From October 22 - November 6, 1997 Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani toured Spain and its islands, spreading the light of Divine Law and the spiritual teachings of the Naqshbandi tariqat wherever he went

Mawlana Shaykh Nazim first arrived in Madrid. From there he traveled to Southern Spain. His visit took him and his large entourage of new Muslim converts first to Cordoba, a city of ancient Islamic heritage.

CORDOBA

The city of Cordoba lies on the right-hand bank of the Guadalquivir River. This former capital of Andalus, of the emirate and caliphate of the same name has preserved many architectural sights of its past, especially its Mosque.

The great Cordoba Mosque, irreplaceable proof of the civilisation of the Caliphate of Cordoba (929-1031), harbours one of the most beautiful architectural designs ever carried out, with the 19 aisles of its hall containing a forest of columns, the curious overlapping arches and the beautiful ribbed cupola. The centre of Cordoba partly preserves the boundaries and the layout of the Muslim city.

The narrow white-washed streets which surround the Mosque lead to the only surviving synagogue, to Gothic churches with Mudéjar towers, houses with Plateresque façades, Renaissance palaces in which courtyards follow in rapid succession. Gothic convents with Baroque treasures, unassuming houses with courtyards covered with flowers, palaces and hospital converted into magnificent museums and unsuspected squares: the Potro and Crist de los Faroles Squares or the Corredera colonnade.

Inside the Mosque, the Villaviciosa Chapel is outstanding. It has Caliphal vaults which were of great importance in later Spanish architecture. The decoration of this hall is the most sumptuous in Caliphal art, including the closely-knit tracery of the intersecting round trefoil arches, the many-coloured wall mosaics and the unique decoration of the cupola. The Mihrab or decorated niche is found in the centre area of the chapel.

The mosque stands today, where there used to be a basilica consecrated to San Vicente in Visigothic times. When the Arabs conquered Cordoba in 711, the building was shared and divided into two equal parts for Muslims and Christians. This arrangement lasted until 784 when Abd al-Rahman I decided to build a new mosque at the site, a mosque which was finished by his son Hisham I in 790.

The building was progressively enlarged, and it was al-Manzur, Hisham II's favourite son, who carried out the last extension by adding eight aisles to the eastern part of the building and who finished El Patio de los Naranjos (ie, of the Orange Trees), where four large ritual fountains were installed.

After the reconquest of Cordoba in 1236, the mosque was consecrated to Christian worship and remained unchanged until 1384, when the chancel was enlarged by destroying arches and columns and replacing them with Gothic architecture. In 1523, part of the prayer hall was remodelled along Renaissance lines.

The Mosque forms an almost perfect rectangle measuring 180m by 130m. Surrounded by a massive enclosure which is reinforced by thick square towers with many temple door between, the14th-century main entrance, "El Perdon", is Mudejar and faces north.

This religious building borders on the Guadalquivir River in the south, while the "Sahn" or Patio de los Naranjos lies in the north, surrounded by a high crenellated wall. The Patio is decorated with porticoes on three sides and has a tower inside, which has absorbed the original minaret, as well as fountains.

Modelled on the one in Damascus, the Cordoba Mosque represents considerable architectural progress compared with its model. The most admirable feature is the way in which the builders solved the problem of the arches on which the ceiling rests. They used two superimposed arches which was an unprecedented novelty in Arab architecture. Most of the columns take advantage of earlier Roman, Early Christian and Visigothic constructions. The horse-shoe arches have wither stone or brick voussoirs and the ceilings were originally flat with wooden caissons.

In Orgiva, Shaykh Nazim addresses a large crowd gathered to hear about Islamic spirituality.

La Fonda Del Pescado, a traditional 13th-century Muslim Coaching Inn, built around a courtyard, is situated in Orgiva, the Capital of the Alpuharra region South of Granada in Spain - the last stronghold of Muslims in Western Europe and now a centre for the regeneration of Islam in the West.Thus helping to fulfill Sheikh Nazim´s mission as commissioned by Grandsheikh Abdullah Faizi Daghestani. Sheikh Nazim on his recent first visit to Spain in Rajab 1997. The established community of Naqshbandi Muslims is led by Omar Margarit, who was instructed on first meeting Sheikh Nazim in 1989 that he would be his representative in Spain and would bring many people to Islam.

True Spanish-Muslim hospitality is shown at the home of Omar al-Margarit.

Among other members of the community are Abd al-Hadi Scott a qualified natural healer and Abd al-Ghani Snooke a qualified teacher, both with Sheikh Nazim for more than 10 years.

In the countryside near Orgiva, Omar also runs a farm where there is space for camping for families and individuals wishing greater independance and possibly also forming the basis for Khalwat or spiritual retreat. There is also a site for prayer and Dhikr and food preparation facilities and a swimming pool. There are also year round possibilities for work on the land, traditional olive groves and orange and lemon orchards to supplement study or living costs. It is our intention as instructed by Sheikh Nazim to make La Fonda in Orgiva a centre of excellence for the dissemination of the Sheikh´s teaching of Shari`ah and Tariqat, and to prepare people for the ushering in of a new spiritual-century, one he hopes will be filled with Peace, Light, Love, tolerance, compassion, respect and happiness.

Predicting that, as the Quran and hadith clearly teach, the Day of Judgment is preceded by terrible calamities followed by a 40-year Reign of the Kingdom of God, under the leadership of Jesus, (as), Shaykh Nazim urged his followers to focus on worship and good works with the intention and hope that they be part of that kingdom should it usher forth in their lifetime.

Expressing the many signs that have appeared in recent years, confirming that we are in or very near the last days of this world, Shaykh Nazim cited the hadith of the Prophet (s) that "there will come forth from among my sons, one who will fill the earth with justice and harmony, just as it had been filled with tyranny and oppression". Mawlana urged his students to prepare their hearts for a time when all will live in peace and harmony under a pure and perfect time of shariah and spirituality. If not in their time, then in their children's or grandchildren's, great blessings should emerge which will fill this world with great happiness and true spirituality after this century's oppression, tyranny and ignorance.

The decoration of La Alhambra is of great importance. Among the most significant decorative elements are the skirtings of glazed tiles, the walls, friezes and series of arches covered with "atauriques" (ie, plaster or stucco decorative plant motifs characteristic of Caliphal art) and the ceilings decorated with bows, stalactites or "mocarae" (ie, designs of several prisms on a concave base) which in combination give the halls of these palaces an appearance of dazzling sumptuousness.

La Alhambra and the gardens of El Generalife, are masterpieces of Nasrid architecture and belong to the last period of Arab art in the Iberian Peninsula. They embody the strength of rich and sumptuous Muslim tradition based on lavish decoration, which is one of the most outstanding elements of these unique buildings. Though tiring for the legs with its steep, cobbled streets the Albayzín district is well worth a visit. Mosques converted into churches, Arab water cisterns still in use, Moorish palaces and tranquil villas hidden behind lush greenery give a sensation of harmony and suspended reality where the spirit can savour total peace of a few hours.

LA ALHAMBRA

In the shelter of the highest peaks in the Iberian Peninsula, lies the beautiful Andalusian city of Granada with its Parador called "San Francisco".

When Boabdil, the last Nasrid king, surrendered and handed the keys of the city to the Catholic Monarch on January 2nd, 1492, legend has it that the Arab king could not help bursting into tears when for the last time he turned to look back at the city of Granada his mother reproached him with a sentence that has become famous: "Weep like a woman since you couldn't defend yourself like a man".

La Alhambra is the most important civil building preserving Muslim civil architecture. All the refinement, wealth and delicacy of Islamic art and architecture reached its last climax in the West in this unique building which is a fortress, residence and royal city all in one and finds an extension in the gardens of El Generalife.

Alhambra means "red castle", derived from the colour of its walls made from the clay that was extracted from the very hill on which it stands. Separate from the rest of the enclosure, the "Alcazaba" or Moorish fortress had its own entrance, which is closed today because of later fortifications.

In 1238, Muhammad I, Ibn al-Ahmar, the Nasrid King of Granada, repaired "La Acequia Real" (an irrigation channel) which brought water the River Darro to the top of the Red Hill and began the construction of today's Alcazaba. Muhammad II (1273-1302), his son, continued the works, but the most important driving forces behind this Arab palace-cum-fortress were Yusuf I (1333-1354) and Muhammad V (1354-1391).

At the semi-annual Islamic Market in Valencia, held in the town square, Shaykh Nazim Adil shops, chats and jokes in Arabic with shopowners, many of whom are from the Maghreb.

Here Shaykh Nazim Adil makes du`a for one of the Arab shopowners.

The island of Ibiza is the third largest of the archipelago, covering an area of 541 km2, and with a population of over 70,000. Thanks to its hilly terrain the island offers some magnificent scenery of great beauty. There are a great deal of pine forests as well as almond trees, fig and olive trees, and also palm trees. Use of the windmill and waterwheels is still quite common, mainly due to the lack of rainfall. Rainy days on this island of almost perpetual sun are something of a luxury.

The climate is very mild and produces the phenomenon of an everlasting springtime. The port of Ibiza is 162 miles from Barcelona and 152 from Algiers. The journey by ship is a most pleasant experience, thanks to the generally calm sea conditions.

With Christian, Jewish and Bhuddist faithful, Shaykh Nazim led the Muslim delegation. Giving shahada to a number of persons at this interfaith event, Mawlana stated "Is it not time for the believers of other faiths to look at the last great faith? Is there any more perfection after the full moon?"

Shaykh Nazim and entourage attend a tourist event.

The city of Ibiza is the island's capital and a lively maritime port, built on the side of a mountain beside the sea. It many magnificent viewpoints that look out across the sea. The white constructions of its popular districts, which were built following the exquisite architectural lines of the islanders, constitute an unmistakable and picturesque urban ensemble. The district of Dalt Vila is at the very heart of the city and contains some fine aristocratic mansions, the Town Hall, and the Cathedral which was rebuilt in the 17th century.

From Ibiza, Shaykh Nazim and entourage took the ferry to Barcelona. Arriving at this Northern Spanish port, they then traveled high into the mountains to an ancient monastery. Once filled with hundreds of Catholic monks, the huge fortress is now home to only seven Buddhist devotees. Having lost most worshippers to the forces of worldly attraction, these monks have sought new and novel ways to support their monastery. One of these is to host interfaith events.

The event to which Shaykh Nazim was invited as the keynote speaker, brought together Christians, Jews, Bhuddists and Muslims. Speaking before a large crowd, gathered at the high mountaintop castle, Shaykh Nazim pointed out the commonality of all faiths. He called for the discrimination to stop: "Jews accept Moses, but not Jesus or Muhammad; Christians accept Moses and Jesus, but not Muhammad; Muslims accept Moses and Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them. Why the discrimination?" He called on the Bhuddists to leave behind the mystical imagination that has clothed their ancient teachings about the Divine in a shroud of mysticality. He called on the Muslims to return to a spiritual understanding of their faith, and leave behind ignorant notions which anthropomorphise God. Shaykh Nazim called on all present to devote themselves to a more intense focus on worship of God, and a finer expression of love for all human beings, for this worldly habitat and for all creation.

Stating "after the full moon, is there any increase in brightness, any more perfection?" Shaykh Nazim asked, "why then not look at the last, the perfect full moon that was brought beloved Muhammad? He was signing all that Moses and Jesus brought and closing their chapters, opening the last chapter, the final chapter of history and religion. Don't be behind in opening to the next page, as then the other students will get ahead!"