Why is there a Muslim Prayer Room in the Vatican?

As a Catholic or Christian, you must be scratching your head as to why the Vatican deems it necessary to have a Muslim prayer room for visiting scholars. More than scratching your head, you should be sad that the hierarchy doesn’t seem to know its mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not acquiesce to religious movements that do not hold the same beliefs.  That entails believing in God as a Trinity, Father, Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. The two persons of God that the Muslims reject.

With the blessing of the newly minted Pope, Vatican officials have consented to the visiting Muslim scholars’ wishes of having a separate room in the library for themselves to pray. Early in his pontificate, Leo XVI emphasized interreligious dialogue on the anniversary of Nostra aetate. He used ambiguous language and the image of a mighty tree with many branches, intimating friendship, cooperation, and peace.  During the same event, the Pope said dialogue “…begins not in compromise but in conviction – in the deep roots of our own belief that gives us the strength to reach out to others in love.

Leo has a heart for ecumenical dialogue with religions outside the Church. But every ecumenical movement starts with the low-hanging fruit of peace and cooperation. By his own words, Leo admits that when those barriers are removed, a brick wall of conviction or faith remains. Without conversion, the convictions are insurmountable. The reality of the dialogue between Catholicism and Islam can only go as far as cordial dialogue.

Allowing Muslim scholars to use the Vatican Library for research is fine because it contains many ancient texts, including older Qurans (Korans), which they study. This shows how farsighted the Church has been in safeguarding civilization’s historical texts. Letting non-Catholic scholars use the resources is charitable. The problem is providing a prayer space for a religion whose convictions are incompatible with Christianity. It is one thing to offer a study space; it is quite another to provide a place for prayer, especially when it is unnecessary. Far from charitable, it confuses the faithful.

There are 93 mosques in Rome. If these Muslim scholars want to pray at certain times, they could easily arrange to visit one of these sites. In contrast, Islam prohibits non-Muslims from its holy sites. It is not a tit for tat question, but rather one of conviction. By allowing a prayer room and rug, the Vatican is engaging in a religious relativism by which one religion is equal to another in legitimacy, each holding different convictions.

Conviction is the problem because it presupposes something. For Catholics, conviction means believing in the Trinity, the objective truth about God, and how he relates to people. There is no wiggle room; either we believe in God’s revealed truth or we don’t. The Church’s mission is to proclaim the fullness, not dilute it. Instead of offering a room for prayer, the Vatican should invite the scholars to sit in on a Mass with the hope of their conversion.

One of Islam’s primary missions is to work to eliminate Christianity. It has no time for the type of ecumenism the Vatican hopes for.  Swiss Bishop Marian Eleganti is the only courageous Prelate to speak against the prayer room and rug. “Islam wants absolute dominance; it is inherently intolerant,” he continued. “It has caused Christianity to disappear everywhere… Conversely, one would never allow us to set up a chapel in Mecca, the holy site of Islam itself, where we could celebrate Holy Mass.”

Using a place to study is one thing; using the site as a prayer place for a religion opposed to Christianity is quite another. If the Church wants to convert these Muslims to the faith, offering a prayer room is not the answer.