The Vatican has found itself at the centre of controversy after it was revealed a Muslim prayer space had opened in its 500 year old Apostolic Library.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the vice-prefect of the Library Father Don Giacomo Cardinali, said scholars of other religions often came to the library and that some “Muslim scholars asked us for a room with a carpet to pray, [so] we gave it to them.”

He added that the Library contains many ancient Korans as well as “Arabic, Jewish, Ethiopian collections, unique Chinese pieces".

"Years ago we discovered that we have the oldest medieval Japanese archive that exists outside the Rising Sun.”

The comments led to some criticism, with one member of the clergy describing the decision as: “a total betrayal of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Another accused the Vatican of “effectively allowing a rival faith to set up shop on its property.”

However, the Catholic News Agency has come to the Vatican’s defence saying the prayer space “does not appear to be a generally accessible Islamic prayer space but rather one designated for the ‘Muslim scholars’ that may be on site at the time. Further, it was only opened at the request of scholars themselves." 

“And though it is understandable that a Muslim prayer room in the Holy See may inspire a bit of cognitive dissonance, the vice prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library describes the space as nothing more than: “a room with a carpet.”

The Apostolic Library was formally established by Pope Sixtus IV in 1475 and is one of the oldest libraries in the world, containing more than one million printed books.