The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-12-07
The Teaching Of Mohammed Regard
ing the Attributes of the Blessed
Virgin-Her Immaculate Conception
Not Clearly Set~Forth i'm the Koran
Remarkable Tributes.
written for The Catholic Bulletin by
Rev. j. A. Loeffen.)

Rev. j. A. Loeffen.)
Behold, from henceforth all genera
tions shall call me blessed" In these
words, the Blessed Virgin Mary pre-
dicted the honor which all ages should
pay to her as Mother of Jesus Christ,
the Mother of Cod And strange it is
that, when Professionalism seems un-
concerned with this prophecy of the
Virgin, Mohammedanism, through it's
founder, Mohammed, should have add
ed to the fulfilment of this prediction.
For in the Koran, the book of Gods
revelations to His Prophet Mohammed,
and which all Islam considers as the
final authority in dogma and belief, in
ethics and in social as well as in
dividual conduct, not only is the Moth
er of Jesus reverently mentioned, but
she is spoken of in terms of the high
est praise.
Of course, the student of the Koran
would be disappointed if he expected
to find a complete Catholic Mariology
in the Holy Book of Islam.
The place of the Blessed Virgin in
the Christian world. her full dignity,
all her glories, from her Immaculate
Conception to her Coronation in
Heaven, all her titles with their claims
upon the worlds admiration and ven
Grafton, derive their meaning from the
fact that she is the Mother of Jesus
"who is called the Christ This fact
of her divine Motherhood is also the
cornerstone of that beautiful edifce
which Catholic science and piety have
built up through many ages-Mariol-
ogy, or the divine science of Mary.
But neither the Koran nor the Sun
ma, that is, the Mohammedan Tradi-
ton, as interpreted by the various
theological schools of Islam, nor the
living faith of some three hundred mil
lions of people who profess the prin-
cipal articles of the Prophets teaching
although they all acknowledge Sid
etna Marriam's (Our Lady's) exalted
position in the religious world-can,
with all the depth of their subtle spec
ulations and the brilliancy of their
oriental imagination, reach the real
height of Mary's dignity, for they do
not accept her divine Maternity.
Koran Teaches Gods Unity.
The Koran positively rejects the doc
trine of the Blessed Trinity. In chap
ter 112, it is emphasized: "Say: God
is one; He has not conceived
nor was conceived Himself; He has
no equal" And chapter 10, "They (the
infidels, the Christians) say: God has
Son; and they proffer blasphemy;
they give son to the AL
mighty and He can have none"; and
Chapter 21-"The infidels have spok-
en-: God has son from the angels;
but this is blasphemy."
The exclusive conception of Gods
unity is the fundamental tenet of Mo-
hammedanism, and every faithful of
Islam expresses his faith, several
times a day, saying: "There is no
God but Allah and Mohammed is His
prophet" Hence, when Sidna Aissa,
that is, Jesus Christ, is named "the
Sunna, this saying cannot be taken as
the expression of His divine genera
tion or sonship from the Father.
Furthermore, the Koran, in several
chapters, very plainly rejects the
divinity of Jesus. Jesus is one Of the
$4,000 prophets or ambassadors of
God, and, with Mohammed, the great
est among them. He is the Messiah
and forerunner of Mohammed. The
Koran acknowledges His supernatural
character, His miracles, His super
natural conception and birth; He is
the Son Of Mary, but mere man.
Jesus in the eyes of the Most High
is but man like Adam (III: 52).
The following verses, taken from
Chapter III, "The Family of Imran"
give the Mohammedan theology of the
Mystery of the Annunciation, the Con-
ception of Jesus and the Virgin Moth
erhood. "The angel said unto Mary:
God announces to thee His word
\. He will be called Jesus, the
Messiah, Son of Mary; He will be
great in this world and in the next,
being the Counselor of the Most High" !"
And, in Chapter Sc, God proposed to
their admiration, Mary, daughter of
Amran, who kept her virginity. Ga
briel breathed into her face the spirit
of God. She believed the word of the
Lord and the Scriptures; she was sub
missive and obedient."
Divine Motherhood Taught in Koran.
Mohammed's acquaintance with our
sublime dogma Of the Incarnation was
evidently very superficial and he puts
before his faithful the shadow only of
the Virgin Mothers glory; still, the
supernatural character Of the Mother
of Jesus, her simultaneous virginity