can i attend a worship service at a mosque?

[JeanMichel]

Hi Captianmike: First, I would like to say that I admire that you have an open mind and would consider going to a mosque with your friend. I can speak from my own experience if I may. I am not a Christian, but many of my friends are. If I didn’t attend their services I wouldn’t be able to share in many of the major events in their lives, and their lives are important to me. I go to weddings, baptisms, funerals and Christmas and Easter services when I have friends in town for these holidays. It turns out that most of these friends are Catholic. I have learned the basic prayers and I go ahead and say them. I cannot speak to the issue as to whether or not your church allows that, but if you go in the name of the Lord, I would say that anywhere you go is sacred ground. All of these people from all faiths are seeking God. They all have their paths, all of them aiming for the same place. What could be the harm in walking with them for a while on their journeys? I think it would be a special way to celebrate God’s love. I have some Muslim friends. I hope one day they will invite me to worship with them at a mosque. Anyplace where people are being close to God is a place I want to be. Whatever the place of worship, He is to your left and to your right, behind you and in front of you.

Your friend
Sufjon

I feel very similar to Sufjon. However, living in Abu Dhabi and talking with all my Muslim friends here they have all indicated that it would not be appropriate for me to visit a mosque with them unless I was serious about the religion from a conversion point of view. I thought it was a very strict position, but I appreciated their position.

We talk about religion, but I find a particularly narrow perspective and tunnel vision in their thinking. It is virtually impossible for them to consider anything other than the truth of Islam. They are tolerant of other religions, but they are viewed as false.

I love living here, the people are some of the kindest you will find anywhere, and I feel safer here than in the USA. However, a Christian is the exception and this makes this “different”, and I remain grateful for all my blessings.

I have read the Qur’an and found it uplifting. There is a reverence for God that is remarkable. I have a deep appreciation for those willing to learn truth where ever it may be found. Being close minded, for me personally, seem to conflict with my understanding and knowledge of God and our reason for being.

Blessings to all, may His Peace abide always,

 

[OraLabora]

So the men are in the main room and the women in another…and as a female I wouldn’t want to look at a line of men bending over.’'stormy

Especially if they’re plumbers

Last time I heard, the Koran hit at the heart of the Christian faith, defrauding Christ as a mere prophet.

That seems a bit over the top. Being in error isn’t exactly “defrauding”.

 

[dzheremi]

Remembering the first clause of 1 Corinthians 6:12 (Everything is permissable, but not everything is beneficial), I would advise against worshiping with any non-Christian group. Islam denies the divinity of Christ and it is this truth upon which our faith is based. If you are that desperate to get your Jewish friend to come to Mass with you, try to dig a little deeper into why he has set up these parameters. As they stand, without further explanation, it would seem to be an undue burden upon your faith, but perhaps that was your friends point (give you what he assumes to be a “when hell freezes over” proposition so as to get you to realize what your request looks like from his end). Again, I’m not sure what the Catholic Church says about it, but I would say you definitely should not go, regardless of whether or not it is technically allowed in some circumstances.

 

[rcballi46]

Since I am of the opinion that Islam is not a religion, but a theocratic-political philosophy, I have no interest in going to a Mosque to pray, or for any other religious purpose.
I have observed a Buddhist ritual (while in college studying Eastern religions) and have attended a few other Christian denominational services as an observer, or guest. I am, however, interested in attending a Jewish service and actually praying with them in the not too distant future - keeping in mind my Catholic protocol.

 

[Aydan]

I’m too zealous to be reading the Koran, only if I was going to read it with a critical eye.

Last time I heard, the Koran hit at the heart of the Christian faith, defrauding Christ as a mere prophet.

You’ve got more patience then me to read it.

that is correct in the Quran Jesus is a prophet but it goes further than that it explicitly denies the crucifixion and says that God made people think Jesus was crucified but in reality he wasn’t because God raised him up to heaven and saved him from the crucifixion. I’ve read the Quran in its entirety as well.

 

[Aydan]

I’ve never been to a mosque but when I was taking Turkish classes I was at a Turkish cultural center there were times where my friend needed to pray. So I stayed in one room and he went into another but I also took advantage of the time to pray myself usually offering the Lord’s prayer or something like that. When I fast during Ramadan I replace all the Muslim things with Catholic prayers and devotions that we use during Lent. I use it as a secondary opportunity of repentance and to bring myself closer to God just as we do during Lent.
As for going to the mosque I’m not afraid to do it because I would lose my faith but rather because I am worried that people will mistake my visit and interest in Islam as being a person who is exploring converting to Islam which I have no intention of doing. I’ve experienced when people find out that I’m not interested in converting they become very upset. Another reason I don’t go is that I’ve seen on mainstream Islamic web site that it is recommended that Muslims use situations like offering condolences to try to convert people to Islam. I’m just not comfortable going to a mosque.

Sister Amy, you crack me up… good reply!

I have attended a few services at various Mosques before with friends and enjoyed my time, its nothing to be frightened about In fact, all the people who I met were very kind and welcoming. I listened to the lectures (even if I do not agree with some of the teachings, but my intent was to learn and observe and pray with my friends).

A question to ask one self is why not learn about other faiths? Seek to understand and observe in order to broaden your own fortification in your own faith or break some of your own hardened walls (i.e. pride). I know too many Christians who are closed minded, and don’t practice their faith just as well as others of various faiths because they just are not willing to open up to learn. Its a challenge to us all…

And as Sister Amy said, you’re not going to loose your mojo in fact, you may just make some wonderful friends.

Peace

 

[Josh27]

A Catholic cannot attend the services of non Catholics, if he values his eternal salvation. It is the breaking of the first commandment. The only way to lead non Catholic to the true faith is the RETURN to the true faith. Not making arrangements and prayer groups as pope Benedict has done praying in a mosque with folded arms.

 

[Arch_Angel]

A Catholic cannot attend the services of non Catholics, if he values his eternal salvation. It is the breaking of the first commandment. The only way to lead non Catholic to the true faith is the RETURN to the true faith. Not making arrangements and prayer groups as pope Benedict has done praying in a mosque with folded arms.

I’m sorry Josh, but you sound like a heretic, and one who takes scripture out of context. Define the 1st Commandment and elaborate. And what do you mean by non-Catholics (Muslims, Protestants, Jews etc?) By Roman Catholic understanding, we all worship the same one God, and are all able to be granted salvation. I suggest that you brush up on catechism and self-check your own humility.

 

[Aydan]

I’m sorry Josh, but you sound like a heretic, and one who takes scripture out of context. Define the 1st Commandment and elaborate. And what do you mean by non-Catholics (Muslims, Protestants, Jews etc?) By Roman Catholic understanding, we all worship the same one God, and are all able to be granted salvation. I suggest that you brush up on catechism and self-check your own humility.

I completely agree with you. I hate when people ignore church teachings they don’t like and impose their own version of Catholicism on others. If you want to hold that view Josh that’s fine but you will not impose it on me that is for sure.

 

[TimothyH]

Why the fear of attending mosques? Afraid they’re going to do some mojo on you and steal your faith? Those with strong conviction–whatever their beliefs–shouldn’t be afraid of those with different beliefs.

One must be very careful and Sister Amy hits it straight on.

I would not advise anyone weak in the faith to go someplace where they can be easily led into error. Many things sound good on the outiside (like Gary Taylor’s statement on this thread that baptism and faith are all that is required for entry into heaven) but are simply not true.

I occasionally go to Evangelical churches, especially new ones that pop up in my area but I consider myself strong in the faith. I’m interested in Catholic apologetics and go simply to observe - not to participate - and to learn what other denominations teach. People are usually friendly and introduce themselves and I’ll tell them straight up that I am Catholic and that I am there to observe their worship and learn what they believe and what their pastor teaches. Many interesting conversations have resulted!

The point is, you have to know yourself. Other faith’s worship can be visibly beautiful, emotionally moving and historically fascinating apart from it’s relative adherance to the truth (or lack thereof). One has to be able to separate the two.

Personally, I’d go in a heartbeat and would probably wind up at someone’s house discussing our respective beliefs over a plateof falafel.

You might want to read CCC 2104 to 2109 and above all, remember Jesus said that none comes to the Father except through him.

-Tim-

 

[TimothyH]

…as pope Benedict has done praying in a mosque…

Josh27, in a mere seven of his own words, not only disproves his own argument but makes the exact point which I failed to make in over four paragraphs.

Classic!

-Tim-

 

[Aydan]

Josh27, in a mere seven of his own words, not only disproves his own argument but makes the exact point which I failed to make in over four paragraphs.

Classic!

-Tim-

yep

 

[TBolt1000T]

You could go, and offer up any uncomfortable feelings, and your whole visit there, to Christ, because after all, you’re doing it to possibly win a convert for him. I wouldn’t feel nearly as uncomfortable going to a mosque as I would a Hindu temple or a Wiccan service (neither of which I ever want to attend,) because at a Mosque, no idolatry is being committed. Just say your own Christian prayers silently, and pray for your friend, and even if you fail in converting him, You’ll have still done something in Jesus’s name. That’s the way I look at it.

 

[Josh27]

What is meant by the first commandment is that there is only one true faith outside of which no one can be saved. This is the true Catholic Faith. Moslems do not worship the Holy Trinity and they do not recognize Jesus Christ as God, thus they do not worship the True God. Saint Gregory the Great says, ‘‘The Holy Universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in her and asserts and that all who are outside of her will not be saved.’’ They do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ will judge all mankind on the last day. Pope Damascus I Council of Rome Canon 15 ‘‘If anyone does not say that He sits at the right hand of the Father, in the flesh, in which He will come to judge the living and the dead, he is a heretic.’’

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos (# 10), Jan. 6, 1928:“… the union of Christians can only be promoted by the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it…

Pope Callixtus III: “I vow to… exalt the true Faith, and to extirpate the diabolical sect of the reprobate and faithless Mahomet [Islam] in the East.

‘‘How grateful then, ought we be to God for the gift of the true faith. How great is not the number of infidels, heretics, and schismatics. The world is full of them, and if they die out of the Church they will all be condemened, except infants who die after baptism.’’ Catech. first command No.10 and 19. St Alphinsus Ligouri.

Pope Pius IX, Syllabus of Modern Errors, Dec. 8, 1864 - Proposition 16: “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.”[xxxiii] – Condemned

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra:

“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church

Pope Leo XII, Ubi Primum (# 14), May 5, 1824:

“It is impossible for the most true God, who is Truth itself, the best, the wisest Provider, and the Rewarder of good men, to approve all sects who profess false teachings which are often inconsistent with one another and contradictory, and to confer eternal rewards on their members… by divine faith we hold one Lord, one faith, one baptism… This is why we profess that there is no salvation outside the Church

 

[Aydan]

This certainly goes against everything I’ve learned I thought there had been cases of people being excommunicated for teaching all non-Catholics are going to hell honestly this argument sounds like something that the people who reject Vatican II would say. In any case I am staying as far away as possible from this close minded version of Catholicism Josh is professing because every time we go to mass the priest says welcome our dearly departed and those who have left this world in your friendship into your heavenly kingdom so I would never adopt Josh’s version of Catholicism.

What is meant by the first commandment is that there is only one true faith outside of which no one can be saved. This is the true Catholic Faith. Moslems do not worship the Holy Trinity and they do not recognize Jesus Christ as God, thus they do not worship the True God. Saint Gregory the Great says, ‘‘The Holy Universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in her and asserts and that all who are outside of her will not be saved.’’ They do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ will judge all mankind on the last day. Pope Damascus I Council of Rome Canon 15 ‘‘If anyone does not say that He sits at the right hand of the Father, in the flesh, in which He will come to judge the living and the dead, he is a heretic.’’

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos (# 10), Jan. 6, 1928:“… the union of Christians can only be promoted by the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it…

Pope Callixtus III: “I vow to… exalt the true Faith, and to extirpate the diabolical sect of the reprobate and faithless Mahomet [Islam] in the East.

‘‘How grateful then, ought we be to God for the gift of the true faith. How great is not the number of infidels, heretics, and schismatics. The world is full of them, and if they die out of the Church they will all be condemened, except infants who die after baptism.’’ Catech. first command No.10 and 19. St Alphinsus Ligouri.

Pope Pius IX, Syllabus of Modern Errors, Dec. 8, 1864 - Proposition 16: “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.”[xxxiii] – Condemned

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra:

“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church

Pope Leo XII, Ubi Primum (# 14), May 5, 1824:

“It is impossible for the most true God, who is Truth itself, the best, the wisest Provider, and the Rewarder of good men, to approve all sects who profess false teachings which are often inconsistent with one another and contradictory, and to confer eternal rewards on their members… by divine faith we hold one Lord, one faith, one baptism… This is why we profess that there is no salvation outside the Church

 

[Josh27]

‘‘Extra Ecclesiam Nullus omnino Salvatur’’. Out of the Church there is positively no Salvation - Fourth Latern Council 1215. This is de fide.

The Word Catholic is no vain and empty word. To be a true Catholic means to hold most firmly all those truths which Christ and His Apostles have taught, which the Catholic Church has always proclaimed, which the Saints have professed, which the (true) Popes and Councils have defined, and which the Fathers and Doctors of the Church have defended. He who denies but one of those truths, or hesitates to receive one of them, is not a Catholic. He claims to excercise the right of private judgement in regard to the doctrine of Christ, and therefore he is a heretic. The true Catholic knows and believes that there can be no compromise between God and the devil, between truth and error, between orthodox faith and heresy, between divine and human faith, between true and false Christianity, between Catholics and Protestants. St. Paul, the Apostle, spoke freely and told the truth plainly from out of prison walls; it was because he was no compromiser. St. Peter spoke freely, plainly, and forcibly before the ancients, saying that it is better to obey God than men; it was because he was no compromiser. The Apostle St. Andrew proclamined the plain truth from the wood of the cross; it was because he was no compromiser. St. Stephen, the first martyr, was no compromiser. When accused of being a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, he, in his turn, accused his enemies of being murderers of Christ. All the holy martyrs of the Church were no compromisers. Being charged by the heathens with the folly of worshipping and following a crucified God, they, in their turn, charged the heathens with the impiety of worshipping creatures and following the devil.
Dark clouds of error and weakness in faith have settled thickly since the time of the council. This loose and erroenous way of thinking on this fundamental doctrine has resulted in a universal apostasy. Such men as these always thinking first how a tenet, or a practice, or a fact is most presentable to the public. This habit soon and almost imperceptibly leads them to profaneness, and easily produces the spirit of liberalism and rationalism in matters of faith. Their too delicate and fastidious taste has too much regards for the feelings of a certain class of people. We are aware that Christian charity demands of us to have due regard for the feelings of our neighbour, and we thoroughly convinced that no one has ever yet benefited by harsh means. Charity, however, is not only not incompatible with truth, but it ever demands that the whole truth should be told, especially when its concealment is a cause of error, or of perseverance in error and sin, in matters, too, of the greatest importance. Hence, to judge from the works of our greatest Catholic theologians, it appeaers that the deeper theologian a man is, the less does he give way to studious desire of making difficultites easy at any cost short of denying what is positibely de fide.

 

[Arch_Angel]

‘‘Extra Ecclesiam Nullus omnino Salvatur’’. Out of the Church there is positively no Salvation - Fourth Latern Council 1215.

Hi Josh,

Why are you quoting from the Fourth Latern Council of 1215, when you should be observing that of the Second Vatican Council of 1962?

I found two articles that should explain in detail of what we as Catholics believe with references to T*he Catechism of the Catholic Church.

*1. Salvation outside the Church
This article also explains the misconception of the teachings of salvation in the Catholic Church, its an enlightening read.

2. The Necessity of Baptism
This article helps to deepen one’s understanding of Baptism as it goes well beyond just the cleansing of water, but rather the various states of one’s spirit in belief of God towards salvation for all.

I hope the following articles deepen all of our understandings of Catholic teaching (weather you are Catholic or not)

:bowdown2: Salam, Shalom, Peace…

 

[Josh27]

Excuse me, why not? This is Catholic Teaching not the picking and choosing of doctrine. Why are you quotating from the Second Vatican Council when its teaching on this doctrine is complete denial of twenty centuries of Catholic Teaching? You and your followers on this subject are evdience of this denial. I highly recommend a book by the Rev. Fr, Muller ‘‘Extra Ecclesiam Nullus omnino Salvatur’’ 1885. Truth cannot contradict truth. If you class yourself a Catholic let me remind you the Church did not start with V2.

 

[Josh27]

I’m sorry but this is wrong, it is not Catholic, it is a schismatic church. There is no sanctifying grace there, which is absolutley necessary for salvation. The only way a soul can be justified and enter heaven is through sanctifying grace, not the soft approach of modern opinions be a good joe live a a good moral life and you will be saved. What a loose way of thinking, what liberty to all the whims of the human mind, what liberal ideas which has inevitably lead to the great apostasy. The Catholic religion is one of complete freedom in all the truth Christ has taught. God does indeed enlightens every man that comes into this world. Man made religions will NEVER save you no matter how ignorant you are!

 

[Aydan]

I’m sorry but this is wrong, it is not Catholic, it is a schismatic church. There is no sanctifying grace there, which is absolutley necessary for salvation. The only way a soul can be justified and enter heaven is through sanctifying grace, not the soft approach of modern opinions be a good joe live a a good moral life and you will be saved. What a loose way of thinking, what liberty to all the whims of the human mind, what liberal ideas which has inevitably lead to the great apostasy. The Catholic religion is one of complete freedom in all the truth Christ has taught. God does indeed enlightens every man that comes into this world. Man made religions will NEVER save you no matter how ignorant you are!

thank you Josh for showing me why Vatican II is so important because I will never ever adopt your argument.