It seemed an unlikely prediction.  At the time, the Islamic world was practically moribund.  A comeback did not seem to be in the cards.  Yet, Belloc was proved right.  Within four decades, Islam was once again a power to be reckoned with.

At one time, the Catholic Church had defended the West against Islam, but by the beginning of the 21^st century, the Church had become a reliable defender of Islam against its critics.

Despite abundant evidence to the contrary, Catholic leaders and educators assured the world that Islam had nothing to do with violence.  They also insisted that “Islam” means “peace” and that “jihad” is an “interior struggle.”  If you disagreed with any of this you were dismissed as an “Islamophobe.”

What do Muslims and Christians have in common?  Here’s the key passage:

They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God.  

Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as prophet.  They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion.  In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead.  Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

In short, Islam was just like Catholicism…except it wasn’t.  The Council fathers had come up with a list of surface similarities between Islam and Catholicism, but had ignored the deep differences.

For example, Catholics and Muslims supposedly worship the same God.  And sure enough, the God adored by Catholics is “merciful and all powerful”—just like the Muslim God.  But unlike the Muslim God He is also a Trinity—something that Muslims vehemently deny.  He is also, from the Catholic point of view, a Father.  Again, this is vehemently rejected by Muslims.  

In fact, to say that God is a father is, from the Muslim point of view the height of blasphemy.  Moreover, in Islamic scripture, Allah is always associated with the Prophet Muhammad.  In fact, when a Muslim avows that “there is no God but Allah,” he is obliged to add “And Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.”  Unfortunately for the “same God” thesis, the name “Muhammad” does not appear anywhere in the Bible.