c. AD 30
Scripture
Jesus, to the Samaritan woman John 4:22
“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
Short answer
The Church says that Muslims profess to hold the faith of Abraham and, together with Christians, adore the one, merciful God, the Creator and judge of mankind. She also states that Muslims do not acknowledge Jesus as God. She does not teach that Islam's belief about God is complete, or that it is equal to the faith God has revealed in Christ. She holds that the unity of God is the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that the Gospel is to be preached to everyone.
Drafted from primary sources. Every quotation is checked against the page it links to.
13 quotations in date order
The Apostolic AgeAD 1 to 100
c. 50
Scripture
St. Paul at Athens Acts 17:22-23
“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”
c. 90
Scripture
St. John 1 John 2:22-23
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.”
The Early Church100 to 325
c. 155
Church Father
St. Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 11
“Nor do we think that there is one God for us, another for you, but that He alone is God who led your fathers out from Egypt with a strong hand and a high arm. Nor have we trusted in any other (for there is no other), but in Him in whom you also have trusted, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.”
The Middle Ages800 to 1500
1076
Magisterium
Pope St. Gregory VII Letter of 1076 to a Muslim prince in North Africa, as quoted by Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the President of the Religious Affairs Directorate, Ankara, 28 November 2006
“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.”
The Modern Era1800 to today
1870
Council
First Vatican Council Dei Filius, ch. 2, On Revelation
“The same holy mother church holds and teaches that God, the source and end of all things, can be known with certainty from the consideration of created things, by the natural power of human reason … It was, however, pleasing to his wisdom and goodness to reveal himself and the eternal laws of his will to the human race by another, and that a supernatural, way.”
1964
Magisterium
Pope St. Paul VI Ecclesiam Suam 107
“Then we have those worshipers who adhere to other monotheistic systems of religion, especially the Moslem religion. We do well to admire these people for all that is good and true in their worship of God. … Obviously we cannot agree with these various forms of religion, nor can we adopt an indifferent or uncritical attitude toward them on the assumption that they are all to be regarded as on an equal footing … Indeed, honesty compels us to declare openly our conviction that the Christian religion is the one and only true religion, and it is our hope that it will be acknowledged as such by all who look for God and worship Him.”
1964
Council
Second Vatican Council Lumen Gentium 16
“But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind. … Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, "Preach the Gospel to every creature", the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.”
1965
Council
Second Vatican Council Nostra Aetate 3
“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 a prophet.”
1985
Magisterium
Pope St. John Paul II Address to Young Muslims, Casablanca, 19 August 1985, 10
“Both of us believe in one God the only God, who is all Justice and all Mercy … Loyalty demands also that we should recognize and respect our differences. Obviously the most fundamental is the view that we hold on the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. You know that, for the Christians, this Jesus causes them to enter into an intimate knowledge of the mystery of God and into a filial communion by his gifts, so that they recognize him and proclaim him Lord and Saviour.”
1992
Magisterium
Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC 841
“The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "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."”
1999
Magisterium
Pope St. John Paul II General Audience, 5 May 1999, 2
“Today I would like to repeat what I said to young Muslims some years ago in Casablanca: “We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection” … We know that in the light of the full Revelation in Christ, this mysterious oneness cannot be reduced to a numerical unity. The Christian mystery leads us to contemplate in God's substantial unity the persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”
2000
Magisterium
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Dominus Iesus 7
“For this reason, the distinction between theological faith and belief in the other religions, must be firmly held. … Thus, theological faith (the acceptance of the truth revealed by the One and Triune God) is often identified with belief in other religions, which is religious experience still in search of the absolute truth and still lacking assent to God who reveals himself.”