Q. I’m sure many people have heard something about the Vatican allowing a Muslim prayer room to be present within the walls of the Vatican. Can you tell me if this is true? If it is, wouldn’t this be going against everything that we, as Catholics, believe? We worship the One True God. Muslims believe and pray to Allah.
A. While it can seem pedantic, insisting on the correct use of words is a way to avoid controversy, whether in macro situations or in our own lives. How often have we been in an argument with someone, only to realize we mean the same thing, we are just using or understanding terms differently? To answer this question, we need to define some terms.
Basically, yes, the decision was made to reserve a room “within the walls of the Vatican” so that visiting Islamic scholars have a place to pray. Some Catholics may be concerned with this being done in “the Vatican,” but this is where it is important to use terms correctly.
While it is common to use “the Vatican” when speaking about various Catholic things such as “the Vatican did this,” or “did you see what the Vatican said about __,” the reality is that “the Vatican” really only properly refers to the Vatican City State, the secular title of the country of Vatican City. It is more than St. Peter’s Basilica. Because it is a sovereign state, there are many places within it (like a post office) that are not sacred places but simply necessary secular buildings where the secular work of a government is carried out.
Within the boundaries of Vatican City is the Vatican Apostolic Library. It is here that a room was set aside for visiting Islamic scholars to pray. As numerous media outlets have reported, the Vatican Library contains some of the most ancient copies of the Qur’an, as well as other historical documents related to Islam, so it is not uncommon to have scholars visit the library to study these, in the same way that Orthodox Christian and Protestant scholars, as well as secular historians, visit to study documents pertinent to their areas of interest.
Why would the Vatican Library house Qur’ans and other Islamic writings? Because they are important historical works but also because, for centuries after Islam was founded, many members of the Catholic Church viewed Islam as a Christian heresy, not a separate religion. “Allah” is not a separate deity, but simply the Arabic word for God (Arab Catholics use “Allah” when praying in Arabic). The Qur’an contains many similar (but with very important differences) stories from both the Old and New Testament.
Now, let’s not be mistaken— the Catholic Church contains the fullness of Truth. I am in no way shape or form trying to defend the teachings of Islam. But the fact that Islam is in error does not (in my opinion) disqualify an Islamic scholar from having a room in a library within the Vatican City State where they can pray to God. To me that’s just common courtesy.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
