A Very Exalted Place

With lots of links, The Western Confucian writes:

"A woman of (the House of Imran) prayed: 'O my sustainer! Behold, unto Thee do I vow (the child) that is in my womb to be devoted to Thy service. Accept it, then, from me: verily, Thou alone art all-hearing, all-knowing!' But when she had given birth to the child, she said: 'O my sustainer! Behold, I have given birth to a female' - the while God had been fully aware of what she would give birth to - 'and the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and verily, I seek Thy protection for her and her offspring against Satan, the accursed.'" (3:35-36)

Quoted by Hesham A. Hassaballa in his reflection on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception — Love for the Virgin Mary runs deep in Islam. "I had always thought that this day was to commemorate the conception of Jesus Christ, and was surprised to learn, however, that this day actually celebrates the conception of the Virgin Mary," he writes. "Although I do not officially celebrate this day, it still brings a warm feeling to my heart, for it reminds me of the Virgin Mary, who has a very exalted place in Muslim belief."

"No devout Muslim would ever fathom attacking the character of the Virgin Mary," he writes. Compare that with this from the Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin: "She who was the descendant of princes and governors, played the harlot with carpenters."

For reference, here's an article on "what is common to Islam and Christianity" — What does the Qur'an say about Mary, the mother of Jesus? (And some Protestant panic, for good measure, which at least reminds us that "the very doctrine certain liberal Christians reject--the perpetual virginity of Mary--is accepted by Muslims" — Mary-worship unites Catholicism and Islam.) Also not to be missed is Fr. Ladis Cizik's "look at Islam, the Koran and Mary's role in bringing about peace in troubled times" — Our Lady and Islam: Heaven's Peace Plan.

No one in Protestantism disputed the Perpetual Virginity until the Virginal Conception itself came to be disputed.