The two Austrian tourists who were arrested last night in the mosque-cathedral of Cordoba, accused of contempt and bodily harm of police agents, were handed over to the legal authorities today.
The police had tried to stop the two from praying following Muslim rituals, which is forbidden in the temple. According to the Andalusian press today, yesterday afternoon a large group of Muslim and Austrian tourists visited the cathedral and started their Muslim prayers. Some of the tourists responded with violence when guards tried to intervene. One of the tourists, according to testimonies collected by the police, tried attack an agent with a knife. Of the two who were arrested, one has been charged with attempted murder. In a statement issued today, the bishop of Cordoba said that this type of action "does not represent the genuine Muslim identity" and that many "maintain an attitude of respect and dialogue with the Catholic Church". The new bishop of Cordoba, Demetrio Fernandez, appointed on March 20, said that the Catholic Church is opposed to Muslim rituals in the cathedral of Cordoba. The most recent request to open the building to both Muslim and Catholic rituals was made in October 2009 by the secretary of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, during the international conference on intolerance and discrimination of Muslims. Earlier the president of the Spanish Islamic Council made the same request, which was rejected in December by the Vatican and later also by the archbishop of Cordoba, because "it would not contribute to the peaceful cohabitation of Catholics and Muslims".