We’ve been told by the usual suspects that the next Pope must “reach out” to Muslims and build bridges between the Catholic Church and Islam.

The highest authorities in Islam, however, seem to have a different sort of “reaching out” in mind: The Next Pope and Islamic Prophecy.

Saudi Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd Al-Rahman Al-’Arifi, Imam of the mosque of King Fahd Defense Academy, discussed the coming Muslim conquest of the Vatican. Citing a Hadith in an article posted on the Kalemat website in 2002, he stated: “… We will control the land of the Vatican; we will control Rome and introduce Islam in it. Yes, the Christians, who carve crosses on the breasts of the Muslims … will yet pay us the Jiziya [poll tax paid by non-Muslims under Muslim rule], in humiliation, or they will convert to Islam…”

Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and head of The European Council for Fatwa and Research and the founder of European based International Council of Muslim Scholars (Imams) posted a fatwa on the website [Link: www.islamonline.net,…] in 2002 about the “signs of the victory of Islam” in Europe.

Also citing a well-known Hadith, Al-Qaradhawi wrote: “… The Prophet Muhammad was asked: ‘What city will be conquered first, Constantinople or Romiyya?’ He answered: ‘The city of Hirqil [i.e. the Byzantine emperor Heraclius] will be conquered first’ - that is, Constantinople… Romiyya is the city called today ‘Rome,’ the capital of Italy … and we hope and believe [that it too will be conquered].”

Al-Qaradhawi elaborated on what this Islamic ruling means in the current period of history, “This means that Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror and victor, after being expelled from it twice … I maintain that the conquest this time will not be by the sword but by preaching and ideology…”