The Catholic Catechism and Muslim Immigration to the United States
Feb 18, 2026 1:00 pm By Stephen M. Kirby 18 Comments
Should Muslims be allowed to immigrate to the United States? Not if we follow the last half of Paragraph 2241 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2241).
Here is the last half of that Paragraph:
Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.
Here is a phrase from that Paragraph that is seldom heard: “the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption.” The significance of this phrase is our focus. But before we go further, let’s consult the Modern Catholic Dictionary to make sure we understand the definitions of three important words used in the sentence following that phrase:
Obligation (obliged): The moral power of a law commanding obedience. Obligation is moral necessity, imposed on a free will…[1]
Respect: Esteem for someone or something, arising out of special regard for that object because of his, her, or its excellence. More properly it refers to persons, and it refers to things only because of the persons with whom they are associated. It implies a deference to the one respected and to that extent a sense of inferiority in the one who has or shows respect.[2]
Gratitude: The virtue by which a person acknowledges, interiorly and exteriorly, gifts received and seeks to make at least some return for the gift conferred. Essentially gratitude consists of an interior disposition, a grateful heart, but when genuine it tries somehow to express itself in words and deeds. Consequently it includes three elements: acknowledgment that a gift has been received, appreciation expressed in thankfulness, and as far as possible some return for what has been freely given with no obligation on the donor’s part.[3]
And our spiritual heritage? Judeo-Christian, meaning a spiritual heritage having historical roots in both Judaism and Christianity.
So according to CCC 2241, immigrants coming into the United States are obliged to respect (show deference toward), with gratitude (thankfully acknowledging that a gift has been received), the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United States.
But here there is an immediate problem for aspiring Muslim immigrants. How can Muslim immigrants show this respect and gratitude toward the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United States considering what Islam teaches about Christians and Jews?
Let’s start off looking at some of what Allah had to say in the Koran about Christians and Jews (To read the actual Koran verses mentioned in this article and the commentary about these verses by authoritative Muslim scholars, see Appendix 1 at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fXP98qpxGWr_icBAcgDIqkwxjnnS7AkM/view?usp=sharing):
- The only religion acceptable to Allah is Islam (3:19 and 3:85).
- Allah states that Islam is to be made superior over all other religions, even if the non-Muslims don’t like it (9:33, 48:28, and 61:9).
- Allah states that he is angry with the Jews, and the Christians are misguided in their beliefs (1:7).
- Christians and Jews know that Islam is the true faith, but they reject it anyway and hinder those seeking to follow Islam (3:98-99).
- Allah forbids Muslims from being friends with Christians and Jews (3:28 and 5:51).
- He commands Muslims to fight the Christians and Jews until those Christians and Jews pay the jizyah, a “Head tax imposed by Islam on all non-Muslims [Dhimmis] living under the protection of an Islamic government,”[4] and it is taken from them “as a mark of their subjugation and humiliation.”[5] (9:29).
- Christians and Jews are disbelievers (2:120, 3:99, 3:110, and 5:65).
- Disbelievers are ever open enemies to the Muslims (4:101).
- Muslims are severe against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves (48:29).
- Jews are among the worst enemies of Muslims (5:82).
- Allah curses Christians and Jews (9:30) and states that those who believe that Allah had a Son commit the one unforgivable sin in Islam, Shirk (4:48 and 4:116).
- Those who commit Shirk will go to Hell (3:151 and 5:72-73).
- Allah specifically states that Jesus was not the Son of God (4:171, 5:72, and 9:30).
- Allah commands that Jews and Christians must believe that Jesus was only a Messenger of Allah (4:159) – It is interesting to note that according to “the opinion of most of the commentators,” 4:159 meant that Jesus would kill all the Jews and Christians and leave only Muslims on the earth.[6]
- Allah states that Christians and Jews are among the worst of creatures and “will abide in the fire of Hell” (98:6).
- Muslims are the best of creatures (98:7 and 3:110).
Christianity is considered a false religion because Allah states in Koran 4:157-158 that Jesus was not crucified, but it only appeared so. Muhammad’s cousin Ibn ‘Abbas explained how this happened:
“Just before Allah raised ‘Isa [Jesus] to the heavens, ‘Isa went to his companions, who were twelve inside the house…and he said, ‘There are those among you who will disbelieve in me twelve times after he had believed in me.’ He then asked, ‘Who volunteers that his image appear as mine, and be killed in my place. He will be with me (in Paradise)?’ One of the youngest ones among them volunteered and ‘Isa asked him to sit down. ‘Isa again asked for a volunteer, and the young man kept volunteering and ‘Isa asking him to sit down. Then the young man volunteered again and ‘Isa said, ‘You will be that man,’ and the resemblance of ‘Isa was cast over that man while ‘Isa ascended to heaven from a hole in the house. When the Jews came looking for ‘Isa, they found that young man and crucified him…”[7]
This means that Muslims who know their religion look at a crucifix or a painting of the Crucifixion and see an imposter hanging on the cross. And of course, if there was no Crucifixion, there would be no Resurrection. So, Islam teaches that Christianity is a false religion based on a fraud.
The Muslim scholar Ibn Kathir also made an interesting observation. He noted that those twelve companions in the house knew that Jesus ascended to Heaven from the house and that it was someone else who was crucified.[8] The implication is that it was the Twelve Apostles in the house, which would mean that those Apostles then went out and knowingly preached a lie that spread across the world as the Christian religion. Don’t expect any respect or gratitude from aspiring Muslims immigrants here.
And here are some of the things that Muhammad said about Jews and Christians:
It was narrated from ‘Amr bin Shu’aib, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah ruled that the blood money for the People of the Book is half of that of the blood money for the Muslims, and they are the Jews and Christians.[9]
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) had said: Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you and when you meet any one of them on the roads force him to go to the narrowest part of it.[10]
Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Messenger said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight against the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.’”[11]
Muhammad said that the Jews were grave robbers. Al-Bukhari reported this hadith under the heading of What has been said about Bani Israel:
‘Uqba bin ‘Amir said, “I heard him [Muhammad] saying that the Israeli used to dig the grave of the dead (to steal their shrouds).”[12]
At one point Muhammad had a peace treaty with the Christians of the Bani Taglib tribe, but one of the conditions of the treaty was that the Christians would not baptize their children into Christianity.[13]
Muhammad said that Jews and Christians who refused to believe in what he taught were going to Hell:
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: By Him in whose hand is the life of Muhammad, he who amongst the community of Jews or Christians hears about me but does not affirm his belief in that with which I have been sent and dies in this state (of disbelief), he shall be but one of the denizens of Hell-Fire.[14]
Muhammad said that on the Day of Resurrection, mountains of sins would be removed from the backs of Muslims and put onto the Jews and Christians. [15]
It was reported that among the last things Muhammad said was:
“May Allah fight the Jews and the Christians! They took the graves of their Prophets as places of prostration. Two deens [religions] shall not co-exist in the land of the Arabs.”[16]
And on his death bed Muhammad said this about Jews and Christians:
It has been narrated by ‘Umar b. Al-Khattab that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims.[17]
Both Christians and Muslims believe that Jesus will return to earth. However, Islam teaches a radically different reason for that return. Here is what Muhammad said would happen when Jesus returned to earth:
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said, The Prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one. I, more than any of mankind, have more right to ‘Isa, son of Maryam, for there was no Prophet between him and I. He will descend, and if you see him, know him. He is a well-built man, (the color of his skin) between red and white. He will descend while wearing two long, light yellow garments. His head appears to be dripping water, even though no moisture touched it. He will break the cross, kill the pig, and banish the Jizyah and will call the people to Islam. During his time, Allah will destroy all religions except Islam and Allah will destroy Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal (the False Messiah). Safety will then fill the earth…’Isa will remain for forty years and then will die, and Muslims will offer the funeral prayer for him.[18]
So, during those forty years Allah would destroy all religions except Islam. And Jesus would be breaking the cross of Christianity and calling the people to Islam.
And, according to Muhammad, Jesus would also be judging mankind by the laws of the Koran:
Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Messenger said, “How will you be when the son of Maryam (Mary) [‘Isa (Jesus)] descends amongst you, and he will judge people by the law of the Qur’an and not by the law of the Gospel.”[19]
How can aspiring Muslim immigrants show respect or gratitude toward religions that Islam plans on destroying?
Conclusion
On December 25 last year, our choir had a concert before Midnight Mass. During that concert we sang beautiful songs such as Ave Maria (Rachmaninoff), For Unto Us a Child is Born, O Holy Night, and The First Noel. This was followed by Mass with songs such as O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels We Have Heard on High, Silent Night and Joy to the World. This is the beautiful music and message of our spiritual heritage.,
As I reminisced about that, I started thinking of Hamas’ attack on Israel in the early morning hours of October 7, 2023. As I had explained in a subsequent three-part article about that attack, all the atrocities committed by Hamas against the men, women, and children were fully supported by Islamic Doctrine, and so I titled the article, “Hamas on October 7th: The Teachings of Islam on Display.”[20] In contrast to our beautiful music and message, Hamas showed the spiritual heritage of Muslims.
This is the spiritual heritage of Muslims wanting to immigrate to the United States. So, their claim to be Muslims automatically precludes them from showing respect and gratitude toward our spiritual heritage, for to do so would go against the commands of Allah and the teachings of Muhammad.
So, using the standards set by CCC 2241, Muslims as a group should be precluded from immigrating to the United States.
However, a complicating factor is that Koran 3:28 allows Muslims to lie to non-Muslims about anything, and Koran 16-106 allows Muslims to pretend to renounce Islam, as long as they stay true to Islam in their hearts. So, in theory, Muslims could be eligible to immigrate to the United States if they outwardly renounced Islam while staying true to Islam in their hearts. The only way to avoid this deception is to simply deny all Muslim or ex-Muslim immigration to the United States. An alternative would be to require an ex-Muslim to remain so for a certain number of years before being considered for admission to the United States. The existence of deception is a by-product of their spiritual heritage, not our Judeo-Christian heritage, and is their problem.
I don’t have all the answers, but let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Begin by following CCC 2241 and stop all Muslim immigration to the United States and then proceed from there based on what develops.
The choice is still ours, for now.
Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is the author of six books and numerous articles about Islam. His latest book is Islamic Doctrine versus the U.S. Constitution: The Dilemma for Muslim Public Officials.
[1] John A. Hardon, S.J., Modern Catholic Dictionary, (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1980), p. 385.
[2] Ibid., p. 465.
[3] Ibid., p. 237.
[4] Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur’an, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Glossary, p. 862.
[5] Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Habib al-Basri al-Baghdadi al-Mawardi, Al-Ahkam As-Sultaniyya: the Laws of Islamic Governance, trans. Asadullah Yate (London: Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 2005), p. 207.
[6] Salahuddin Yusuf, Tafsir Ahsanul-Bayan, trans. Mohammad Kamal Myshkat, (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2010), Vol. 1, p. 549.
[7] Abu al-Fida’ ‘Imad Ad-Din Isma’il bin ‘Umar bin Kathir al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), abr. Shaykh Safiur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, trans. Jalal Abualrub, et al. (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2000), Vol. 3, p. 28.
[8] Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 27.
[9] Muhammad bin Yazeed ibn Majah al-Qazwini, Sunan Ibn Majah, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Vol. 3, No. 2644, p. 521.
[10] Abu’l Hussain ‘Asakir-ud-Din Muslim bin Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naisaburi, Sahih Muslim, trans. ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (New Delhi, India: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2008), Vol. 6, No. 2167, p. 439. The Muslim scholar At-Tirmidhi wrote the following explanation for this hadith:
“Do not precede the Jews and the Christians[in greeting]”: Some of the people of knowledge said that it only means that it is disliked because it would be honoring them, and the Muslims were only ordered to humiliate them. For this reason, when one of them is met on the path, then the path is not yielded for him, because doing so would amount to honoring them.
Abu ‘Eisa Mohammad ibn ‘Eisa at-Tirmidhi, Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, trans. Abu Khaliyl (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Vol. 3, No. 1602, p. 365.
And there was an interesting, modern commentary about this hadith:
In normal conditions when Muslims are in power and they are not living as a minority, and they are not under any compulsion or subjugation, it is an order for Muslims that they should not give such leeway to the non-Muslims and they should not greet them first nor yield the way for them…In a country where Muslims are living as a minority, they are allowed to give such leeway to non-Muslim rulers for the greater interest of the Muslim community.
Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, Vol. 3, Comments, p. 366.
[11] Muhammad bin Ismail bin Al-Mughirah al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 1997), Vol. 4, Book 56, No. 2926, p. 113.
[12] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 60, No. 3452, p. 413. Bani Israel, or Banii Israa’iil, is an expression used in the Koran to refer to the early Jews. See the entry for Israa’iil in Mahmoud Ismail Saleh, Dictionary of Islamic Words & Expressions, 3rd ed. (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2011), p. 102.
[13] ‘Imaduddeen Isma’eel Ibn Katheer Al-Qurashi, Winning the Hearts and Souls: Expeditions and Delegations in the Lifetime of Prophet Muhammad, trans. Research Department of Darussalam (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2010), p. 227.
[14] Sahih Muslim, Vol. 1, p. 103, No. 153.
[15] 110 Ahadith Qudsi: Sayings of the Prophet Having Allahs Statements, 3rd ed., trans. Syed Masood-ul-Hasan (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2006), No. 8, titled Superiority of the believers in the Oneness of Allah and the punishment of Jews and Christians, pp. 19-20.
[16] Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi ‘Amir al-Asbahi, Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik ibn Anas: The First Formulation of Islamic Law, trans. Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley (Inverness, Scotland: Madinah Press, 2004), 45.5.17, p. 377.
[17] Sahih Muslim, Vol. 5, No. 1767, p. 189.
[18] Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 3, pp. 31-32. Muhammad also said that when the Muslims were lined up for battle against the False Messiah and the prayer was called, Jesus would “descend and lead them in prayer.” See Sahih Muslim, Vol. 8, No. 2897, p. 338; and Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 3, p. 33.
[19] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 60, No. 3449, p. 412.
[20] “HAMAS on October 7th: The Teachings of Islam on Display”
Part 1: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/03/hamas-on-october-7th-the-teachings-of-islam-on-display-part-1
Part 2: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/03/hamas-on-october-7th-the-teachings-of-islam-on-display-part-2
Part 3: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/03/hamas-on-october-7th-the-teachings-of-islam-on-display-part-3
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