Barcelona Debates Turning an Abandoned Bullring into a Mosque

One of Spain’s largest bullrings could soon start an unlikely new life as a mosque. That might sound like a strange metamorphosis, but the city of Barcelona is currently considering plans suggested last month by the Emir of Qatar to convert Barcelona’s Plaza Monumental into a place of prayer for up to 4,000 worshippers. Since the Catalonia region banned bullfighting in 2011, the arena has remained empty awaiting a new use, and rolling out prayer mats in a space once covered in blood-soaked sand could just be the answer. The former bullring could easily look the part, at least: It’s an elaborate Neo-Mudéjar building that draws inspiration from Spain’s Moorish past. With a projected cost of €2.2 billion, the Qataris are presumably planning something rather lavish for this already grand shell.

If the plan goes ahead, it will further pad the Qatari royal family’s already bulging property portfolio. In 2012 alone, the dynasty spent $4.3 billion on European real estate, and now owns so many key sites in Britain’s capital (including The Shard and Harrods department store) that it’s been described as having “bought London." While Qatari spending in Spain has so far been secular—they already have a five star hotel in Barcelona—the family has already been linked to mosque building projects elsewhere, such as a large Islamic center in Munich.