what is compatible between the Muslim religion and the Catholic religion?

Question

This is a sincere question, looking for sincere answers. I would like to know not just similarities, but ways in which these two religions are compatible. Both quantitiy and quality of answer appreciated (I am as interested in an in-depth answer as I am in an answer that has many different instances/situations/examples of how the religions are compatible/coexistent, etc.
It may help to say that I am interested in knowing this because I met a Turkish man who is Muslim, and we are interested in more than just friendship, but the first thing my family made a point of was the cultural differences between us. They demanded of me how Catholic and Muslim is compatible, and I just want to know more than the little that I do.
thkyu

Answer 1

Well there is terrorists in the middle east and in Northern Ireland.
One is the IRA and another is muslims. Even pope-pee said the muslims are terroists. Look at pope-pee, he was in the nazi party.

http://www.usccb.org/nazipope-pee/mens

With love of them sweet cath-lick mens, cause imacatholictwo

Answer 2

Islam teaches peace and so does Catholocism. I would never advise my children to marry outside our faith, regarless of how nice or good the other person is. There is so much that different religions do no have in common and it makes for such a mess later in life. I was raised in a two-religion home and it was confusing! Some things that you might consider...are you going to have your children baptized and if so is he going to object? Really, really, really??? And then when you want the kids to be confirmed and have their first communion, these are celebrations that daddy is not going to be able to participate in. On the other hand, what do you know about Ramadan? Or Eid? How would you feel about not celebrating Christmas and celebrating Eid instead? There will be no pork served at your table (and I would die without ham!) and there will be no alcohol either (and if you like to indulge once in a while, that is going to be a big deal!) He will want to someday make a pilgrimage to Mecca and you will not be able to attend with him.
There are so many important joys and milestones you won't be able to completely share. I'm glad that he's a good man. But look within your own faith and culture. Marriage is hard enough when you come from a similar socio-economic-religious background. It becomes nearly insurmountable when you find someone of a different background.

Answer 3

I'm not going to bore you and delve into my religious beliefs and all that but I can tell you that Catholics and Muslims CAN be compatible, but there are some differences. There are two things I feel you should know:

1) Muslims don't believe that God has any son, mother, wife, etc. They believe that God is not related to anyone and does not possess human characteristics. He is more "spiritual" than "physical".
2) Islam is a little more strict (not extremist) than the Catholic religion. For example, if the Turkish man wants you to wear a headscarf, that might pose a problem for you. But a lot of young Muslim women do not wear headscarves these days.

There are indeed some cultural differences as well, but if you both set your mind to it, and you truly love each other, anything is possible =)

Answer 4

catholics tend to be more tolerant of Islam than protestants, catholics do not actively recruit people to come to the religion to "get saved or else go to hell" the way protestants do, Islam encourages "dawah" which is inviting to Islam, but muslims do not "push" either. The Qur'an teaches that christians, jews, any who believe in God and the last day and work righteousness will have their reward from their Lord ( surah 2:62). Catholicism is big on helping others, there are numerous catholic charities, and one does not have to be catholic to recieve help, muslims have charity as one of the pillars of the faith, paying not only zakat, but also encourage giving whatever is beyond the needs of the one giving to anyone who is needy. so in those ways catholicism and Islam are somewhat alike. I think tolerance is the biggest similarity the two share, that and worshipping the same God, the creator of the universe.

Answer 5

Here is a honest simple answer for you, that you should already know. NOTHING is compatible between the two. Infact to him and his family you are considered a kaffir, or an infidel and headed straight for muslim hell. So you met some cute guy online that you like to spend time with. If your religion is important to you, and it sounds like it is, dont let this internet emotional stuff get in the way. The economy in Turkey is bad especially if hes from a rural area, and any f/usa that can get him out of there, he wont care what she is as long as there is a potentinal that he can get to amreeka. Not to mention that his family would have a heart attack to think their muslim son would marry a kaffir and have non muslim grandchildren is a turkish parents worst nightmare. He might like to kill time with you online for something to do in his dull existance and get away from his dominating family, but be sure the heartache will be all yours if you let yourself down this road. Test him, ask him for his home phone number and tell him you want to talk to his mom lol he will probably **** his pants and his parents have no idea hes even talking with a christian woman. If you want to find out, put him to the test.

Answer 6

May the peace, blessings and mercy of God be upon you

Firstly brother, I would like to advise you sincerely on your decision. Although it is permissible for us to marry chaste women of the book, if you two really love each other, she should be willing to learn about the truth of Islam. Ask her nicely to read the Qu'ran in English and see how she feels. Because you have to realize that you will have to live with this girl for a long time, and you do not want things unresolved until they become a problem and cause divorce or something else bad.

The Catholics commit shirk, they associate partners with God, and worship the Cross, Saints and the Virgin Mary.

I am sure if you are sincere and she is too, she will come to Islam for the love of God, and for you too. But if she refuses, or is stubborn then you should find a different girl.

Peace Be With You

Answer 7

Wow is there a lot of misunderstanding here among the answers already given. I'll address the question first, and post some corrections.

Commonalities are going to be limited because the theologies are different. However, the morality will have some similarities, in part because Catholics and Muslims are both monotheists in the Abrahamic (or Ibrahimic) tradition.

1. Both emphasize life as beginning at conception, and treat it as sacred.
2. Both demand holiness and call for the expression of faith through actions.
3. Both have a history of the importance of pilgrimages for religious growth (the importance is significantly downplayed in Reform and Evangelical theology - the other two major branches of Christian theology)
4. Both have recognized authority structures, although the hierarchies are different.
5. Both institutions see themselves as being a nation of peoples transcending political borders (actually, this could apply to most Christians).
6. Both institutions honor some persons of great importance to the faith as being saints.
7. Both see marriage as sacred (not all Christian churches acknowledge a sense of sacramentality).
8. Both have dietary restrictions during certain seasonal feasts (not all Christian churches recognize seasons or feast days).

I do have to say there are a number of incompatibilities, although it is not impossible to have a relationship despite them. It will take a lot of work and talking out to make sure you understand the bright lines if you are to maintain your separate spiritual lives.

1. The concept of Jesus is far different - the Christian concept of Jesus (shared by Catholics) is that of Lord and Savior. The Muslim concept is that of Isa, a prophet and a nice guy, highly respected but who will in fact come back at the end of time to condemn Christians for following Him. This is a huge difference.

2. The Christian and Muslim understandings of God share some similarities (Creator, Father, etc) and stories because of their mutual descent from the Abrahamic (ie, Jewish tradition) view of God, but the mechanisms of salvation (grace through Christ versus belief in Allah) and the eschatology (last things; salvation for Christians versus salvation for Muslims) and ecclesiology (Mass as worship versus the recitation) are far distinct.

3. Divorce is forbidden to Catholics except for the Scriptural reason of abandonment (any priest or minister understands abuse and infidelity to be abandonment, although many would admonish forgiveness and counseling for the latter before attempting divorce), while I'm not certain as to the Muslim allowance for divorce.

4. While both follow a scripture (Muhammed called Christians and Jews "people of the book"), there are some similarities but many differences. If you read the Gospel and then read the parts of the Quran about Issa (Jesus) they really diverge at important points. Both agree only that someone with that name walked the earth at one point and had a mom named Mary.

The cultural differences are apt to be there, too, although this can be an area of growth for both of you (ie, cuisines and family festivals).


Now as to the errant answers given above:
* Fatima is not a saint's name, but refers instead to an apparition of Mary to some believers at Fatima, Portugal. The place name derives from Arabic because the place was, at one point, under moorish occupation.
* Catholics do not worship idols. The statues have no power, and only an ignorant few believe so.
* Catholics hold marriage as a high calling. Whoever posted that they don't is uninformed.
* Catholicism and Islam are incompatible as belief systems (I'm respectfully disagreeing with imacatholic2 on this one). The Catechism's teaching is careful and effectively says that if Muslims never hear of Jesus, they are at least adoring the one God (there's only one; they call him Allah, we call Him Jesus) and are cast upon His mercy; however, if they reject Jesus in life, there's no salvation after that. Ie, a Christian (Catholic or otherwise) who converts to Islam loses salvation.

Answer 8

As per my knowledge there are only three similarities.
1. Both respect Mary, the mother of Jesus christ
2. Both have fixed way of worshipping, they don't allow innovation and induction of new concepts every other day.
3. Both dislike israelites for two different reasons. Muslim dislikt them for rejecting Mohammed and Jesus and Catholic hold them responsible for crucifiction

Differences..
1. Catholic believe some human authority (pope) and church representing God, where as muslims don't
2. Catholics are idol worshipper, muslims are not
3. Catholics are trinitarian where as muslims are unitarian.
4. Confession, confession in front of other people is disliked in Islam.
5. In Islam there is no preisthood as profession. Knowledge is important.
6. Marriage and family life is extremely important in Islam, Cathlocs does not like marriage.

Finally, Islam is more nearer to protestant rather than cathlics. Some historian suggested that movement protestants started due to influnce of Islam in middle ages.

Answer 9

All religions teach us to be a better person and strive to realize God. For Catholics, it's God the Father and for Muslims it's Allah. The practices to realize God may be different but the objective, the destination is the same.

Answer 10

Good men will do good things. Evil men will do evil things. It takes religion to make good men do evil things. I would love to credit the author but I don't recall the name. Clashes in religious ideologies have resulted in countless deaths. When I realized there were people who wanted to kill me because there god was better than my god I took my ordination papers off the wall, put them in a drawer and walked away for the whole mess. Your friendly neighborhood Atheist.

Answer 11

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

"It is my ardent hope that Muslim and Christian religious leaders and teachers will present our two great religious communities as communities in respectful dialogue, never more as communities in conflict."
-- Pope John Paul II, Meeting with Muslim Leaders in Omayyad Great Mosque, Damascus, May 6, 2001. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20010506_omayyadi_en.html

Christians and Muslims, following their respective religions, point to the truth of the sacred character and dignity of the person. This is the basis of our mutual respect and esteem, this is the basis for cooperation in the service of peace between nations and peoples, the dearest wish of all believers and all people of good will.

As an illustration of the fraternal respect with which Christians and Muslims can work together, I would like to quote some words addressed by Pope Gregory VII in 1076 to a Muslim prince in North Africa who had acted with great benevolence towards the Christians under his jurisdiction. Pope Gregory spoke of the particular charity that Christians and Muslims owe to one another “because we believe in one God, albeit in a different manner, and because we praise him and worship him every day as the Creator and Ruler of the world.”
-- Pope Benedict XVI, Meeting with the President of the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate in Ankara, Turkey, November 28, 2006. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20061128_pres-religious-affairs_en.html

With love in Christ.