Dutch Protestant Founder Given an Islamic Makeover.

DORDRECHT. There is opposition in Dordrecht to a sculpture that should be unveiled in July to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, the founder of the protestant church in the Netherlands. The art work creates a link between Calvin and Islam, Reformatorisch Dagblad newspaper reported yesterday.

"Het Mekka van Calvijn" (Calvin's Mecca) is the name of the work created by the Moroccan artist Aziz Bekkaoui. It is a cube measuring 4 by 4 by 4 metres, consisting entirely of reflective glass. The cube apparently refers to the Kaaba, the sacred central building in the courtyard of the Great Mosque in the Islamic place of pilgrimage, Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The controversial sculpture is intended for Het Hof, the square beside the historic Augustijnenkerk, in the centre of Dordrecht. Gert de Boon, verger of the church, submitted an objection to the artwork to the local authority yesterday. "Calvin had nothing to do with Mecca, and (...)