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| Spanish Dhimmi Continues | |||||
| 2004-05-03 | |||||
A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims. Cathedral authorities in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela, on Spain's north west coast, plan to move the statute to the museum. Among the reasons for the move is to avoid upsetting the "sensitivities of other ethnic groups".
The statue of St James "the Moor-slayer" is expected to be replaced by one depicting the calmer image of St James "the Pilgrim", by the same 18th century artist, Jose Gambino. The Saracen-slaying image of St James, or Santiago in Spanish, is a symbol of the fight between Christianity and Islam and the reconquest of Spain from eight centuries of Moorish rule before 1492. The saint is said to have appeared to Christian troops fighting Moorish army at the Battle of Clavijo in 844, the crusaders rallying to the cry of "Santiago y cierra Espana" - "St James, we will reconquer Spain". Cathedral authorities insist the timing of the decision has nothing to do with the 11 March bombings in Madrid, which an Islamic group is alleged to have carried out.
Alejandro Barral, president of the cultural commission for the cathedral council, told BBC News Online: "This is not an opportunistic decision. This is not through fear of fanatics of any kind and nothing to do with 11 March or 11 September."
He said the decision was taken a few years ago, but simply had not yet been implemented. Mr Barral said the idea was to try to take the image of the saint back to its origins - St James as the apostle or pilgrim who took the word of Jesus to the Iberian Peninsula. The Baroque image of a sword-wielding St James cutting the heads off Moors is not a very sensitive or evangelical image that fits the teachings of Christ, he added.
The statue, when it is eventually moved from the chapel in the cathedral, is not likely to be hidden from the six million pilgrims and tourists who visit the city every year. It is due to take its place alongside dozens of other images of St James in the cathedral museum.
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| Posted by:Steve |
| #19 Other art: the Hanging of Buddha by an enraged Texas lynch mob; Smokey the Bear killing Zoaraster with a shovel; and Haile Selassie being smoked in a hash pipe by Mocmud. LOL. Ima impressed. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-05-03 5:57:16 PM |
| #18 Jeezus Christ on a Crutch! Goodby, Spain. It's been nice. Start getting measured for your burkhas now and avoid the rush. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-05-03 5:03:20 PM |
| #17 Anonymoose -- you do realize why Renaissance Italians would have bad impressions of Muslims, don't you? The words "slave raids" and "constant war" come to mind. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-05-03 2:53:43 PM |
| #16 Santiago is the national saint of Spain, her protector. The knights and warriors of the Reconquista charged the Moors at the battle cry of "Santiago". Thet statue should remain where it is until hell freezes or until Muslims have apologized and indeminified Spain for the invasion. |
| Posted by: JFM 2004-05-03 2:43:31 PM |
| #15 Smokey the Bear killing Zoaraster with a shovel Huh? |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-03 2:25:56 PM |
| #14 Other art: the Hanging of Buddha by an enraged Texas lynch mob; Smokey the Bear killing Zoaraster with a shovel; and Haile Selassie being smoked in a hash pipe by Mocmud. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-05-03 2:22:27 PM |
| #13 Here is a link to Worshipers of Allah Plot to Blow up Christian church. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-05-03 1:15:23 PM |
| #12 Mohammed in Hell Being Tormented by Demons |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-03 1:15:06 PM |
#11  Mohammed in Hell Being Tormented by Demons Giovanni daModena c1385-bef 1455 |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-03 1:12:59 PM |
| #10 Italy's got a fresco of Muhammed being devoured by demons while burning in Hell Saddahm has a pix of GWB in his cell. When we capture Osama, we can put a print of that fresco in his. (Oops the Geneva Convention anal-retentiveites won't like it.) I guess Osama'll have to be satisfied with GWB smiling down on him too. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-03 1:05:21 PM |
| #9 Right before 9/11, the Muslims in Italy were trying their best to get the fresco removed. You guys haven't lived until you've read Oriana Fallaci's WOT polemic and her diatribe on how Muslims are ruining Europe The Rage and the Pride! |
| Posted by: Jen 2004-05-03 1:02:52 PM |
| #8 Hmph! Italy's got a fresco of Muhammed being devoured by demons while burning in Hell ... Yes, and there have been threats made against it. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-05-03 12:58:56 PM |
| #7 Hmph! Italy's got a fresco of Muhammed being devoured by demons while burning in Hell ... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2004-05-03 12:25:16 PM |
| #6 Maybe we could offer them a statue of St. Rumsfeld showing one of his many Fighting Styles. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2004-05-03 12:23:38 PM |
| #5 Does this mean that the Iman's of Islam will stop calling for the murder and death of all non-muslims and Jooooes in order not to offend Christians and Jews? Will the Genocide in Sudan stop? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-05-03 12:21:55 PM |
| #4 Lol! If the statue is in a Cathedral, why would a Muslim 1) ever see it or 2) care? Zappie & Friends are far more pathetic than I thought. Amazing. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-05-03 12:09:13 PM |
| #3 A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims. Haahahahahahahahaaa, the Islamozoids didn't show any concern for "causing offense" (and boy, did they really cause offense) to people in Madrid with their little train bombs, did they? That's okay tho, go ahead and lick the feet of your new masters; I'll try not to laugh too loudly or too frequently. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-05-03 12:03:47 PM |
| #2 Among the reasons for the move is to avoid upsetting the "sensitivities of other ethnic groups". Sensitive, like an old 1 litre jar of picric acid. Wonder what issue or issues will be next. Al and the Q's have the Spanish on the run, or at least on the trot. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-05-03 11:20:23 AM |
| #1 This is another piece of evidence that there have been more demands and threats against Spain that the current government hasn't made public. What are the others, Steve? |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-05-03 10:30:30 AM |