Well, this is a bit random, but I thought it was interesting that everyone mentioned how Pope JPII was the first pope to ever pray in a mosque. While doing some research on an unrelated matter, it turns out that this “mosque” wasn’t exactly always a mosque:

“[T]he standard bearers of conservative Islam attacked the pope for his insistence on praying at the tomb of St. John the Baptist, which lies beneath the pillar of the mosque. Leading imams feared it was a wily first step to re-Christianize the mosque, which was a Christian church until the 8th century.”

For more click here.

Let’s hope that Coaltion forces have a bit more tact and don’t turn the the Najaf mosque housing Husayn’s remains into a church…or worse…a Wal-Mart.