44 Allah, through the opening of this mosque, Spanish Muslims now feel that they have brethren in the Middle East who share their joys and sorrows. It is a fact that this city was originally a beacon from which knowledge spread to the rest of Europe. Today, it is fitting to honour this city, which boasts of innumerable contributions to Europe and the Arabs in many fields of knowledge. With the inauguration of this mosque, hope has become reality and we now have a centre for the good of all mankind, for cooperation in all areas, not only for worship but for cooperation in all fields of cultural and economic development. I urge all Arabs and Muslims to visit Granada to see for themselves what their ancestors achieved in this city and in this country as a whole. It is our heritage before being theirs. I urge all philanthropists to help preserve the heritage of Andalusia. We invite them to visit this hospitable country because its people are warm towards Muslims and Arabs. Whenever we meet anyone in Spain, he demonstrates his feelings of pride in his Arab ancestry by showing his hands and saying: “Look at my hands, don’t you see Arab blood running through these veins?” Two years ago, Arabs and Muslims were the subject of unjust accusations and suspicion because of our religion, our beliefs and our sense of belonging. Many of those who understood our religion leapt forward to defend our cause, but most inadvertently adopted the wrong strategy of criticizing
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