Spanish 'Mecca' disco angers some Muslims

AGUILAS, Spain, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A Spanish disco called La Meca angered some Muslims in the country, who said the name was disrespectful to their faith.

Mohamed Ali, head of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities, said Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islamic founder and Prophet Mohammed, is the spiritual center of Islam and the most venerated place for Muslims in the world.

"Muslims pray toward Mecca and it is there that the prophet received the holy Koran," he said in a statement cited by the Arab-Spanish newspaper Andalus Press.

"Calling a place for dancing and drinking by that name shows disregard to the feelings of Muslims," he said.

The club, which opened in the Mediterranean city of Aguilas in the southeastern province of Murcia June 18 after 10 years of renovations, includes a logo containing an iconic drawing showing a crescent moon, an ancient mosque-like structure and a tall, slender tower that could resemble a minaret, a United Press International review of the club's Web site indicated.

The club's owners weren't immediately available for comment.

Antonio Garcia Petite, founder of the Committee of Muslim Arbitration and Good Deeds, was quoted by the United Arab Emirates Arab-language TV news station al-Arabiya as saying he was unhappy with the Mecca name, but as acknowledging "Mecca" was often used commercially to refer to a center or destination of a specific activity.

"Expressions like 'the Mecca of cinema' and 'the Mecca of Jazz' ... are commonly used without any offense," he said. But "a discotheque is for worldly pleasures and what takes place inside it, like drinking alcohol, is not in line with the principles of Islam."