Une Minute avec Marie
Faire connaître et aimer Marie
Although Mary is mentioned more in the Islamic book than in the Christian scriptures, her role is much more limited. For Muslims, she is nothing more than the Mother of Jesus the Prophet. The Coran does not say anything about why God raised this creature above all others. Should we not wonder at the lack of curiosity of the Muslim doctors who "did not investigate the reasons why Mary was so blessed with graces and favors from the Most High"?
Christians today are invited to put their hope in the mysterious Coranic mentions of the Blessed Virgin; to consider that Mary is also the Mother of the Muslims, as the founders of the Basilica of Algiers (consecrated in 1872 by Cardinal Lavigerie) had the foresight to suggest when they had the entrance surmounted by this delicate invocation: "Our Lady of Africa, pray for us and for the Muslims"; and to intercede so that her Muslim children would eventually unveil the mystery of Mary and that through the fully-known Virgin, they would discover the truth of Jesus Christ.
For Father Abdeljalil, despite her ambivalent features, the Mary of the Coran "constitutes a kind of interior preparation for the total and pure truth, provided that this truth is not only demonstrated in books, but also and above all shown in lives", in the life of each Christian.
The author concludes with these recommendations: "A heroic effort of living witness on the part of Christians 'acting the truth in charity' is even more necessary today than ever. The Marian mystery that should be practiced towards Muslims, par excellence, is that of the Visitation." So why not dedicate the recitation of this mystery to the conversion of Muslims? In other words, just as Mary once brought Jesus physically to her cousin Elizabeth, so today we can bring him mystically to Muslims.