The Archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, posted on X on Friday:” Ramadan begins wednesday! Our Islamic brothers and sisters experience the time of atonement during Ramadan. Do they ever take it seriously? Because Ash Wednesday is approaching, I tell you, it kind of resembles our Ramadan. The cardinal’s phrases came as no surprise because these generous statements were entirely in line with Pope Francis ‘ tireless advocacy of unity, but their kindness was no guarantee of their accuracy. However, almost every aspect of Dolan’s speech was incorrect, and some of it was incredibly misleading.
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Ramadan begins wednesday! Our Islamic brothers and sisters experience the time of penance during Ramadan. Do they ever take it seriously? Because Ash Wednesday is approaching, I tell you, it kind of resembles our Ramadan. @thegnewsroom photo twitter.com/qBiFTGhpoN— Cardinal Dolan (@CardinalDolan ) February 28, 2025
First of all, Ramadan is not a” winter of repentance.” Although the gorging all day partially mitigates the austere effect of the day’s fast, the emphasis is not primarily on repentance, it does require self-denial and the production of a sense of self-control. No one “gives things up for Ramadan.” In the sense that Ramadan is a time for Muslims to redouble their efforts to satisfy Allah, but in Islam, this takes on a completely different kind from work to satisfy God in Christianity. ( For those who need it, take note that” Allah” is actually the Arabic equivalent of” the God,” and yes, Arabic-speaking Christians do use the word because they are associated with the God of the Qur’an, Copts included. ) I refer to that God around by using it.  ,
Islam’s apostle Muhammad said that warfare, which primarily involves fighting against nonbelievers, is the highest form of service to Allah. A Muslim is quoted as saying,” Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad ( in reward ).” I do not get such a document, Muhammad replied. What better way to strengthen one’s devotion to Allah than by engaging in jihad ( Bukhari 4.52.44)? Thus, every Ramadan, we witness a rise in jihad problems. Cardinal Dolan is not exactly celebrating this, but he is undoubtedly certain that Islam is a religion of peace and that anyone who disseminates him is just an” Islamophobe.”
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Dolan also refers to Muslims as the “brothers and daughters” of Roman Catholics. In reality, Catholics are never treated like that. Does Dolan know these lines from the Qur’an? ( Spoiler: no, he isn’t. ) The people of the book, which include Christians, are described as” the most vile of created beings” (98: 6 ). It states that those who believe in Christ’s divinity are devout ( Ps. 5: 17 ) and 5: 72 ). Although it assumes that the Trinity includes Allah, Jesus, and Mary ( 5: 116 ), it denies both the crucifixion ( 4: 157 ) and the Trinity ( 4: 171 ).  ,
The Qur’an also asserts that Allah has no son and that those who claim that Jesus is God’s Son are in Allah’s midst ( 19: 35, 9: 30 ). It also urges Muslims to fight and subjugate” the people of the book” to make them accept the rule of Islam ( 9: 29 ). Therefore, it would be difficult to locate a pious and competent Muslim who would declare that these abducted Christians were his “brothers and daughters.”
The priest even praises Muslims for honoring the Muslim community thus revered. Does he know how frequently Muslims ( and non-Muslims ) are punished for breaking the Ramadan? To frequently, Ramadan celebrations are motivated by fear rather than devotion. In March of this year, Nigerian authorities detained eleven Islam who had been caught eating during Ramadan’s daylight hours. Around the same moment, a French-language publication called Valeurs Actuelles reported on a situation where two Muslims attacked a non-Muslim in a detention facility for breaking the strong for the Ramadan. For the same purpose, four Muslim youth brutally beat a 13-year-old Muslim woman on a bus the following quarter.
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Marion Maréchal, a legislator in France, said that Ramadan is the indicator of how much European nation has become more Islamized. Dolan definitely benefited from his trenchant information on Friday, which he made reference to the normalization of Ramadan in France and all over the West. Although it’s unlikely that a meeting would actually take place, Cardinal Dolan would be wise to meet with Maréchal and explain to her why she thinks European nations shouldn’t view the observance of Ramadan as wholesome and salutary.
And lastly, Dolan had the traditional context reversed when he claimed Ash Wednesday and, consequently, Lent were “our Ramadan.” Although Ramadan did not come after it and was certainly derived from it, the Arab period of fasting was in fact influenced by Christian thought. Why does Dolan place Christians in a precarious position before Muslims when the Qur’an commands Muslims to fight Christians until they “feel subdued” ( 9: 29 )?  ,
Cardinal Dolan might discover that he was unintentionally enticing factors that no one, whether clergy or not, if include encouraged. But, it might already be too soon.
