In colonial America, many Protestants associated Islam and Catholicism with the Antichrist. Indeed, Prideaux related the rise of Muhammad and the bishop of Rome’s claim to reign over all churches. Hence, the ‘Antichrist seems at this time to have set both his Feet upon Christendom together, the one in the East, and the other in the West.‘

Evidence

So, when Fox claimed that the growth of the Quaker community demonstrated its credibility, Williams retorted that Islam and Roman Catholicism had grown equally as quickly. Elsewhere, Williams wrote of his anticipation that the destruction of Islam and Catholicism would coincide, along with the mass conversion of the Jews, with the apocalypse. — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear, 99 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

  • XREF: connects to: Medieval Christendom defined itself by expelling threatening forces beyond its perimeter; Luther weaponized images of Islam to attack Catholicism as well as Turks — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 154; Medieval Christians identified Muhammad with Behemoth, Leviathan, and the Antichrist (+9 more)

Broader Connections