A Modest Proposal

There is a petition circulating to restore Greek Orthodox religious services to Hagia Sophia [Holy Wisdom] Cathedral in Istanbul. The EU has supposedly promised to make this plea to the Turkish government if one million signatures can be collected.

My modest proposal is that the EU promise the restoration of Islamic services in The Grand Mosque of Cordoba, AKA Mezquita Cathedral, as a quid pro quo to the Turkish government. This would be a face-saving device at least allowing the Turks to consider the proposal as something other than outright blackmail.

Both houses of worship have suffered the same architectural vandalism by the conquering faith. Hagia Sophia is disfigured by large Koranic inscriptions while the Cordoba Mosque suffered the insertion of a cookie-cutter gothic nave which serves as the Catholic Cathedral, an inclusion which ruined the original architectural integrity.

There will be objections from pious Catholics, but the trade-off by a secular-humanist Spanish government might be easy. In Cordoba, my understanding is that the Muslims have asked only that they be allowed to conduct Friday services in the non-consecrated Islamic section of the prayer grounds.

However, my sense is that rising Islamist fervor in Turkey would probably nix any political decision to allow use of Hagia Sophia as a place of worship by Christians, even on an occasional basis.

It's worth running up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes.