Former mayors of Cordoba demand historic site return to public domain

Five former mayors of the city of Cordoba in Spain published a joint letter on Wednesday, demanding the Catholic church return the city's historic mosque/cathedral to the public domain.

Work began on the magnificent monument during the Moorish occupation of the city in 785. However, it was converted into a Catholic cathedral following the re-conquest of the city by Christian forces in 1236, with a cross-shaped basilica built in the middle of the mosque in the early 16th century.

It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984 and continues to be one of the main tourist attractions in the city.

However, it has also been the center of controversy since 2006 when the Catholic church registered the mosque and the cathedral complex as one entity at the property registrar.

This provoked an ongoing campaign which accuses the church of trying to appropriate city property for its own, as well as removing references to the mosque and obscuring its Islamic past.

An online petition has collected 80,000 signatures and weight to the case was lent by five former mayors: Julio Anguita, Herminio Trigo, Manuel Perez, Rosa Aguilar and Andres Ocana, who all governed the city representing the United Left (Izquierda Unida) party.

"We demand legal restitution and the public deed of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, as well as the return to the public domain of all heritage property that was illegally registered by the church," reads the letter.

The document also states that the church misappropriated the Triumph of St Rafael Monument, as well as the square where it is located.

The letter was not signed by the current city mayor, Jose Antonio Nieto, who is a member of the right wing Popular Party. Endit