by Thomas Edwards

A passage from the Quran asking "What do you worship?" was chanted during the opening Mass at Catholic KU Leuven attended by Archbishop Luc Terlinden

KU Leuven, a Catholic university in the city of Leuven, Belgium, is facing questions after a video appearing to show an Islamic prayer being chanted at the university's opening Mass circulated online.

A video that has been viewed thousands of times shows a young man chanting in Arabic at the lectern. The passage is from Surah Ash-Shu'ara (The Poets, Chapter 26), verses 69-70, which reads: "And relate to them the story of Abraham, when he asked his father and his people, 'What do you worship?'"

Professor Jacques Haers, a Jesuit priest and member of the university's Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, presided over the service. He is also the former chair of the Centre for Liberation Theologies.

The homilist was Professor Martijn Steegen, head chaplain and director of the University Parish, who is a married layman. Despite this, he was dressed in clerical garb with a V-shaped red piece of cloth resembling a stole. He was accompanied at the altar by two similarly dressed women.

AdVaticanum has spoken to people who attended the service who said that Archbishop Luc Terlinden and other priests were present and sitting in the front row.

KVHV-Leuven, a student led organisation connected to the university, recorded the event. Speaking to AdVaticanum, the group said the inclusion of Islamic prayers was not unprecedented.

"Last year, Islamic prayers were also chanted during this Mass as part of 'interreligious dialogue'. This year, it was the same but now our cameras were at the ready," the group said.

Explaining why it published the footage, KVHV-Leuven said: "With this video, we want to appeal to the current policies at our university that tries to fabricate some kind of 'middleground' between religions that are incompatible at their core."

"We understand and defend the position of our university as a place of dialogue, interchanging of ideas and religious criticism. We believe, however, that these things should be left to professors and researchers in dedicated centres. This so-called 'dialogue' has no place however during the Holy Eucharist as it devalues Christian traditions as well as respect for Islamic cultures."

The group concluded: "Therefore, we wish our university, and our bishops, to give the church back to the Christians and to leave the mosques for Muslims. Then, and only then, we can have a proper dialogue and exchanging of cultures between religions."

It appears that the university had initially planned to include a Jewish text as well, but this was dropped at the last moment. Reports from the event have said that it was included in the original booklet for the service. After the Islamic passage, there were reportedly readings from Anglicans and Protestants, delivered in Flemish and English.

This is not the first time the university has promoted interreligious expression. In 2019, it organised what it called the "Interreligious Peace Action – Franciscan Call 4 Peace". The event featured a specially designed "composition with the Adhan and Angelus melody" before church bells were rung ahead of Friday Islamic prayers and an interreligious service for peace was held at St Michael's Church in Leuven.

AdVaticanum has reached out to the university for comment.