At St. Peter’s Church inside Belgium’s Catholic University of Leuven, the reciter chose Koran 26:70-77 — Abraham denouncing idol worship. The statues were still in the sanctuary. The university opened the door.
A Catholic university handed the lectern to a Muslim reciter, cleared his text in advance, and let Koran verses denouncing idol worship ring through St. Peter’s Church during its opening Mass.
The same service also exposed the leadership collapse that made the moment possible. AdVaticanum reported that the homilist, University Parish director Martijn Steegen, is a married layman who wore clerical-style garb. Two women in similar vesture stood with him at the altar. Archbishop Luc Terlinden and other priests reportedly watched from the front row.
That is the record behind Raymond Ibrahim’s charge of “Doormat Christianity.” The scandal was not only the invited Muslim reciter. It was the Catholic institutional class that gave him the sanctuary and cleared the words.
The reciter chose Koran 26:70–77. The passage recounts Abraham asking people what they worship before recording their answer:
“They replied, ‘We worship idols, to which we are fully devoted.’” —Koran 26:71
The text then asks whether idols can hear, help, or harm their worshippers, and concludes, “They are all enemies to me, except the Lord of all worlds.” Quran.com records the passage.
KU Leuven did not deny the selection. It told AdVaticanum that the student mosque chose the verses, submitted them for approval, and received review from a university chaplain trained as an Arabist. The University Parish, Rector’s Office, and Flemish bishops were consulted.
The university called the event peace and reconciliation. The documented result was an Islamic denunciation of idol worship inside a Catholic Mass, approved by the institution charged with guarding that altar.