Millions of Muslims Devoted to Mary

By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Worthy News)– Every year, millions of Muslims, mostly women, go on pilgrimage to Marian shrines in Egypt, Syria, Portugal and Lebanon, according to Asia News.

Many pilgrimages in Egypt follow the flight of Mary’s family from King Herod, and at the annual Feast of the Assumption, one million pilgrims visit various shrines, the most famous of which is at Jabal al-Tair about 200 kilometers from Cairo. During the 15-day festival, so many infants of both Abrahamic faiths are baptised that the local parish priest had to build a special baptistery for Muslims!

Beginning in 1982, reports of Marian apparitions in the Soufanieh section of Damascus continue today as Muslims and Christians pilgrimage to Syria. Many Muslimas fly from Iran to Fatima, Portugal, as well as to Harissa, Lebanon, where there is a special Marion chapel for Iranian women complete with icons, signs and prayers in Persian.

Muslims travel to these shrines because Mary is the most celebrated woman in the Quran: she is the only woman called “holy,” a title usually reserved for men, and she is the only one whom the Quran claims God has chosen and preferred above all other women. Moreover, a hadith attributed to Muhammad states that every child during birth is “touched” by Satan, with the exception of both Mary and her Son.

When Mary is mentioned by Muslims, “peace be upon her” is added; there is also a large collection of literature on Mary as depicted in the Quran written by both Muslims and Christians .