordoba is a mosque |
| The security guards in the cathedral are everywhere. They patrol up and down the complex, keeping a suspicious eye on tourists and worshippers alike. | The security guards in the cathedral are everywhere. They patrol up and down the complex, keeping a suspicious eye on tourists and worshippers alike. |
| Just when you think you have escaped out of sight, one will appear from behind a pillar. | Just when you think you have escaped out of sight, one will appear from behind a pillar. |
| Stoop down in the wrong place to take a photo, and they will bundle you out of the door quicker than you can say "Hail Mary" - or perhaps "Salaam Aleikum". | Stoop down in the wrong place to take a photo, and they will bundle you out of the door quicker than you can say "Hail Mary" - or perhaps "Salaam Aleikum". |
| Cordoba is mixed up. Theologically befuddled. | Cordoba is mixed up. Theologically befuddled. |
| Whose preachers should give sermons here? Whose prophets should be revered? In this spiritual slug-fest, whose omnipotent God is more powerful? | Whose preachers should give sermons here? Whose prophets should be revered? In this spiritual slug-fest, whose omnipotent God is more powerful? |
| The tourist leaflet is unambiguous. Originally, the biggest building in Cordoba, was a church, it proclaims. And it is a Catholic cathedral again. It is run by the Church. | The tourist leaflet is unambiguous. Originally, the biggest building in Cordoba, was a church, it proclaims. And it is a Catholic cathedral again. It is run by the Church. |
| Naive tourists, clutching their guide books, have been turned away at the door for asking a simple, but to the guards, offensive question: "Is this the mosque?" | Naive tourists, clutching their guide books, have been turned away at the door for asking a simple, but to the guards, offensive question: "Is this the mosque?" |
| But it was a mosque. | But it was a mosque. |
| That is when the prayer police pounce | That is when the prayer police pounce |
| It was a mosque for hundreds of years. It was the second-largest mosque in the world. And with its marble and onyx columns, its arches and exquisite blue tiles, it still looks like a mosque. | It was a mosque for hundreds of years. It was the second-largest mosque in the world. And with its marble and onyx columns, its arches and exquisite blue tiles, it still looks like a mosque. |
| Yet, slap bang in the middle is a garish, gothic cathedral - plonked here by the Christians, who conquered Cordoba in the 13th Century. | Yet, slap bang in the middle is a garish, gothic cathedral - plonked here by the Christians, who conquered Cordoba in the 13th Century. |
| Every now and again, Muslims will furtively whip out mats, kneel and bow their heads to the floor. That is when the prayer police pounce. | Every now and again, Muslims will furtively whip out mats, kneel and bow their heads to the floor. That is when the prayer police pounce. |
| Many Muslims disapprove of these tactics, these worship raids. | Many Muslims disapprove of these tactics, these worship raids. |
| One says he would find it repugnant to pray so close to Christian iconography. | One says he would find it repugnant to pray so close to Christian iconography. |
| Abdul Barri, a shy, softly-spoken man in his 50s, objects because it causes friction between Muslims and the Christian community. | Abdul Barri, a shy, softly-spoken man in his 50s, objects because it causes friction between Muslims and the Christian community. |
| Cordoba was declared a world heritage site in 1984 | Cordoba was declared a world heritage site in 1984 |
| Abdul was actually born a Christian, but converted to Islam 30 years ago. He has embraced a culture as well as a creed. Dressed in flowing robes, he now runs a Middle-Eastern style coffee house, complete with little fountains and hubbly bubblies. | Abdul was actually born a Christian, but converted to Islam 30 years ago. He has embraced a culture as well as a creed. Dressed in flowing robes, he now runs a Middle-Eastern style coffee house, complete with little fountains and hubbly bubblies. |
| "When I heard about the last prophet," he said, "becoming Muslim seemed the logical thing to do." | "When I heard about the last prophet," he said, "becoming Muslim seemed the logical thing to do." |
| His devout Catholic mother had an injunction and a wish. | His devout Catholic mother had an injunction and a wish. |
| First, "do not tell anybody," she said. Second, "I want to kill you". | First, "do not tell anybody," she said. Second, "I want to kill you". |
| Near Abdul Barri's cafe, day-trippers are being offloaded from coaches. They emerge into the sun, rubbing their eyes, cameras at the ready, and prepare for several hours of resolute sight-seeing. | Near Abdul Barri's cafe, day-trippers are being offloaded from coaches. They emerge into the sun, rubbing their eyes, cameras at the ready, and prepare for several hours of resolute sight-seeing. |
| If there is one deity who really runs this place, it is the god of riches and avarice, Mammon. | If there is one deity who really runs this place, it is the god of riches and avarice, Mammon. |
| Jewish life | Jewish life |
| I pop into a souvenir store, a temple to poor taste, to buy the gaudiest item on sale - a paperweight of Cordoba's most gifted former citizen, the 12th-Century Jewish philosopher and sage, Maimonides. | I pop into a souvenir store, a temple to poor taste, to buy the gaudiest item on sale - a paperweight of Cordoba's most gifted former citizen, the 12th-Century Jewish philosopher and sage, Maimonides. |
| Maimonides lived during a golden age of Jewish life in Islamic Spain. | Maimonides lived during a golden age of Jewish life in Islamic Spain. |
| Now, there are more Maimonides paperweights in this store than there are Jewish people living in Cordoba. | Now, there are more Maimonides paperweights in this store than there are Jewish people living in Cordoba. |
| One of these is Jaime Casses - though, this being Cordoba, it is not quite as simple as that. Jaime faces scepticism from some of his fellow practitioners. | One of these is Jaime Casses - though, this being Cordoba, it is not quite as simple as that. Jaime faces scepticism from some of his fellow practitioners. |
| We meet next to the only synagogue in town, which, like the great mosque, survived the years of inquisition frenzy by being transformed into a church. | We meet next to the only synagogue in town, which, like the great mosque, survived the years of inquisition frenzy by being transformed into a church. |
| Jaime is an earnest young chap with a calling. He was baptised and confirmed into the Christian faith. But slowly he became aware of some curious practices in his family. | Jaime is an earnest young chap with a calling. He was baptised and confirmed into the Christian faith. But slowly he became aware of some curious practices in his family. |
| On a Friday, every Friday, his mother made a chickpea stew, similar to the Jewish recipe, Adafine. | On a Friday, every Friday, his mother made a chickpea stew, similar to the Jewish recipe, Adafine. |
| It is slow-cooked, so avoiding the need to prepare food on the Sabbath. | It is slow-cooked, so avoiding the need to prepare food on the Sabbath. |
| Jaime is convinced that he has descended from a Jewish family that was forced to convert in the 15th Century, and for 500 years they sustained aspects of the Jewish way of life. | Jaime is convinced that he has descended from a Jewish family that was forced to convert in the 15th Century, and for 500 years they sustained aspects of the Jewish way of life. |
| Now he is trying to revive Judaism in Cordoba. But it is surely as thankless a task as watering a dead plant. | Now he is trying to revive Judaism in Cordoba. But it is surely as thankless a task as watering a dead plant. |
| Visiting Jewish people are invited to his home for the religious holidays, but with no kosher deli in Cordoba, being Jewish takes dedication. | Visiting Jewish people are invited to his home for the religious holidays, but with no kosher deli in Cordoba, being Jewish takes dedication. |
| He sings a Jewish lament in a haunting tenor voice. Will he go through a Jewish conversion process? He shakes his mane of black curly hair. "Why should I? I am Jewish, whatever some old rabbi says." | He sings a Jewish lament in a haunting tenor voice. Will he go through a Jewish conversion process? He shakes his mane of black curly hair. "Why should I? I am Jewish, whatever some old rabbi says." |
| Tolerant utopia | Tolerant utopia |
| The visiting throng in Cordoba arrive knowing one thing about the city's past. | The visiting throng in Cordoba arrive knowing one thing about the city's past. |
| The period under Islamic rule was a utopia of tolerance, where Jews and Christians could co-exist and the three monotheistic faiths lived in blissful harmony. | The period under Islamic rule was a utopia of tolerance, where Jews and Christians could co-exist and the three monotheistic faiths lived in blissful harmony. |
| The tourist guides connive by handing out to these seekers of paradise a partial packet of history. The reality was more nuanced. | The tourist guides connive by handing out to these seekers of paradise a partial packet of history. The reality was more nuanced. |
| Cordoba is one of the most important cities in our history Jaime Casses | Cordoba is one of the most important cities in our history Jaime Casses |
| There was an era of relative leniency from the 10th Century, but with Christian armies re-conquering territory from the north, and fundamentalist Islam from the south, moderate Islamic rule soon descended into brutality and fanaticism. | There was an era of relative leniency from the 10th Century, but with Christian armies re-conquering territory from the north, and fundamentalist Islam from the south, moderate Islamic rule soon descended into brutality and fanaticism. |
| Even in the age when Jews and Christians could practise their faith in relative peace, they remained subservient to the ruling Muslims. Muslims could ride horses, others only donkeys. | Even in the age when Jews and Christians could practise their faith in relative peace, they remained subservient to the ruling Muslims. Muslims could ride horses, others only donkeys. |
| I feel confused in Cordoba. | I feel confused in Cordoba. |
| As I leave the city, past the church-synagogue, via the mosque-church, and across the bridge by the Museum of the Three Faiths, which celebrates this Orient in the Occident, I think about Abdul Barrie, the Islamic convert who worships in a new mosque, and Jaime Casses, the Christian-Jew determined to resuscitate Jewish life. | As I leave the city, past the church-synagogue, via the mosque-church, and across the bridge by the Museum of the Three Faiths, which celebrates this Orient in the Occident, I think about Abdul Barrie, the Islamic convert who worships in a new mosque, and Jaime Casses, the Christian-Jew determined to resuscitate Jewish life. |
| "Cordoba is one of the most important cities in our history," Jaime had told me. | "Cordoba is one of the most important cities in our history," Jaime had told me. |
| "So for me it is a duty." | "So for me it is a duty." |
| How to listen to: From Our Own Correspondent | How to listen to: From Our Own Correspondent |
| Radio 4: Saturdays, 1130. Second weekly edition on Thursdays, 1100 (some weeks only) | Radio 4: Saturdays, 1130. Second weekly edition on Thursdays, 1100 (some weeks only) |
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| Story by story at the programme website | Story by story at the programme website |
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