A mosque room opens in the Vatican
A prayer room for Muslims has been opened in the 500-year-old Apostolic Library at the request of Islamic scholars.
A prayer room for Muslims has been established inside the Vatican’s Apostolic Library, Vice-Prefect Giacomo Cardinali told La Repubblica.
According to him, Muslim scholars visiting the library asked for “a room with a carpet for prayer,” and the administration granted their request. “We keep incredible ancient Qurans,” he explained.
Founded in the 15th century, the Vatican Apostolic Library is considered the intellectual center of the Catholic Church. Its holdings include around 80,000 manuscripts, 50,000 archival documents, and nearly two million books, encompassing Arabic, Hebrew, Ethiopian, and Chinese collections.
Cardinali described the library as “universal” and emphasized that it is open to scholars of all faiths.
At the same time, there are no mosques or permanent Muslim residents within the Vatican itself, although the Holy See regularly receives Muslim visitors and pilgrims.
By contrast, the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia – visited annually by nine million pilgrims – remains strictly closed to non-Muslims. Under Saudi law, people of other faiths are prohibited from entering the city, under penalty of heavy fines, imprisonment, or deportation.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that an unidentified person had urinated on the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
