The opening of the Great Mosque of Granada has brought into sharp focus the issue of Islam in Spain. Omayma Abdel-Latif looks into a complicated relationship "You went to faraway snows where pomegranate trees had not yet bloomed and where rest was the battle. You probably felt the words of a marvelous adventure, work of unsuspected palaces, sacrificed dedication to the brothers of Islam, discovery of cultural pleasures, unsuspected social patronage. You probably had a premonition of alchemist's gold, of the superb silhouette of the pure-bred horse, of the sensual and fanciful power of water and its architecture of classical wisdom and empirical knowledge of nature. You left me alone, but I hope your spirit will build this unending feast for centuries to come." --Al-Hayzar Ibn Mardanix Al-Gharnathi, a writer from Arjuna Al-Harf, a town north of Andalusia, bidding farewell to Muhammed Al- Ahmar who was heading south to Granada. On the eve of the first mosque opening in Granada since the completion of the Christian Reconquista some five centuries ago, Khalil Al- Saghir, a Lebanese American who lives in Dearborn, Michigan, wrote an e-mail to a friend commenting on the event. "Watching the ceremony on TV yesterday morning, something between dizziness and intoxication crept into my head and down to my joints. I saw, through the fog of memories, Abu Abdullah (Boabdil), the last defeated Andalusian king, gathering those who survived the siege of Granada on that cold night of 2 January 1492, before ending eight centuries of dazzling Arab civilisation on the northern shores of the Mediterranean. It was black and white, crosses everywhere as if the whole Iberian peninsula was turned into an endless crusade cemetery. We were salty from tears and waves, shameful and utterly orphaned," Al-Saghir wrote. "Fast-forward 511 years; we are still very much shameful and orphaned. But out of all the miseries, exiles and defeats, slivers of light are puncturing this suffocating darkness every now and then, declaring that the dawn is near." To some, Al-Saghir's words might seem a romanticised appeal to an idealised past, an eschatological reminder of the final chapter of Muslim Al-Andalus or even a brilliant epilogue to the rich history of Islam in the Iberian peninsula. But to others, those words faithfully reflect the sentiments that were felt across many parts of the Muslim world upon hearing that the muezzin's call to prayers will again sound in Granada. For this was the seat of rule for the last Muslim kingdom in Spain. It was the city which stood witness to a fall from grace that ushered in a new period of Muslim weakness and decay whose impact is felt to this very day. Given the current suspicion that falls upon all things Islamic in particular parts of Europe and in the West in general, the opening of the Great Mosque in Granada last month could not have been more timely. Spanish Muslims, who have struggled to bring this mosque into being, are pinning great hopes on its service as a reminder of the Muslim contribution to the Western civilisation. Spanish converts who supervised the construction spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly of a mosque that is going to be "the centre for the revival of Islam in Europe", while others stressed that the opening signals "the return of Islam to Spain". It is precisely these references to the renewal and recognition embodied in the mosque that are at the heart of a heated public debate about Islam currently taking place in Spain. Last month's opening was the culmination of a process that brought into focus the complicated relationship between the Spanish state, its Islamic legacy and the almost one million Muslims that live in Spain. THE MAKING OF A MOSQUE: Some argue that the story of how the Granada mosque itself came into existence is the most recent living example of the difficulty with which Islam is handled in contemporary Spain. It took 22 years for the project, which was plagued with controversies, to be realised. Yusuf-Idris Martinez, a Spanish convert who works as a researcher in the Escuela de Estudios Arabes (School of Arabic Studies) in Granada considers the opening of the mosque "a miracle". "The event is remarkably historical and it invokes certain emotions for the Muslim people of this land," Martinez told the Weekly. "Many of the Granada Muslims were not sure that this project would finally materialise." But materialise it has, and on a grand scale. The Great Mosque of Granada is built on 2,100 square metres and looks out onto the once highly symbolic Alhambra Palace. The land was bought in Albayzin, an area that represents the urban essence of Andalusia, with financial backing mainly from Libya, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Construction was supervised by the Muslim Association of Spain, one of the two most prominent Islamic Organisations in Spain. In 1996 the cornerstone was laid and some seven years later, on 10 July, the mosque was officially inaugurated. The landscape of the mosque was designed by the Spanish architect Renato Ramerath in harmony with typical Granadan architecture. It is made up of three main sections: the mosque which can accommodate up to 400 worshippers at a time, the cultural centre and the gardens' area. The construction of the mosque was not -- in any way -- smooth sailing. In a lengthy account published on the mosque's inauguration, Marcos Garcia Rey, director of the International News Service in the Spanish News Agency wrote about the seemingly insurmountable hurdles which were laid in the path of construction. Quoting abundantly from some of the Muslims who have been involved in the project since its inception, Rey's account captures the frustration and the pressures many of those involved came under to make the mosque a reality. Several planning proposals were turned down by the authorities, objections were constantly raised about the layout of the mosque and the design and height of the minaret. An ensuing public row resulted in strong opposition from both official and popular Spain against the construction of the mosque. The most difficult challenge according to Martinez, was to get the licence from the local government, which is controlled by the right-wing People's Party (PP), to use the land for religious purposes. "The PP has tried for years and years to delay the project by constantly asking for changes to be made in the project; for example, they made a big fuss about the height of the minaret and insisted that it should not exceed 14 metres in height," Martinez told the Weekly. At one point, the construction of the mosque evoked the ire of the local population and manifestations of religious tension among Granada's population began to take their toll on the Muslim community in the city. A campaign was launched by the Catholic Association to protest against the construction of the mosque. Some members argued that Granada did not need a mosque because, according to Martinez, they claimed "it was a Christian City". Also, some nuns from a nearby convent asked for the mosque to be relocated because it was too close to the convent. The opposition to the mosque expanded to include large sections of the neighbouring population of Granada who feared that their quarter would be "filled with Arabs who would come to pray", as one Spanish Muslim put it. While the opposition to the mosque eventually waned and locals began to accept its presence in their midst, the many implicit questions this opposition raised about the future of Islam in a land once witness to one of its richest historical epochs -- a remarkable period of florescence in the general history of civilisation as well -- remain unanswered. MUSLIMS IN SPAIN: Observers of European Islam argue that the controversies which surrounded the construction of the mosque in Granada must be seen within the general context of Islam in Spain. One argument suggests that unlike other European countries where Muslim communities obtained many rights, Spain is still lagging far behind in terms of handling its Muslim population. The contention here is that the military encounters between Christians and Muslims during the Reconquista become the dominant element when history is invoked, thus making it difficult for the country and the people to accept the Islamic component as part of its culture and heritage. Bernardino Leon, director of La Fundación Tres Culturas del Mediterraneon (The Foundation of the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean), a cultural foundation concerned with the promotion of the Andalusian heritage, does not agree with this line of thought. Instead he argues that Spain is keen on celebrating its Islamic heritage by citing the many cultural foundations set up by the Spanish government to promote the Moorish heritage and serve as a bridge between Spain and its Muslim neighbours. Leon expressed astonishment at the euphoria which accompanied the inauguration of the Granada mosque. "People talk as if this is the first mosque to be built in Spain," Leon stated. "There are many mosques already open in the area of Al-Andalus and the rest of Spain. In Granada itself there are a few of them. In my town Seville there are at least six mosques." Martinez maintains the uniqueness of the Granadan mosque. He explained that there are only a few proper mosques in Spain. There are indeed "small rented locations" that are used as makeshift mosques and are run by small groups of immigrants. These places, he explained, could not be considered proper mosques. Leon acknowledged, however, that Spain has only made dramatic ovations to reconcile with its Islamic legacy during the past quarter century. "One could interpret the opening of the mosque in Granada as yet another step to impress upon the local population the importance of this religion for the Spanish people and for Granada," he added. According to Spanish law Islam is recognised as "an historic religion" and the second religion of Spanish nationals in the country. Leon does not accept the argument that Spain is lagging behind some of the European countries in terms of the rights bestowed upon the Muslim population. He makes a case that Spain's relationship between the dominant national culture and Islam is unique to Europe, citing a section from Edward Said's Orientalism that argues that Islam is a part of Spain's national culture. The picture from the Muslim side contradicts Leon's view. Abdel-Hakim Vasquez, a doctoral student at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, who converted to Islam at the age of 16, believes that both the official and popular Spanish view marks Muslims and Islam as foreign. Vasquez believes that there is a two-tier Islam developing in Spain. "There is the traditional mainstream Islam of the poor immigrant masses which -- on the whole -- is the same Islam one finds in the local mosques in Rabat, Algiers or Cairo. On the other hand, there is a very elitist, white European middle-class Islam which is attracted to Sufism because of its inherent elitism (the select few who achieve gnosis) and whose adherents feel that they are better than the poor immigrants," Vasquez told the Weekly. "I think a large part of the problem is that these converts don't understand how the colonial experience and the ever-present racism affects migrant communities." According to Vasquez Spanish converts are few in number but are very powerful. They are nearly all Sufi leaning, have very little Islamic education and are primarily political pragmatists. Of the many organisations representing Muslims, there are two most prominent ones, Al- Murabitun, which has some Sufi leanings and maintains an anti-capitalist stand. It calls for the return of the caliphate and seeks a puritan version of Islam. Their Spiritual leader is Sheik Abdel- Qader Al-Murabit who is of Scottish origins. The other movement is called the Muslim Organisation of Spain or Federación Espalola de Diocesis Islamicas. This movement is well organised and has engaged in negotiations with the Spanish government over the status of Muslims in Spain. This is the group behind the building of the Granada mosque. Vasquez and other Spanish Muslims believe that Islam's future in Spain looks bleak. He cites a right-wing media which is "full of Islamophobic language", the current "fascist" government, the aversion to religion by left-leaning parties as a result of the Catholic Church's unflagging support of the Franco regime, the inability of immigrants to make themselves culturally understood and Spain's paltry welfare system. INVOKING HISTORY: Invoking the diverse histories of Granada has not always benefited the relationship between the Muslim population and the Granadians. Both groups have invoked history to score points at the expense of the other party rather than to encourage a meaningful dialogue across cultures. Each 2 January, for example, controversy emerges over the commemoration of the Reconquista of Granada by the Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand, which is a public holiday in the city. Some renowned intellectuals have suggested that the occasion should be turned into a celebration of the three cultures (Christian, Muslim and Jewish) who have lived in the city. This, they argue, could be an attempt to revivify a deeply rooted tradition of convivencia (cross-cultural coexistence) in Granada. This suggestion, however, was met with fierce opposition from the Catholic Church and the right wing parties whose followers organised protests and demonstrations against it. In response to those protests the local government decided to stick to its tradition of celebrating the Reconquista rather than inter-religious dialogue. In fact, according to Martinez, the Catholic Church has been pushing for the canonisation of Queen Isabella. This attempt has been met with opposition by Jewish and Muslim organisations in Spain due to Queen Isabella's alleged responsibility for the expulsion of the Jews who had been living there under Muslim rule. After more than a century of persecution Muslims were finally expelled from Spain in 1609. The public debate surrounding the construction of the mosque has itself seen multiple invocations of history. However, for many who celebrate the opening of the mosque, the intent is to invoke history in order to open up a meaningful re-imagining of Islam's past, present and future place in the West. The mosque's caretakers argue that one of the main responsibilities which will be assumed by the mosque is to present an image of Islam contrary to the one prevalent in the Spanish media. Educational courses will be offered to Muslims and non-Muslims on the Moorish period which saw Muslims, Jews and Christians living side by side as an example of religious tolerance, a rare commodity in European history. "We hope that for the non-Muslims who go through this educational experience, they learn something different about Islam and for the Muslims it will be a reminder of Islam's true spirit," Martinez said.
