Thank you so much for offering this forum for us all to explore our questions with more depth! It has been a blessing.
I am wondering where the belief that the Antichrist arises from a Roman background originated and also what is the biblical basis for the possibility of him being Muslim? Thanks.
The notion that the anti-Christ would be of Roman origin stems from Daniel 9:26 “The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” It was the Romans who burned Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 AD.
The Roman Empire was also prophesied by Daniel to have two “legs” in his interpretation of the poly-metallic statue in chapter 2, and indeed at one time, it had both Eastern (Constantinople) and western (Rome) capitals. Much of what was then the Eastern component is now the Muslim Middle East, while the western component is now Europe.
Since the Rome was never really conquered in the traditional sense, but fell into decline to be replaced by the Holy Roman Empire, many students of prophecy have seen a revival of the Roman Empire to be the major player of the End Times. It has been thought that the European Union is this revival, and that the anti-Christ would come from Western Europe.
The Rise of Islam has caused some to remember Rome’s Eastern leg, and a recently popularized Islamic prophecy of al Mahdi (or Muslim Messiah as he’s called) shows a remarkable similarity to Biblical prophecy of the anti-Christ. Putting these facts together permits the possibility of the anti-Christ being Muslim without violating Daniel’s prophecy.