: After 500 Years, A New Mosque Opens In Granada, Spain

The opening of a new mosque in Europe shouldn’t necessarily make the news. After all, with over 15 million Muslims scattered throughout Europe, mosques are nothing new. But the opening of the New Mosque of Granada has a special symbolic value for Spanish Muslims, and has struck a nerve with some Spaniards who fear that this is the beginning of a reconquista of Muslim Spain. “This is the first mosque to be opened by Spanish Muslims in over 500 years,” Abdul Haqq Salaberria, a spokesman for the Islamic community in Spain. “We hope that Spaniards will understand… that we do not want to re-conquer al-Andalus, but we do want recognition.” The mosque is opening amid much fanfare on Thursday and after many years of struggle to get the project off the ground. The Granada Muslim community consists mainly of North African immigrants and European converts who encountered fierce opposition to the mosque project from locals who would paint “Moros Fuera” (Moors Out!) in the old Muslim quarter. And last year, when Muslims tried to pray Friday prayers in the ancient Cordoba Mezquita-Cathedral, there was an uproar as well. But this Friday, the adhan (call to prayer) will sound in this historic Islamic city for the first time in 500 years. “The mosque is to show it is not so strange to have Muslims in Spain,” said Abdul Haqq, a Basque convert to Islam. “We want to say we are as much Spanish as you are.”

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.