Journal of Cultural Geography

ISSN: 0887-3631 (Print) 1940-6320 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjcg20

Irony made manifest: cultural contention and

Córdoba’s Mosque-Cathedral

Jessica R. Boll

To cite this article: Jessica R. Boll (2017) Irony made manifest: cultural contention
and Córdoba’s Mosque-Cathedral, Journal of Cultural Geography, 34:3, 275-302, DOI:
10.1080/08873631.2017.1274126

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/08873631.2017.1274126

Published online: 17 Jan 2017.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 616

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Citing articles: 1 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rjcg20
JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY, 2017
VOL. 34, NO. 3, 275–302
https://doi.org/10.1080/08873631.2017.1274126

Irony made manifest: cultural contention and

Córdoba’s Mosque-Cathedral
Jessica R. Boll
Department of English and Modern Languages & Literatures, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI,
USA

ABSTRACT
Córdoba’s Mezquita (“mosque”) has been the focus of much recent attention,
following decisions that are both significant for the building’s future and
indicative of larger issues in Spain. In March of 2016 a report concluded that
the mosque-cathedral does not “belong” to anyone; that same month the
Catholic Church, which administers the site, announced it will revert to
“Mosque-Cathedral” in official literature after attempts to refer to the site as
the “Córdoba Cathedral.” Efforts to change the name align with policy that
forbids Muslim worship in the monument; the Church denied formal
proposals requesting permission for such worship in 2004 and 2006, and
tensions escalated in 2010 when Muslim visitors were arrested upon
attempting to pray. A World Heritage Site for the express use of all peoples,
the Mezquita and the contentions surrounding it are thus fraught with ironic
meaning. This article examines the ironies of the space and the related
debates that are both symbolic and symptomatic of more extensive tensions
in Spain. Amid a broader context of terrorism, Islamophobia and the European
Migrant Crisis, the medieval Mezquita engages with the present moment as
Spain struggles with its heritage and its contemporary relationship with the
Muslim world.

KEYWORDS Córdoba; Mezquita; Mosque-Cathedral; heritage tourism; built heritage; Islamophobia

Introduction
Córdoba’s renowned Mezquita has been the focus of much international
attention in recent months, following two separate decisions that are both sig-
nificant for the future of the building itself and indicative of larger issues in
Spain. In March of 2016 a town hall report concluded that the 1200-year-
old mosque-cathedral does not “belong” to anyone, despite the Catholic
Church’s administration of the site and explicit claim of ownership; that
same month the Church announced that it will revert to “Mosque-Cathedral”
in official literature following years of dissension at attempts to designate the
site as “cathedral” only. Known simply as “La Mezquita” by locals, the official

CONTACT Jessica R. Boll [email protected] Department of English and Modern Languages &
Literatures, Carroll University, 100 N. East Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186, USA
© 2017 JCG Press, Oklahoma State University
276 J. R. BOLL

name approved by the town council is the “Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba”

and this, too, had been the name used by the Church for decades.
The recent efforts by the Church to remove “mosque” from signage and
promotional literature align with official policy that forbids Muslim
worship in the monument. In 2004 and 2006 the Church denied formal pro-
posals that requested permission for Muslims to pray inside the mosque-
cathedral. In 2007 international media reported that Al-Qaeda released a
video demanding the re-conquest of Al-Andalus, and as recently as August
of 2016 a video issued by ISIS called for the same. Many Spaniards have (erro-
neously) associated the Mezquita prayer requests with such terrorist com-
mands to reclaim Andalusia for Islam. Tensions have remained high over
the past decade, exemplified by the 2010 arrest of Muslim visitors who
were jailed and charged with “crimes against religious sentiment” upon
attempting to pray in the former mosque. Despite financially benefitting
from the building’s heterogeneous past, the Church has thus reinforced and
reiterated a discriminatory discourse and contradicts a tourist industry that
explicitly celebrates the monument’s Islamic history.
A World Heritage Site for the express use of all peoples, both the Mezquita
itself and the surrounding controversies are replete with ironic meaning. This
article examines the compound ironies of the space and the ways in which
corresponding cultural and religious discord plays out in the debates and
decisions regarding Córdoba’s palimpsestic icon. An investigation of the
Mezquita of Córdoba and the multiple manifestations of irony inherent in
its construction, portrayal and usage contributes to current cultural geo-
graphic understandings of heritage tourism, place identity and contested
sites. While there are a number of studies of contested space and of the politics
of cultural heritage and representation, the present investigation emphasizes
the ironies implicated in the site that are evincive of the cultural whitewashing
of European history.
The article begins with an overview of heritage tourism, place identity and
the Mezquita as a contested space, followed by a discussion of the notion of
irony along with its various forms and manifestations. The multiple ironies
of the Mezquita are then examined in detail, including those embedded in
the structural elements and those resulting from promotional efforts and
operational policies. As the Mezquita – and the surrounding Andalusian land-
scape – conspicuously declares a hybrid past that Spaniards have historically
aimed to eradicate, contemporary contentions and competing interpretations
are both symbolic and symptomatic of widespread Christian-Muslim tensions
in Spain. Inasmuch as such tensions are set against a backdrop of global ter-
rorist attacks, growing anti-Islamic sentiment and the European Migrant
Crisis, the medieval Mezquita engages with the present moment as Spain
grapples with its Islamic heritage and its present-day relationship with the
Muslim world.
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 277

Heritage tourism
The Mezquita is both a top tourist destination in Spain – the site’s official
website reports that nearly a million people visited in the first half of
2016 alone (Conjunto 2009) – and a fundamental element of the nation’s
built heritage. Nuryanti (1996, p. 252) defines built heritage as “human-
made, fixed elements, possessing historical values and meaning derived
from the settings in which they occur and societal values that ascribe
worth to them.” Laws (1998, p. 545) notes that the built heritage of a
location contributes to its appeal as a tourist destination, and many
researchers have written of the connection between tourism and heritage
in recent decades. Scholars frequently distinguish between built, cultural
and natural heritage, and discrepant definitions of “heritage tourism” have
been employed. Balcar and Pearce (1996) review various definitions in
their study of heritage tourism in New Zealand, citing Zeppel and Hall
(1992), Prentice (1993), Glen (1991) and Yale (1991), among others.
Numerous scholars have turned to Yale’s (1991, p. 21) definition of heritage
tourism, “tourism centered on what we have inherited, which can mean any-
thing from historic buildings, to art works, to beautiful scenery,” yet Poria
et al. (2001) object to treating such tourism as derivative of site attributes.1
They instead argue that heritage tourism is based on tourists’ motivations
and perceptions – not characteristics of the space itself – and explicitly
link heritage tourism to visitor behavior and demand (Poria et al. 2001,
2003).

Place identity
Boniface and Fowler (1993) connect tourist behavior to the relationship
between individuals and the space, and argue that (urban) heritage tourism
provides a means to underscore local difference and affirm place identity.
Timothy (1997) likewise discusses the relationship between people and
sites, noting four levels of heritage tourism – world, national, local and per-
sonal – that each represent varying degrees of personal attachment and identi-
fication with the space. Place identity can exist at any of these levels as tourists
look to connect to both individual and collective pasts. As Tuan (1977) argues,
society’s need to preserve the past is driven by a desire for tangible indicators
of identity.
McCain and Ray (2003) focus on heritage tourism at the personal level,
specifically tourists who travel to search for genealogical information or to
feel connected to familial roots. Deemed legacy tourists, this subset of travelers
associates place identity with ancestral identity and selects destinations
accordingly. Cheung (1999) similarly acknowledges the role of personal per-
spective, noting that the meaning of a site – and accordingly, the identity of
the place – can vary between individuals.
278 J. R. BOLL

Chang et al. (1996) focus on the space itself in their examination of heritage
tourism’s global-local nexus of determinants and suggest that “geography
matters”; in other words, how and why heritage tourism develops depends
precisely on where it develops. Especially relevant is the notion that desti-
nations feature themes particular to the culture and location, based on
either inherent or determined place identity (Chang et al. 1996, p. 287).
Urry (1990) presents the concept of the “global division of tourism,” the
specialization of tourism through which places accentuate unique identities
to create a market niche. In their efforts to specialize, many places turn to
heritage to enhance their profile and to afford themselves a competitive
edge (Chang et al. 1996, p. 288). Tourist marketing thus becomes an ideologi-
cal framing that itself fashions the place identity on which it relies (MacCan-
nell 1992). Bandyopadhyay et al. (2008) examine this cultural negotiation in
terms of the competing voices of India’s heritage tourism and the variant rep-
resentations of place that result. Comparing governmental campaigns, dom-
estic tourism publications and popular tourism media, they note discrepancies
in place identity, specifically in terms of resistance against oppression and
India’s colonial heritage. Heritage tourism is thus a mechanism to disseminate
a vision of place and can become a source of contention when the agents
involved disagree on the identity of that place.
In recent decades researchers have increasingly focused on heritage
tourism as a political act and a force that shapes both place and national iden-
tities. Ashworth (1994) argues that heritage is a potent marketing strategy pre-
cisely because of its ability to define a national identity through select
stereotypes.2 Palmer (1999) also examines the role of heritage tourism in
the construction and maintenance of national identity, as well as the under-
lying meanings behind associated images. She suggests that the popularity
of heritage tourism derives in part from the fact that “the images presented
reveal a past that people can recognise as belonging to them … [the past] rep-
resents a lifestyle perceived to have been better, more fulfilling and commu-
nity driven” (Palmer 1999, p. 315). Yet at the same time Palmer (1999,
p. 318) notes the discrepancy between site images that tell a specific story
of the past and the reality of the lived present: “Those images that enable tour-
ists to recognise a nation may have been selected for just that purpose and
may not have been meant to represent how the local people actually see them-
selves in the twentieth century.” This is especially pertinent to the current situ-
ation in Córdoba, as place identity is called into question by the promotional
strategies and operational policies of the Mezquita.
Nuryanti (1996) likewise discusses place identity in terms of the marketing
of heritage sites, in addition to three other issues related to heritage and
tourism: interpretation, planning and interdependencies with the local com-
munity. She suggests that interpretation is the fundamental difficulty, particu-
larly for built heritage:
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 279

The central challenge in linking heritage and tourism lies in reconstructing the
past in the present through interpretation. Heritage tourism, as a production or
reproduction of the past, is particularly problematic in the case of built heritage.
Interpretation of built heritage not only involves issues such as ascribing
meaning to past events, cross-cultural sensitivity, professionalization and edu-
cation or training (Sayers 1989; Uzzell 1989) but also is influenced by a series of
other interrelated activities including conservation planning, architectural
design and reconstruction techniques. (Nuryanti 1996, p. 252)

Built heritage requires conveyance of the past, not just architectural preser-
vation, and as such depends on the social and cultural context of the
present. Nuryanti (1996) notes the politically sensitive nature of the decisions
regarding heritage tourism, and the potential for conflict based on misunder-
standings and differing expectations between tourists and the local commu-
nity. She affirms that “the more complex issues are likely to arise in places
where the differences between the tourists and the local people are greatest”
(Nuryanti 1996, p. 257). Uriely et al. (2002) specifically consider the religious
affiliations of local residents, of particular relevance to the case of the Mez-
quita, and argue that the relationship between such residents and the narrative
presented at a heritage site can influence the locals’ attitudes toward develop-
ment. The controversies in Córdoba result precisely from place identity at
odds with religious identity, wherein an icon of Islam is exclusively designated
as a Christian space.

The Mezquita as contested space

Lowenthal (2005, p. 234) asserts that “conflict is endemic to heritage,” while
Bandyopadhyay et al. (2008, p. 791) acknowledge that contested identities
account for the world’s most acute conflicts, both on the national and inter-
national levels. As an intensely contested space, the Mezquita has been the
focus of much historical, cultural and architectural study, as well as the
subject of creative prose and poetry – more than 500 works have been
written of the building since the tenth century, in fact (Ecker 2003,
p. 113).3 Ruggles’ (2011) account of the contentional legacy of the site is
among the most compelling recent analyses and decidedly relevant to the
present article. She argues that medieval history is fundamental to modern
heritage politics in Europe, and that the interpretation of this history is an
especially political act in Spain. For Ruggles (2011, p. 26), the Mezquita is a
metaphor for medieval Spain and a locus of conflict for competing world
visions. While some regard the building as emblematic of a formative but
closed chapter of Spanish history, others view the structure as a site of renas-
cent Muslim identity and a means to recover such identity. Ruggles (2011,
p. 28) contends that the opposition to Muslim prayer in the Mezquita is
less about the act of praying itself than it is about resistance to the political
power of a growing Muslim community within Spain that desires recognition
280 J. R. BOLL

and legitimation as such. By its very nature Muslim worship is an active and
conspicuous marker of difference, one that draws attention to the changing
demographics of Spanish society.
Ali (2008) likewise addresses the contestations and complications of the
Mezquita, poetically describing the space as a tectonic manifestation of soli-
tude in his provocative essay, “The Architecture of Loneliness.” He connects
the site to contemporary poetry, writings of exile and ideologically disputed
structures worldwide. Like Ruggles (2011), Ali (2008, p. 13) notes the
growing Muslim population in Spain and the resultant tensions and contra-
dictions thereof. As a “gruesome counterpart” to the loss and longing of
exile, “[a] whole tourist industry sustains the economy of Andalucía …
despite nearly three hundred years of religious, social and architectural
efforts to completely eradicate any trace of the non-Christian from Spain”
(Ali 2008, p. 12). Yet “returning” Muslims are in want of the Al-Andalus of
centuries past, thus faced with an intense sense of alienation that results
from the chasm between historical consciousness and contemporary reality.
As part of his analysis of the paradoxes of the art of Islamic Spain, Grabar
(1992) suggests dissociating the Mezquita from cultural and national identi-
ties. Using the Cordovan monument as an example of the unique typological
and aesthetic character of Spanish Islamic art, he questions the rote associ-
ation between art form and cultural or national identifications. He argues
instead that Spanish Islamic art and architecture belong to “a tradition
within a land rather than to a system of belief in that land” (Grabar 1992,
p. 590). In this case, common heritage is differentiated by the land itself,
rather than by association with any religious or national group that inhabit
(ed) that land. Today’s conflicts result precisely from an antithetical under-
standing of the space – a proprietary and divisive sense of “ours” based on
both religious and national claims.

Research methods
The present study employed a multi-method approach to add to the literature
on heritage tourism, place identity and the Mezquita. Approximately 50 inter-
views were conducted with visitors, locals, tour guides and staff, both at the
Mezquita and at visitor centers throughout Andalusia. Interviews centered
upon impressions of the space and perceptions of contemporary relations
between Muslims and non-Muslims in Spain, and were intended to increase
my understanding of how both Spaniards and foreign tourists view the site
rather than for specific analysis in this article. Numerous written sources
were likewise examined, including pamphlets distributed at the Mezquita,
entry tickets, posted signs, promotional materials, souvenirs, children’s
books, national and international newspaper articles, the site’s official
website and unofficial websites related to the Mezquita and to tourism in
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 281

Córdoba. The promotional and operational ironies of the building and its sur-
rounding controversies were the specific foci when analyzing print and online
materials.

Ironic meaning
Irony – whether rhetorical, situational, philosophical or architectural –
implies incongruity and opposition. It is expression through which intention
undermines declaration and organization that gives voice to contradictory
impulses. “Ironic meaning comes into being as the consequence of a relation-
ship, a dynamic, performative bringing together of different meaning-makers,
but also of different meanings” (Hutcheon 1994, p. 58). Such amalgamation of
meaning defies expectation and necessarily entails disjunction, division and
plurality.
Arata Isozaki, designer of prominent buildings worldwide including the
Disney Administration Building in Orlando, Florida and the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, California, describes “architecture
without irony” as that devoid of both contest and context (Gardels and
Snell 1996, p. 32). According to Isozaki (Gardels and Snell 1996, p. 32),
such architecture is detached from the past, and thus prevents the commu-
nity from bonding with the space.4 Architectural irony comes precisely
from interaction with history, through what Isozaki calls the “accumulation
of conflict” (Gardels and Snell 1996, p. 32). Isozaki (Gardels and Snell
1996, p. 32) also speaks of the conflict produced by nostalgia, noting
that “nostalgia has more in common with fiction than with reality.” Rist
(1989, p. 89) contends that both irony and nostalgia are key components
of contemporary culture, and (Hutcheon and Valdés 2000, p. 18) asserts
that postmodernism coupled these components precisely through architec-
ture. Postmodern architecture necessarily implies a “double-coding,” a
deliberate return to history in the built environment (Hutcheon and
Valdés 2000, p. 18). While certainly not a postmodern construction, the
Mezquita nonetheless pertains to the present through its existent controver-
sies and contradictions.5
In his book, Of Irony, G. G. Sedgewick (1948, p. 43) defines irony as “the
sense of contradiction felt by spectators of a drama who see a character acting
in ignorance of his condition!” Spectators of the contemporary dramas of the
Mezquita must surely sense the contradiction of the actions and decisions that
ignore the condition of the mosque-cathedral – the contradiction of seeking to
erase the Islamic past of a structure that houses the oldest remaining Islamic
architectural decoration in Spain, of proudly advertising a Muslim heritage
while attempting to conceal it, of repeatedly enforcing policies of exclusion
at a site officially touted as an emblem of religious tolerance. Hutcheon
(Hutcheon and Valdés 2000, p. 21) notes the agitative nature of irony; this
282 J. R. BOLL

certainly holds true for the Cordovan icon. Yet while Hutcheon (Hutcheon
and Valdés 2000, p. 22; with original emphasis) argues that labeling some-
thing ironic is “less a description of the entity itself than an attribution of
the quality of the response,” I would argue that, in the case of the Mezquita,
it is both. The Mezquita offers the antithesis of engineered simplicity, a build-
ing replete with both contest and context – precisely the elements Isozaki cites
as fundamental to tectonic irony. It is an irony that echoes between the arches
that simultaneously attest to both grandeur and defeat, and that have borne
witness to sequential periods of harmony, conquest, appropriation and
oppression. It is affirmed by the competing discourses that concurrently
attempt to fetishize and deny the building’s Islamic past. Both constitutional
and perceptive irony are derived from the structure itself and from the oppos-
ing interpretations of that structure.

Structural irony
Built upon the ruins of Saint Vincent’s Basilica, a Visigoth church dating
back to the sixth century, erection of the Mezquita began in 785 CE.6 Orig-
inally a mosque modeled after the Mosque of Damascus, construction lasted
for two centuries and involved multiple phases of expansion and elaboration.
Upon Christian conquest of the city in 1236 CE, the structure was conse-
crated as the mother church of the Diocese of Córdoba. In 1523 CE a Renais-
sance cathedral was built in the center, including a Main Chapel in the shape
of a Latin cross and smaller chapels and altars along the perimeter. Cloisters
were built in the Muslim courtyard, where the original palm trees were
replaced by orange trees. The bell tower was built over the minaret,
crowned by a sculpture of Saint Rafael. Saint Rafael is the archangel guardian
of Córdoba, ironic for the fact that he is the patron saint of “happy meet-
ings.” Also embedded in the structural irony of the monument is the
“Door of Forgiveness,” la Puerta del Perdón, directly below the expropriated
tower and the main entrance to the contested precincts. Counterexamples
abound to refute both “happy meetings” and “forgiveness” as accurate
descriptors of the interactions within and with regard to the space (see
Figures 1–4).

Promotional irony
Despite the deliberate and very visible modifications made by the Church,
promotional images of the monument center almost exclusively upon the
architecture of the original mosque – virtually ignoring the cathedral
within. Brochures, souvenirs and websites notably feature what Young
(2004) poetically describes as:
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 283

Figure 1. Site plan of the Mezquita. Source: Priestley et al. (1999). Used with permission.

Dizzying arch after arch, striped red white red,

…
above columns nearly destroyed,
then left to lift toward another heaven.

These famous arches are pictorially celebrated to the near exclusion of the
Catholic imprint they surround (Figure 5). As Ali (2008, p. 17) points out:
284 J. R. BOLL

Figure 2. The bell tower of the Mezquita. Source: Photograph by the author, 2016.

Figure 3. The Main Chapel within the Mezquita. Source: Photograph by the author, 2016.
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 285

Figure 4. Juxtaposition of Christian and Muslim architecture. Source: Photograph by the

author, 2016.

Figure 5. The arches of the Mezquita. Source: Photograph by the author, 2016.
286 J. R. BOLL

In images the addition/imposition of the cathedral is completely ignored. On

the postcards, commemorative plaques and ceramic plates only the empty
aisles of the mosque, the ubiquitous red and white double-arches are depicted,
nary a stitch or pillar of the cathedral of Christian images are to be seen.

Ruggles (2011, p. 34) notes the increasing interest of late in Islamic Spain, and
the iconography of the Mezquita is reflective of this interest. As Lowenthal
(2005, p. 165) indicates, “heritage fabricated by the media often seems
more real because it is more familiar than the original.” More than ever,
the 1.5 million visitors that flock annually to the Mezquita specifically seek
destination Al-Andalus, as heritage tourism affords the unique opportunity
to live the past in the present moment. Young’s (2004) poem tells of “the
dance of Arabic letters no one reads”; ironically, these unread letters are
those most audible today.
Recent touristic efforts also specifically underscore the site’s Islamic heri-
tage. The Umayyad Route (Umayyad Route 2016b), a project funded by the
European Union dedicated to the “improvement of Mediterranean Territorial
cohesion through setup of a tourist-cultural itinerary,” features the Mezquita
– significantly referred to as the “Umayyad Mosque” or the “Great Mosque” in
newsletters and on websites – as the “one of the greatest works of art of all
times.”7 Islamic Travels (Islamic Travels 2010) – a company that aims to
“encourage Muslims to travel around the Muslim world and learn about
Islamic History and heritage” – includes a visit to the Mezquita as a highlight
of their “Islamic Spain Heritage Tour,” while Crescent Tours (Crescent Tours
2016) promotes the site as part of their “halal holidays” packages. It is likewise
featured on the cultural itineraries of Fundación Pública Andaluza – El legado
andausí (The Andalusian Public Foundation – The Legacy of al-Andalus), an
organization that boasts “working for over 15 years on the recovery of
Hispano-Muslim culture with countries throughout the Arab World”
(Umayyad Route 2016a).
The Andalusian Public Foundation recently participated in a seminar in
Granada on halal tourism, an initiative to capitalize specifically on the
Muslim tourist market.8 Once viewed as a niche market limited to religious
pilgrimages, currently there is a movement in the tourist industry to
expand halal tourism to cater to Muslim travelers worldwide. Manuel
Morales, representative of Development, Housing, Tourism and Commerce
of the Government of Andalusia, noted “a quarter of the world’s population
is Muslim and therefore represents the main segment of the world tourism
market” (Umayyad Route 2016a). According to the World Tourism Organiz-
ation, Spain is a top destination for Muslim tourists (Umayyad Route 2016a).
More than 1.1 million tourists from the Muslim world visited Spain in 2014
alone (Zawya 2015). Tour guides and visitor center staff with whom I spoke
throughout Andalusia in May of 2016 indicated an increasing presence of
Muslim tourists in recent years (Figure 6). An article published in El País
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 287

Figure 6. Muslim tourists in the Mezquita. Source: Photograph by the author, 2016.

in 2014 confirms these observations, reporting an 85% increase in Saudi tour-

ists, a 30% increase in Algerian tourists and a 57% increase in Turkish tourists
in 2013 alone (Carbajosa 2014). The Andalusian Public Foundation has pub-
licly recognized the resultant economic potential for Andalusia: “Clearly,
Andalusia, due to its history and its Arab-Andalusian heritage is an important
tourist attraction for halal tourism” (Umayyad Route 2016a).
Córdoba is especially positioned to benefit from this initiative. The first
international Halal Congress (“Halal, a Global Concept”) was, in fact, held
in Córdoba in March of 2015. The website for the congress declares the
city’s objective in this arena, in no uncertain terms: “Cordoba intends to pos-
ition itself as the European ‘capital of Halal food, tourism and finance’” (Halal
2014). The website further states: “The Spanish tourism sector is increasingly
interested on [sic] deserving the Muslim visitor’s needs,” and proclaims the
city to be “heir to the best Islamic tradition” (Halal 2014). An article hyper-
inked to the website calls for the triangle formed by Córdoba, Malaga and
Granada to become a global “halal hub” (Rodríguez 2014). Yet even as
images explicitly underscore the Mezquita’s Islamic patrimony and the
space is marketed as a paramount destination for heritage tours and halal
tourism, Muslims’ usage of the space has been restricted for centuries.
“Halal” is defined precisely as that which is permissible by law, and the
irony here is thus acute.
288 J. R. BOLL

Further promotional irony stems from the Church’s attempts to linguisti-

cally remove the mosque from the Mezquita – both in official designation and
in textual representation. Efforts to expunge the monument’s Muslim past
began formally in 1998, when Catholic authorities changed what had for
decades been called the “Mosque-Cathedral” to the “Cathedral (former
Mosque)”; in 2010 this awkward appellation was reduced to the “Córdoba
Cathedral.” In 2013, though, an association known as the Plataforma Mez-
quita-Catedral de Córdoba: Patrimonio de tod@s (Platform for the Mosque-
Cathedral of Córdoba: Everyone’s Heritage) began campaigning to “Save
the Córdoba Mosque” and gathered nearly 400,000 signatures to petition
the name change. Three years later, in March of 2016, the church finally con-
ceded and announced that it will revert to “Mosque-Cathedral” in official lit-
erature. Compounding the irony of the debate is the discourse surrounding
this latest decision; Manuel Pérez Moya (Hedgecoe 2016, p. 11), dean of
the cathedral, presented the name change as a “new brand” for the monu-
ment, an “updated image that is more in tune with the present day.” This
“new” brand aligns remarkably well with “old” images, usage and understand-
ings of the space.
Separate but related controversy surrounds the ownership of the site,
also explicitly addressed in March of 2016. At that time a town hall
report determined that the Mezquita does not “belong” to any one insti-
tution or organization and can never be acquired. This was the result of
a decade of accusations that the Catholic Church exploited a loophole in
property legislation – a mortgage law that dates back to the Franco dicta-
torship – in order to remove the Mezquita from public hands. In 2006, the
diocese of Córdoba registered itself as sole owner of the site for 30 euros.
Yet the same 2013 petition organized by the Plataforma Mezquita-Catedral
de Córdoba to protest the site’s name change also sought to remove the
building from the Church’s control and to place it instead into the
hands of public management. After years of such dissent, the report con-
cluded that the site is protected from such ownership as a “monument
beyond the scope of human commerce” and the town hall’s general sec-
retary subsequently urged annulment of the Church’s ownership (Horgan
2016).
Yet despite the official decision by local authorities, the Church still lays
conspicuous claim to the space. During a recent visit in May of 2016 the
entrance ticket continued to proclaim “the Cathedral of Córdoba,” while
signs inside the building and sections of the official website indicated the
same. When questioned, employees at the Mezquita (in the ticket office, at
the entrances and official tour guides) universally responded that the
Church owned the space, and visitor center staff throughout the city also
maintained ecclesiastical ownership without hesitation. The first rule listed
on the back of the entry ticket warns visitors: Recuerde que visita la iglesia
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 289

catedral, lugar de culto católico, accede al mismo con vestimenta apropiada

(Remember that you are visiting the cathedral, place of Catholic worship,
conform with appropriate dress), while the tourist website www.
mezquitadecordoba.org lists the primary rule as follows (reported here with
original emphasis): “Remember that the Mosque of Cordoba, previously a
Christian church, is a catholic temple.” The official website of the monument,
www.catedraldecordoba.es (note the continued omission of “mosque” in the
domain name as well), includes direct links and messages from the Church,
and announces the following:
Córdoba Cathedral is a catholic temple, which houses the rests [sic] of the
ancient Saint Vincent Cathedral in its foundations and preserves many remin-
ders of the great Umayyad mosque. It is a church where worship and Christian
services have been held regularly since the reconquest of the city on the day of
Saint Peter in 1236.

Equally significant is the website’s “final note worth remembering”:

It is the Church and the Cathedral Chapter who have made the preservation of
the Great Mosque of Cordova possible, the greatest one of its kind in the old
Western Caliphate. It is the most ancient cathedral in Spain and has been
declared a world heritage site. It has been the work of the Church, who has
always strived to spread its protective wings over this place and inspire the
arts and culture, who has kept it from being reduced to rubble.

Numerous historical documents show that the Cathedral Chapter have dis-
played great sensibility in their attempts to preserve the Mosque in its integrity,
standing up against authorities and institutions, who often had other plans in
mind. (www.catedraldecordoba.es)

The pamphlet linked to the official website also still touts the “Cathedral of
Córdoba.” The first section welcomes visitors to “Córdoba’s Holy Cathedral
Church” and goes on to explain that the grounds were “consecrated as the
mother church of the Diocese in the year 1236” – completely disregarding
the preceding five centuries of the building’s architectural history. The text
then proceeds to emphasize the site as a fundamentally Christian space:
“every day with no exception, the Chapter solemnly worships in this fine
and magnificent church and the Christian community gathers to listen to
the Word of God and to participate in the Sacraments.” While paying
homage to the beauty of the mosque in the section notably titled (in majus-
cule) “THE ISLAMIC INTERVENTION,” the phraseology readily exposes
contemporary tensions. The section speaks of the “Islamic invasion,” “domi-
nating Muslims” and the “demolition” of the existing church. Emphasized
throughout this section are the Hispano-roman and Christian architectural
influences on the mosque, and the text even proclaims that the building’s
unique character is “above all due to the presence of Byzantine artists and
architects sent by the Christian emperor Niceforo Foca.” Elements of
290 J. R. BOLL

Islamic construction are described as “an ostentatious display of power,”

though “not very original.”
The final section of the pamphlet, favorably titled “THE CHRISTIAN
TRANSFORMATION,” describes the architectural elements of the chapels
within as “ingenious,” “extraordinary,” “rich,” “striking” and “outstanding,”
and includes the following highly charged statement in regard to the conver-
sion of the mosque to a cathedral: “It was a matter of recuperating a sacred
space that had suffered the imposition of a faith that was foreign and
distant from the Christian experience.” Versions of the words “recuperate,”
“restore” and “reform” are employed throughout this section, dismissing
the Muslim period as mere interruption. The purveying attitude is well sum-
marized in the final sentence of the introduction to this section: “Thus, the
reforms of the Cathedral were motivated by the need to restore the cult
that had been interrupted by Islamic domination … a response to the …
inconvenience of celebrating the Liturgy amid a sea of columns.” No
mention of “demolition” here – just necessary “transformations” following
the inconvenient Muslim interruption.
While the paper version of the pamphlet currently distributed at the
entrance of the Mezquita is ostensibly more objective than its online counter-
part (the Muslims “arrived” instead of “invaded,” for instance), the included
timeline in which the ominous, dark blue section labeled “Muslim era” is
notably flanked by bright, amber-colored “Christian eras” serves to again
present the Islamic period as historical interruption. This version also con-
tinues to note that “not a day has gone by without the Chapter holding the
Holy Liturgy for the Christian community,” and subtly italicizes “The reli-
gious use of the temple has ensured the monument’s conservation” in the
paragraph that tells of its UNESCO status. It praises the Church for such con-
servation, indicating in bold the Church as the responsible party: “The Cathe-
dral Chapter of Córdoba, sympathetic to the cultural heritage and aware of
the significance of the legacy it received, has concentrated its efforts since 1236
on preserving and promoting the temple.” While seemingly less provocative
than the online version of this final pamphletary reflection (“The Church,
through the Chapter, has ensured that this Cathedral, an old Western Cali-
phate Mosque, and the World Heritage Site, is not in a pile of ruins
today”), both “preservation” and “promotion” seem nonetheless to be used
quite loosely here, recent polemics considered.
Ali (2008, p. 15) notes the symbolism of physically framing the ruins of the
previous basilica in the center of the current structure, further allusion to the
Muslim era as an inopportune disruption to an otherwise – and fundamen-
tally – Christian history:
As if to emphasize the current re-framing of the mosque as an interruption in
the intrinsic Christian nature of the site, part of the floor has been permanently
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 291

exposed, a large plexiglass window revealing the excavated floor of the old Vis-
igothic church below.

In what Monteiro (2011, p. 318) calls a “rhetoric of display” that is “pro-

foundly archaeological,” the Church maintains a narrative of righteous recla-
mation through these ruins. The ruins were unveiled to the public in January
of 2005 – along with an exhibition of Roman and Visigoth remains excavated
from the site – underscoring what both the Church and Spanish media
referred to at the time as the “true” historic origin of the Mezquita (Recio
Mateo 2005). Ruggles (2011, p. 33) notes that the artifacts also serve to pro-
claim the entire nation as fundamentally Occidental, presenting what is essen-
tially a political declaration as scientific “fact” based on excavated data. That
historical memory is necessarily selective ironically becomes “buried” in the
showcased relics. The timing of the display within the Mezquita was see-
mingly an effort to combat perceived Muslim “claims” to the space, as the
museum was initiated the year following the first petition to allow Muslim
worship in 2004.
Visiting the Mezquita is often described as a disorienting experience,
largely a result of the Islamic architecture within: “The sense of disorientation
is enhanced as, in direct contrast to purpose-built Catholic churches, the space
appears non-hierarchical, lacking a clear itinerary for visitors” (Monteiro
2011, p. 317). The Visigoth museum created within the monument is an
attempt to provide this missing itinerary. It is a means for the Church to
caption the space, to essentially guide visitors through or past the arches
and to manipulate the touristic experience by presenting a single, exclusionary
history. Effectively, it is an endeavor to “dis-orient” the site itself by dissociat-
ing the Mezquita from its Islamic heritage.
While the Church presents the Muslim era as intermissive to Spain’s Chris-
tian history, there is no suggestion that the 180-foot-long chapel within is
spatial interruption. Nor is there reference to what Ali (2008, p. 15) calls
the “architectural violence” that initially created the interjected cathedral.
Ruggles (2011, p. 25) notes the irony, however, that this very “violence”
may be what saved the Mezquita from the tragic fates of other mosques of
medieval Spain. Aside from the tectonic destruction, Ali (2008, p. 15) likewise
considers the implication that the building is essentially Christian to be
another form of violence – in this case, curatorial:
The architectural violence done in Córdoba – the demolishing of the center of
the interior of the mosque to construct the cathedral – is mirrored in the cur-
atorial violence of the visitors guide entitled “The Cathedral of Córdoba” ren-
dering any history of the building as a Muslim site of worship in the solid past
tense, framing its existence as a mosque – for nearly three hundred years – as an
“interruption” of the site’s history as a Christian place of worship, neglecting to
mention that the church previously on the site willingly shared its space with
Córdoba’s growing Muslim community and then later sold its building to the
292 J. R. BOLL

Muslims when it became clear they needed a larger space, neglecting also to
mention that many churches were themselves built on top of Pagan temples.9

While iconically mosque eclipses cathedral, ironically – and via presumptuous

metonymy – the embedded cathedral continues to officially represent the
encompassing structure. Notwithstanding formal decisions the mosque-
cathedral is clearly still branded as a Christian space and the policies
thereof proclaim it as such.

Operational irony
In 2004 the National Islamic Commission of Spain submitted a proposal to
the Vatican specifically requesting permission for Muslims to worship
inside the mosque-cathedral, calling upon the fact that the structure has
been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984 and as such, is intended
for ecumenical use. The Vatican rejected the proposal immediately. Many
interpreted the request as an attempt to “reconquer” former Muslim territory
in southern Spain, a notion reinforced after the Madrid train bombings that
same year. Following the bombings, seven Muslims were arrested who ident-
ified themselves as the “Al-Andalus Brigade” and who explicitly declared an
objective of reclaiming Andalusia in the name of Islam. Rogozen-Soltar
(2007, p. 875) notes the (con)fusion of the two events in the public mind in
her analysis of contemporary Christian-Muslim tensions in Spain: “In
Spanish media reactions to the debate over Muslim prayer in the Córdoba
Cathedral, there seems to be some conflation of the goals of these terrorists
with the attitudes of all Muslim populations in Andalusia today.” This confla-
tion intensified when international media reported that Al-Qaeda called for a
re-conquest of Al-Andalus in a video released the following year (Irish 2007),
and in August of 2016 a video issued by ISIS demanded the same (Miranda
2016). Recently many Spanish converts to Islam have voiced an alternative,
non-violent desire to restore Andalusia’s Islamic legacy and look to the con-
vivencia of centuries past. Some contend that the return to such a state of
cohabitation and tolerance is both natural and inevitable, due to the
region’s cultural patrimony (Rogozen-Soltar 2007, p. 876). Such discourse –
both on the part of terrorists and peaceful converts – serves to incite and com-
plicate the resistance to Muslim worship in the Mezquita.
Casani (2016) discusses the ways in which recent international terrorist
attacks – especially the Paris attacks in 2015 – have affected Spanish policies
and attitudes toward Muslims in his report on Islamophobia in Spain. Eval-
uating discrimination in the job market, educational practices, political cam-
paigns and legislation, media coverage and the justice system, the report
concludes that Islamophobia is a rising concern in Spain – the number of Isla-
mophobic attacks reported quadrupled from 2014 to 2015, for instance
(Casani 2016, p. 471) – and is part of a historical narrative in which
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 293

“Spanish culture and identity was constructed in opposition to Islam and its
presence in the peninsula” (Casani 2016, p. 481). Furthermore, the report
links anti-Muslim sentiment to the Syrian refugee crisis that drew inter-
national attention beginning in the spring of 2015; the broader European Isla-
mophobia Report indicates that the “refuge-migration-Islam-terrorism nexus
became the standard argument justifying a number of domestic and inter-
national measures” throughout much of Europe (Bayrakli and Hafez 2016,
p. 7). The report on Spain suggests a greater mistrust of the Muslim
“other” as a result of the nation’s Islamic heritage (Casani 2016, p. 481),
and notes the persistent belief throughout Spanish history that Spain is in a
“constant state of confrontation with Muslim civilisation” (Casani 2016,
p. 471). Casani (2016, p. 476) specifically cites the controversies surrounding
the Mezquita as exemplary of “the rejection of the presence of Islam in public
spaces” throughout the country.
Following the initial prayer debate in 2004, a subsequent request to allow
Muslim worship in the Mezquita came in 2006 when the Spanish Islamic
Board sent a letter to the Pope’s ambassador in Spain. The letter called for
the building to be opened to all religions for prayer, to serve as an example
of tolerance and to revive the “spirit of Al-Andalus” (Fuchs 2006, p. 21).
While Bishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Bilbao, former head of the Spanish
Episcopal Conference, initially stated that private or individual prayer was
acceptable, he later recanted and insisted that “Muslims cannot in any way
pray in Cordoba cathedral.” Ironically declaring such prayer to be desecration
of the holy site, the Church’s policy against Muslim worship has been consist-
ently reiterated and enforced in the years since. One of the most notable inci-
dents occurred in March of 2010, when a group of Muslim tourists were
arrested and jailed upon attempting to pray and charged with “crimes
against religious sentiment” (El País 2010). Adding to the irony in this case
is the fact that the tourists were part of the organization Muslimische
Jugend Österreich, Austrian Muslim Youth, who were visiting the Mezquita
as part of an itinerary focused on issues of international justice and whose
trip to Spain was inspired by the country’s “intercultural trajectory” and resul-
tant relevance for the future of Europe (Europa Press 2010). Also ironic in this
case is the contention that allowing shared prayer would convert the Mezquita
“from a place of peace and rapprochement into a place of discord and con-
frontation” (Fernandez 2010). Both the immediate association of prayer
with discord and “peace” as characteristic of the current state are worthy of
(re)consideration here.
The Mezquita’s status as a World Heritage Site is itself ironic; the World
Heritage Convention conceives of such sites as belonging “to all the peoples
of the world” (UNESCO 2016), yet the Church has effectually articulated
that the space does not “belong” to followers of Islam. Furthermore, the monu-
ment was added to the World Heritage List precisely for its Muslim heritage
294 J. R. BOLL

and was originally inscribed as “The Mosque of Cordoba.” On the initial appli-
cation, justification provided to the International Council on Museums and
Sites (ICOMOS, the organization that investigates nominated sites) included
the following: “[The Mosque] has exerted considerable influence on Arabs
and Christians alike, ever since the eighth century” and “It may be regarded
as evidence of the influence of Islamic culture on the Western world”
(ICOMOS 2006). More significantly, all inscription criteria cited by
ICOMOS in their evaluation and recommendation for site approval explicitly
celebrate the history of the Mezquita as the mosque of Al-Andalus; criterion
ii, for example, states “the mosque of Cordoba has exercised a considerable
influence on western Muslim art from the eighth century,” while criterion iv
indicates “it is an outstanding example of the religious architecture of Islam”
(ICOMOS 2006). Moreover, ICOMOS’s justification recounts the following:
The homogenity [sic] of this massive construction, the result of successive cam-
paigns, is still striking despite variations in detail and especially the indiscreet
modifications made by the Christians after the conquest of Cordoba by king
Ferdinand “the Saint” in 1236 (the most unfortunate took place in the 15th,
16th and 18th centuries). The mosque … is one of the most beautiful architec-
tural spatial creations ever conceived … . (ICOMOS 1993)

Clearly it was the original Islamic construction and not the “unfortunate”
Christian modifications that led to the site’s approval.
In 1993 Spain applied to extend the World Heritage Site to include the
environs of the Mezquita. The application again underscored the city’s
shared past, describing the historic center of Córdoba as “a living expression
of the different cultures that have existed there” (ICOMOS 1993). This, too,
was the emphasis when Córdoba (unsuccessfully) campaigned to be the
2016 European City of Culture. One need not look far to see the irony in
the campaign description of the city as a “meeting place [of] dialogue,
respect, and equality among all people, the defense of Human Rights, and a
sense of justice and solidarity” (Córdoba 2016). Also evident is the irony of
the campaign slogan, El future tiene raíces. Celebrando la diversidad. (The
future has roots. Celebrating diversity.) (Córdoba Patrimonio 2011). Like
that of the Mezquita, the city’s Islamic heritage is recognized when con-
venient, yet shunned when not. As Ali (2008, p. 17) notes, “History of the
expelled is fine so long as it’s [sic] tense is past-perfect.” Islam in Córdoba
is celebrated, provided it’s confined to the past.
Around the same time as the 2006 prayer request, plans were submitted for
the construction of a half-size replica of the Mezquita. The project was pre-
sented explicitly as a “means to recover Cordoba’s position in the Islamic
imagination as the capital of Al-Andalus” (BBC 2006). The mosque was to
be built in Córdoba and to have a surface area of 11,000 square meters,
“designed to be one of the main points of pilgrimage and prayer for the faith-
ful in southern Europe” (BBC 2006). The proposition came up against severe
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 295

opposition on the part of the residents, and after much standstill in the courts,
was ultimately rejected as well.10 Despite the history of both building and city
– and a tourist industry that explicitly showcases this history – it seems
Muslims are welcome only if prayer rugs are left at home.
Further compounding the operational irony of the space, in June of 2016 a
performance of T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral (La sangre de los mártires)
was staged in the Mezquita. Portraying the assassination of Archbishop
Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 CE, the play engages with
the themes of opposition to authority, ecclesiastical power and justification
of violence in the name of political stability. Performing this particular play
in this particular setting is clearly ironic, but augmenting this irony are the
ironic tensions within the play itself. Conflict of wills, juxtaposition, double
meanings, understatements, ignorance and resultant (mis)interpretations
create a drama that parallels the condition of the “theater” within which it
was performed.11

Conclusion
As dramas thus unfold both within and with regard to the Mezquita, Sedge-
wick’s definition of irony as contradiction resulting from an ignorance of con-
dition becomes all the more relevant. The contradictory policies and discourse
that ignore the condition of the mosque-cathedral as a space of historic and
contemporary cultural confluence reflect nationwide inconsistencies as
Spain concurrently celebrates its Islamic past while rejecting allusions to a
Muslim identity in order to firmly define itself as Occidental. This rejection
is indicative of the broader whitewashing of European history, through
which only select peoples and contributions are recognized. The Mezquita’s
manifold ironies evince greater tensions as Spaniards struggle with opposing
narratives of the nation’s past and present, and examination of these ironies
thus provides insight into not only spatial contestation but also into the poli-
tics of cultural heritage and place identity.
Comparing the Mezquita to Palestine – another “place with another place
inside” – Ali (2008, p. 16) points out the obvious: “it is now physically imposs-
ible to have a Mezquita without the cathedral in its center, impossible to have
the cathedral without the surrounding Mezquita.” This structural inscription
results in an architectural dependence that mirrors the cultural dependence of
both the Mezquita and all of Spain. As Monteiro (2011, p. 322) notes, though,
“there remains little room for Islam in the framing of contemporary Spanish
identity.” Yet ultimately – ironically – the nation depends on it. As the
number of Muslim tourists and inhabitants in Spain continues to rise – along-
side anxieties concerning Islam and (im)migration in general – the medieval
legacy of Al-Andalus and the polemics of the built environment will increas-
ingly shape and complicate Spain’s understanding of its own heritage.12
296 J. R. BOLL

Notes
1. Poria et al. (2001, p. 1047) cite various scholars who have treated heritage
tourism as dependent upon site attributes (see Percival 1987; Peleggi 1996;
Seale 1996; Langlois et al. 1999; Palmer 1999; Prideaux and Kininmont 1999).
2. Silberberg (1995) discusses the tourism shift in the 1990s and presents the
results of a Lou Harris Poll of frequent travelers conducted for Travel and
Leisure Magazine. The poll indicated a significant increase in the importance
of culture as motivation for travel, especially in terms of “museums and heritage
sites” and “cultural, historical or archaeological treasures” (Silberberg 1995).
3. Countless scholars have written of the structural elements and layered history
of the Mezquita, both as stand-alone narratives and within more extensive
arguments. Dodds’ (1992) comprehensive account is among the most cited,
for instance, while Khoury (1996) provides a detailed description of the archi-
tecture and the inscriptions of the medieval mosque, before Christian conver-
sion. Ecker (2003) also focuses on the medieval mosque, thoroughly explaining
phases of destruction and restoration as well as related religious and scholarly
discourse, and includes a useful appendix of historical documents related to the
monument. Monco (1988) likewise examines the mosque’s multiple transform-
ations, while Edwards (2001) discusses the building’s preservation and restor-
ation. Hillenbrand (1992) centers on the political and symbolic implications of
the successive transformations rather than on the structural modifications
themselves. Lewis (2009) dedicates a chapter of his meticulous account of
Islamic Spain to the Mezquita, and threads further details of the building
throughout subsequent chapters. He pays particular attention to the Arabic cal-
ligraphy inscribed around the doors and on interior walls, explaining the
importance of language in Islam and outlining the connections between literacy
and religion.
4. Isozaki’s remarks are congruent with Baudrillard’s (2009, p. 96) claim that
America lacks irony because it lacks ruins – there is neither “ancestral territory”
nor authenticity in the USA, resulting in an “incapacity for ironic reflection.”
5. For more on the irony of postmodern architecture, see Petit (2013), Irony, or,
the self-critical opacity of postmodern architecture.
6. Despite conclusive archaeological excavations begun in the 1920s and
expanded in subsequent decades, some contemporary scholars continue to
deny that the Mezquita was built at the site of St. Vincent’s Basilica. Khoury
(1996, p. 85) is one of the few in this category, referring to the story of
St. Vincent’s as a “myth” used to claim Christian origin of the space.
7. The Umayyad dynasty was the first Muslim dynasty to rule the empire of the
Caliphate (661–750 CE); Abd al-Rahmān I, member of the Umayyad family,
established the city of Córdoba as the capital of the Moorish Emirite (later Cali-
phate) of Córdoba in 756 CE.
8. The WTM Global Trend Report 2007 (World Travel Market 2007, p. 18)
defines halal tourism as “tourism activities permissible under Islamic law in
terms of behavior, dress, conduct and diet.” The website us.halalbooking.com
(2016), the proclaimed “World Leader in Halal Travel,” includes the following
explanation in the section entitled “Halal Tourism?”: “Halal Holiday is a new
product in the tourism industry providing full holiday services in accordance
with Islamic beliefs and practices.” Battour and Ismail (2015) note that the
purpose of travel is not necessarily religious, and explain the nuances
between “halal tourism” and “Islamic tourism” – terms that are often used
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 297

interchangeably. For further definitions of Islamic and halal tourism in tourism

and destination marketing literature, see Din (1989), Timothy and Iverson
(2006) and Jafari and Scott (2014). For an analysis of the trends and challenges
of halal tourism, see Battour et al. (2010) and Battour and Ismail (2015). For
reports of halal tourism in mass media, see Khalil (2010), Suleaman (2010),
Reeve (2012) and Stephenson (2014).
9. Ali refers here to the fact that Saint Vincent’s Basilica was first divided into
Muslim and Christian halves upon Muslim conquest of Spain in 711 CE; in
784 CE, Emir Abd al-Rahmān I purchased the Christian half, demolished the
structure, and began construction of the Mezquita the following year.
10. Mass media worldwide have attested to the anxieties surrounding the prayer
debate and those related to broader Christian-Muslim relations in Spain.
Weeks after the 2006 request, London’s The Independent reported that
“Spain’s bishops are alarmed by ambitious plans to recreate the city of Cordoba
… as a pilgrimage site for Muslims throughout Europe” (Nash 2007, p. 26).
This completely contradicts efforts to promote Córdoba as a pilgrimage site
via halal tourism campaigns and by heritage tour operators. Other headlines
in recent years have proclaimed: “Under Siege? Spain Resists Islamic ‘Invasion’”
(Hurd 2012); “‘Andalusia Spring’: Reclaiming ‘Occupied’ Spain for Islam”
(Kern 2012); and “Muslims Demand ‘Right of Return’ to Spain” (Kern 2014).
As recently as January of 2016, in an article entitled “Islamic State group said
targeting Spain” (BBC 2016), BBC Worldwide Monitoring reported that the
DA’ISH is focusing its efforts on Córdoba, whose “mosque the Muslim com-
munity demands” and whose corresponding campaigns “have reached a
great intensity.”
11. For a thorough discussion of the irony of the play, see Glicksberg’s (1955) essay,
“The Spirit of Irony in Eliot’s Plays.”
12. In 2015, the Pew Research Center reported there to be 980,000 Muslims in
Spain, 2.1% of the total population (Hackett 2015). Bravo (2014) notes the dif-
ficulty of estimating the size of the Muslim population, however. For instance, a
demographic study in 2013 reported nearly 1.6 million Muslims in Spain – 3%
of the total population (Euro-Islam 2013). This same report indicated that
Andalusia had the second-highest number of Muslims within Spain, approxi-
mately 250,000, following Catalonia’s 427,000 (Euro-Islam 2013).

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor
Jessica R. Boll PhD is Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of English and
Modern Languages & Literatures at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. Her research
interests include early modern Spanish-Ottoman relations, contemporary Christian-
Muslim relations, shared spaces and contested perceptions of place.

References
Ali, K., 2008. The architecture of loneliness. The American Poetry Review, 37 (6),
13–21.
298 J. R. BOLL

Ashworth, G.J., 1994. From history to heritage: from heritage to identity: in search of
concepts and models. In: G.J. Ashworth and P.J. Larkham, eds. Building a new heri-
tage: tourism, culture and identity in the new Europe. London: Routledge, 13–30.
Balcar, M.J.O. and Pearce, D.G., 1996. Heritage tourism on the west coast of New
Zealand. Tourism Management, 17 (3), 203–212.
Bandyopadhyay, R., Morais, D.B., and Chick, G., 2008. Religion and identity in India’s
heritage tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 35 (3), 790–808.
Battour, M.M. and Ismail, M.N., 2015. Halal tourism: concepts, practices, challenges
and future. Tourism Management Perspectives [online]. Available from: http://
www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/science/article/pii/S22119736150
00987 [Accessed 4 June 2016].
Battour, M.M., Ismail, M.N., and Battor, M., 2010. Toward a halal tourism market.
Tourism Analysis, 15 (4), 461–470.
Baudrillard, J., 2009. America after Utopia. New Perspectives Quarterly, 26 (4), 96–99.
Bayrakli, E., and Hafez, F., 2016. European islamophobia report 2015. Istanbul: SETA.
BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 2006. Muslim body wants to build replica mosque in
southern Spain. BBC Worldwide Monitoring [online], 20 December. Available
from: http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/
[Accessed 10 July 2016].
BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 2016. Islamic State group said targeting Spain. BBC
Worldwide Monitoring [online], 29 January. Available from: http://www.
lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic [Accessed 27 May 2016].
Boniface, P. and Fowler, P., 1993. Heritage and tourism in “The global village.”
London: Routledge.
Bravo, F., 2014. Islam in Spain: 800% population increase in mere 13 years [online].
Available from: https://muslimstatistics.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/islam-in-
spain-800-population-increase-in-mere-13-years/ [Accessed 4 June 2016].
Carbajosa, A., 2014. Spain’s appeal to Muslim tourists. El País [online], 13 October.
Available from: http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/10/08/inenglish/1412763978_
844905.html [Accessed 2 June 2016].
Casani, A., 2016. Islamophobia in Spain: national report 2015. In: E. Bayrakli & F.
Hafez, eds. European islamophobia report 2015, Istanbul: SETA, 467–490.
Chang, T.C., et al., 1996. Urban heritage tourism: the global-local nexus. Annals of
Tourism Research, 23 (2), 284–305.
Cheung, S., 1999. The meanings of a heritage trail in Hong Kong. Annals of Tourism
Research, 26, 570–588.
Conjunto Monumental Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, 2009. Conjunto Monumental
Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba [online]. Available from: www.catedraldecordoba.es
[Accessed 4 June 2016].
Córdoba 2016 Ciudad Europea de la Cultura, 2016. Córdoba 2016 Ciudad Europea de
la Cultura [online]. Available from: http://www.cordoba2016.es [Accessed 29 June
2016].
Córdoba Patrimonio de la Humanidad, 2011. Córdoba 2016 Capital Europea de la
Cultura [online]. Available from: http://cordoba2016capitaleuropeadelacultura.
blogspot.com [Accessed 10 July 2016].
Crescent Tours, 2016. Crescent Tours [online]. Available from: crescenttours.co.uk
[Accessed 21 June 2016].
Din, K.H., 1989. Islam and tourism: patterns, issues, and options. Annals of Tourism
Research, 16 (4), 542–563.
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 299

Dodds, J.D., 1992. The great Mosque of Cordoba. In: J.D. Dodds, ed. Al-Andalus: the
art of Islamic Spain, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 11–25.
Ecker, H., 2003. The great mosque of córdoba in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Muqarnas Online, 20, 113–141.
Edwards, J., 2001. The changing use of worship in Roman and medieval Córdoba. In:
R. Layton, P. Stone, and J. Thomas, eds. Destruction and conservation of cultural
property. New York: Routledge, 221–235.
El País, 2010. Liberados los dos detenidos por “la provocación" en la mezquita de
Córdoba. El País [online], 2 April. Available from: http://sociedad.elpais.com/
sociedad/2010/04/02/actualidad/1270159207_850215.html [Accessed 26 May
2016].
Euro-Islam, 2013. Demographic study of the Muslim population in Spain. Euro-Islam
[online], 28 February. Available from: http://www.euro-islam.info/2013/02/28/
demographic-study-of-the-muslim-population-in-spain/ [Accessed 26 May 2016].
Europa Press, 2010. La Asociación Jóvenes Musulmanes de Austria lamenta el inci-
dente en Córdoba. Europa Press [online], 2 April. Available from: http://www.
europapress.es/economia/noticia-comunicado-asociacion-jovenes-musulmanes-
austria-lamenta-incidente-cordoba-20100402101949.html [Accessed 16 June
2016].
Fernandez, D., 2010. No al uso compartido de la Mezquita. Diario de Sevilla [online],
16 April. Available from: http://www.diariodesevilla.es/article/opinion/678916/no/
uso/compartido/la/mezquita.html [Accessed 15 June 2016].
Fuchs, D., 2006. Pope asked to let Muslims pray in the cathedral: Córdoba former
mosque “must be open to all faiths”: Letter follows Islamic anger over papal
remarks. Guardian International, 28 December, p. 21.
Gardels, N. and Snell, M., 1996. Architecture without irony. New Perspectives
Quarterly, 13 (3), 31–33.
Glen, M.H., 1991. If in doubt, call it heritage? In: D. McDowell and D. Leslie, eds.
Tourism resources: issues, planning and development. Jordanstown: University of
Ulster, 73–85.
Glicksberg, C.I., 1955. The spirit of irony in Eliot’s plays. Prairie Schooner, 29 (3),
222–237.
Grabar, O., 1992. Two paradoxes in the arts of the Spanish peninsula. In: S.K. Jayyusi,
ed. The legacy of Muslim Spain. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 583–91.
Hackett, Conrad, 2015. 5 facts about the Muslim population in Europe. Pew Research
Center [online]. Available from: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/
17/5-facts-about-the-muslim-population-in-europe/ [Accessed 29 May 2016].
HalalBooking, 2016. HalalBooking [online]. Available from: http://us.halalbooking.
com [Accessed 10 July 2016].
Halal Un Concepto Global International Congress, 2014. Halal Un Concepto Global
International Congress / Presentation / Visit Córdoba [online]. Available from:
http://halalglobalconcept.com/index.php/en/presentacion-3/visit-cordoba
[Accessed 10 June 2016].
Hedgecoe, G., 2016. Church climbs down on status of Córdoba mosque-cathedral;
Catholic Church had removed “mosque” from designation of historic building.
The Irish Times, 21 April, p. 11.
Hillenbrand, R., 1992. “The ornament of the world”: medieval Cordoba as a cultural
center. In: S.K. Jayyusi, ed. The legacy of Muslim Spain. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 112–35.
Horgan, R., 2016. Cordoba’s Mezquita “does not belong to anyone” town hall report
concludes. The Olive Press [online], 30 March. Available from: http://www.
300 J. R. BOLL

theolivepress.es/spain-news/2016/03/30/cordobas-mezquita-does-not-belong-to-
anyone-town-hall-report-concludes/ [Accessed 4 April 2016].
Hurd, D., 2012. Under siege? Spain resists Islamic “invasion.” CBN News [online], 12
February. Available from: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2012/february/
under-siege-spain-resists-islamic-invasion-/?mobile=false [Accessed 18 May
2016].
Hutcheon, L., 1994. Irony’s edge: the theory and politics of irony. London: Routledge.
Hutcheon, L. and Valdés, M.J., 2000. Irony, nostalgia, and the postmodern: a dialogue.
Poligrafías: Revista de Literatura Comparada, 3, 18–41.
ICOMOS, 1993. Advisory body evaluation. Charenton-le-Pont: World Heritage List
No. 313bis.
ICOMOS, 2006. (Cycle 1) section II periodic reporting. Charenton-le-Pont: Historic
Centre of Córdoba Spain.
Islamic Travels Ltd, 2010. Islamic Travels [online]. Available from: http://
islamictravels.com [Accessed 21 June 2016].
Jafari, J. and Scott, N., 2014. Muslim world and its tourisms. Annals of Tourism
Research, 44, 1–19.
Kern, S., 2012. “Andalusia Spring”: reclaiming “occupied” Spain for Islam. Gatestone
Institute [online], 9 January. Available from: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/
2744/andalusia-spring [Accessed 15 April 2016].
Kern, S., 2014. Muslims demand “right of return” to Spain. Gatestone Institute
[online], 21 February. Available from: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4183/
muslim-right-of-return-spain [Accessed 30 March 2016].
Khalil, S., 2010. Halal holidays in the sun. BBC News [online], 13 August. Available
from: https://muslimstatistics.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/islam-in-spain-800-
population-increase-in-mere-13-years/ [Accessed 21 June 2016].
Khoury, N.N.N., 1996. The meaning of the great mosque of cordoba in the tenth
century. Muqarnas, 13, 80–98.
Langlois, S.M., Theodore, J., and Ineson, E.M., 1999. Poland: inbound tourism from
the UK. Tourism Management, 20, 461–469.
Laws, E., 1998. Conceptualizing visitor satisfaction management in heritage settings:
an exploratory blueprinting analysis of leeds castle, kent. Tourism Management, 19,
545–554.
Lewis, D.L., 2009. God’s crucible: Islam and the making of Europe. New York: W.W.
Norton.
Lowenthal, D., 2005. The past is a foreign country. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
MacCannell, D., 1992. Empty meeting grounds: the tourist papers. London: Routledge.
McCain, G. and Ray, N.M., 2003. Legacy tourism: the search for personal meaning in
heritage travel. Tourism Management, 24 (6), 713–717.
Miranda, C., 2016. Islamic State’s target to crush the West, the Mosque-Cathedral of
Cordoba in Spain. news.com.au [online], 2 September. Available from: http://www.
news.com.au/world/europe/islamic-states-target-to-crush-the-west-the-mosque
cathedral-of-cordoba-in-spain/news-story/c5a5c944302107d970bedf908484072d
[Accessed 5 December 2016].
Monco, R., 1988. The mosque and the cathedral. FMR: The Magazine of Franco Maria
Ricci, 33, 98–117.
Monteiro, L., 2011. The mezquita of córdoba is made of more than bricks: towards a
broader definition of the “heritage” protected at UNESCO world heritage sites.
Archaeologies, 7 (2), 312–328.
 JOURNAL OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 301

Nash, E., 2007. Spanish bishops fear rebirth of Islamic kingdom. The Independent, 5
January, p. 26.
Nuryanti, W., 1996. Heritage and postmodern tourism. Annals of Tourism Research,
23 (2), 249–260.
Palmer, C., 1999. Tourism and the symbols of identity. Tourism Management, 20,
313–321.
Peleggi, M., 1996. National heritage and global tourism in Thailand. Annals of
Tourism Research, 23, 432–448.
Percival, A., 1987. Export to Japan: the heritage centre goes east. Heritage Outlook, 10
(2), 40–43.
Petit, E., 2013. Irony, or, the self-critical opacity of postmodern architecture. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Poria, Y., Butler, R., and Airey, D., 2001. Clarifying heritage tourism. Annals of
Tourism Research, 28 (4), 1047–1049.
Poria, Y., Butler, R., and Airey, D., 2003. The core of heritage tourism. Annals of
Tourism Research, 30 (1), 238–254.
Prentice, R., 1993. Tourism and heritage attractions. London: Routledge.
Prideaux, B.R. and Kininmont, L.J., 1999. Tourism and heritage are not the strangers:
a study of opportunities for rural heritage museums to maximize tourism visitation.
Journal of Travel Research, 37, 299–303.
Priestley, D., Macdonald, J., and Adams, M., 1999. Site plan. In: D. Stannard, ed.
Insight guide: Southern Spain. London: APA, 168.
Recio Mateo, L., 2005. San Vicente, en la Mezquita-Catedral. Diario Córdoba [online],
20 January. Available from: http://www.diariocordoba.com/noticias/cultura/san-
vicente-mezquita-catedral_165441.html [Accessed 28 June 2016].
Reeve, C., 2012. Halal tourism’s moment in the sun. CNN Travel [online], 12
November. Available from: http://i.cdn.travel.cnn.com/halal-tourism-329146/
[Accessed 7 June 2016].
Rist, P., 1989. Nostalgia: stars and genres in American pop culture. Canadian Review
of American Studies, 20 (1), 111–118.
Rodríguez, M.L., 2014. A global “halal hub”? Halal Global Concept [online], 16
January. Available from: http://halalglobalconcept.com/index.php/en/press/83-a-
global-halal-hub [Accessed 30 June 2016].
Rogozen-Soltar, M., 2007. Al-Andalus in andalusia: negotiating moorish history and
regional identity in southern Spain. Anthropological Quarterly, 80 (3), 863–886.
Ruggles, D.F., 2011. La estratigrafía del olvido: la gran mezquita de córdoba y su
legado refutado. Antípoda: Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 12, 19–37.
Sayers, D., 1989. Interpretation: a key to tourism and conservation expansion in devel-
oping countries. In: D. Uzzell, ed. Heritage interpretation: the natural and built
environment. Vol. 1. London: Belhaven, 165–170.
Seale, R.G., 1996. A perspective from Canada on heritage and tourism. Annals of
Tourism Research, 23, 484–488.
Sedgewick, G.G., 1948. Of irony: especially in drama. Toronto: University of Toronto.
Silberberg, T., 1995. Cultural tourism and business opportunities for museums and
heritage sites. Tourism Management, 16 (5), 361–365.
Stephenson, M.L., 2014. Deciphering “islamic hospitality”: developments, challenges
and opportunities. Tourism Management, 40, 155–164.
Suleaman, N., 2010. The birth of halal holidays. The Guardian [online], 27 August.
Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2010/aug/28/halal-holidays-
turkey-muslim-women [Accessed 21 June 2016].
302 J. R. BOLL

The Irish Times, 2007. Bin Laden vows revenge on infidel Musharraf. The Irish Times
[online], 20 Septmber. Available from: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/bin-laden-
vows-revenge-on-musharraf-1.812468 [Accessed 7 July 2016].
Timothy, D., 1997. Tourism and the personal heritage experience. Annals of Tourism
Research, 24, 751–754.
Timothy, D. and Iverson, T., 2006. Tourism and Islam: consideration of culture and
duty. In: D. Timothy and D. Oslen, eds. Tourism, religion and spiritual journeys.
Oxford: Routledge, 186–205.
Tuan, Y., 1977. Space and place: the perspective of experience. Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press.
Umayyad Route, 2016a. Umayyad route/communication/latest news [online].
Available from: http://umayyad.eu/?q=blog/136 [Accessed 15 June 2016].
Umayyad Route, 2016b. Umayyad Route/Visits/Córdoba [online]. Available from:
http://umayyad.eu/?q=visits-cordoba [Accessed 15 June 2016].
UNESCO, 2016. UNESCO/culture/world heritage centre/about world heritage
[online]. Available from: http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/ [Accessed 10 July 2016].
Uriely, N., Israeli, A., and Reichel, A., 2002. Heritage proximity and resident attitudes
towards tourism development. Annals of Tourism Research, 29, 858–862.
Urry, J., 1990. The tourist gaze: leisure and travel in contemporary societies. London:
Sage.
Uzzell, D., 1989. Introduction: the natural and built environment. In: D. Uzzell, ed.
Heritage interpretation: the natural and built environment. Vol. 1. London:
Belhaven, l–15.
World Travel Market, 2007. WTM global trends report 2007.
Yale, P., 1991. From tourist attractions to heritage tourism. Huntingdon: ELM.
Young, A., 2004. La Mezquita, Cordoba. The Carolina Quarterly, 56 (2–3), 55.
Zawya, 2015. More than a million tourists from the Muslim world visited Spain in
2014. Zawya [online], 16 March. Available from: http://www.zawya.com/mena/
en/story/ZAWYA20150316112440/ [Accessed 1 June 2016].
Zeppel, H. and Hall, C.M., 1992. Arts and heritage tourism. In: B. Weiler and C.M.
Hall, eds. Special interest tourism. London: Belhaven, 47–68.