Catholicism, Islam and Mary

Catholics, Muslims and Our Blessed Lady by Bill Droel

A Catholic-Muslim dialogue progresses in fits and starts. Small or large, simple or profound, any respectful exchange between Catholics (or other Christians) and Muslims is urgently needed in our world of stereotypes and recriminations. Our Blessed Lady, to the surprise of some, provides an opening for mutual understanding.
There are significant differences in dogma between Catholicism and Islam. But yes, Islam highly regards the Blessed Virgin Mary. In fact, the Holy Qur’an mentions Mary more often than several other prophets. She is the only woman directly named in the Qur’an. An entire chapter in the Qur’an is named for her.
The Qur’an not only affirms Mary giving birth as a virgin to Jesus, but it also describes the Annunciation by Angel Gabriel, telling Mary of her miraculous pregnancy. The Qur’an refers to Mary’s parents and highlights her status as God’s pure vehicle. Islam has no problem with the notion of the Immaculate Conception, a sign of Mary’s highly favored status with God. (Most Catholics wrongly conflate the Immaculate Conception teaching with the Virgin Birth of Jesus.)
Intriguingly, the 1917 apparition of Mary to three children in Portugal provides one more point of Marian contact between Islam and Catholicism. It was back in the 12th century when Goncalo Hermigues, a Portuguese knight and a Catholic, kidnapped a young woman, a Muslim. He took her away to a small village. Her name, the most popular female name among Muslims, was Fatima. She became fond of her captor, and he of her. They married. Fatima, it seems, adopted Catholicism. To honor her Goncalo changed the village name to Fatima, the very place that Mary appeared in the 20th century.
Catholics continue to honor Mary under the title Our Lady of Fatima. Catholic devotions through Mary as Our Lady of Fatima occur in several countries, including at times in Northern Africa and Asia. Some Muslims in those places pray to God during those devotional occasions, without in any way forsaking Islam. Why did Mary pick an out of the way place to appear in 1917? Perhaps her purpose included a prompt for two great religions to talk with each other.
Among other points of entry for dialogue, consider the pillars of Islam. They certainly resonate with Catholicism. These Muslim duties are charity, fasting, pilgrimage and daily prayer in addition to profession of belief.
For more on the Fatima apparition, get a new book titled Sorrowful Mysteries by Stephen Harrigan (Knopf, 2025).

Droel edits INITIATIVES (PO Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629), a newsletter on faith and work.