And Here We Go…

History has shown over and over again that religion and power are highly intertwined. There is always someone at the helm wanting to impose his views on the masses irregardless of differing beliefs. I say his because without question it’s always a male causing disruption to assert his power over others. Protestants versus Catholics, Christians versus Jews, Christians versus Muslims, all these conflicts, and many others, have lead to wars, deaths and desecration of holy places all “in the name of God.”

Traveling through Southern Spain, we have learned more about the history of Spain and how these varying religious zealots have battled each other philosophically and physically to obtain power over territories. There are two places in Cordoba that exemplify this pattern very well – La Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba and Madinat Al-Zahra. We were fortunate to be able to visit both.

La Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba sits in the centro histórico. It is a massive structure measuring approximately 250,750 feet. It was commissioned by Umayyad Emir Abd al-Rahman 1 in 784 AD and it took several centuries for it to be completed. Abd al-Rahman was a fugitive of the Umayyad Dynasty and wanted to assert his power by having a mosque built that would rival those in the East.

In June 1236, King Ferdinand III conquered Cordoba and eventually a Cathedral was built in the middle of La Mezquita making it the only building housing a mosque and cathedral in the world. It is one of the most important examples of Islamic architecture and as such was awarded a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 1984. To me, it seems sacrilegious to destroy places of worship; however, it seems that in asserting power, this is a common practice.

The next site that we visited was the Madinat Al-Zahra. This is an archeological site that was once the largest palace-city on the outskirts of Cordoba. Abd ar-Rahman had declared himself “caliph” in 929 and this position required for him to establish a new city which would be a symbol of his power and to be the center of government. The city was only occupied for a mere 80 years when it was abandoned by the then caliph to construct his own palace-city. Much of this site was destroyed during the civil war and the materials used for other projects. This site was excavated starting in 1911 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.

Current history in USA is seeing some of this same fanaticism with the religious far-right wanting to assert power over people who are diverse from them. They are imposing their religious beliefs in a way that is eroding our democracy, and the current administration and Supreme Court majority are spearheading this effort. Power in the name of God serves only one purpose and that is to assert power for one individual while oppressing those who do not conform to that individual’s beliefs. Make no mistake about it, power in the name of God has nothing to do with faith or God.