Catholic Church Transformed Into A Mosque

A report in the influential New York Times chronicles how a Catholic church has been transformed into a mosque in the city of Venice, Italy. According to the report, for the next seven months Venice will find itself in the middle of a constant debate about Islam’s place in Europe. On Friday, as part of the Venice Biennale, a former Catholic church in the Cannaregio neighborhood will open its doors as a functioning mosque, its walls adorned with Arabic script, its floor covered with a prayer rug angled toward Mecca and its crucifix mosaics hidden behind a towering prayer niche.

Venice, known for its arts and alluring architectural beauty, remains one of the few European cities without a mosque near its historic centre, which has left Islamic residents with no choice than to pray in storerooms and shops. Against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia in Venice and Italy in general and fears like those in France which had to deal with a terrorist attack recently, Muslim leaders in Venice said they saw the proposal to create a temporary mosque as a perfect way to communicate their desire to more fully participate in the life of their city. Over the years, Venice has been relatively tolerant toward immigrants, but it would seem like contemporary Venetians have been growing suspicious about a more visible presence of Islam in recent times. The project almost didn’t see the light of the day last month, after Venetian officials sent a strongly worded letter to the Icelandic Art Center, which is organizing the pavilion, with grave warnings that the local police considered the mosque a security threat in the city . In another development here in Nigeria, about three weeks ago, five worshipers were buried alive after the collapse of the St. Anthony Catholic Church Cathedral in Oduma, Aninri local government area of Enugu state.