Religion paper

JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY & ISLAM COMPARED

JEWS CHRISTIANS MUSLIMS

Monotheistic Monotheistic Monotheistic

(Trinitarian)

Abraham Progenitor Abraham Abraham

Jerusalem holy city Jerusalem Jerusalem

Reverence for Heb. Prophets Rev. for Prophets Rev. for Prophets

Hebrew Bib. accptd Heb. Bib. accptd Not accptd

as canonical as canonical but respected

No New Test. New Testament Qur'an in place of,

(Talmud plays Church Fathers but N.T. respected

parallel role) Hadith suppl. Qur’an

Jesus not divine Jesus divine & Jesus not divine,

nor a prophet savior–messiah but revered

Muhammad not accptd M. not accepted Muhammad accptd

as seal of prophecy and revered

More stress on observance More stress on faith Stress on observance

(613 commandments) (Nicene Creed) (Five Pillars)

Prayer 3x Daily Daily Prayer Prayer 5x Daily

Sabbath observance Sunday observance Friday communal prayer

Dietary laws/Kosher No dietary laws Dietary laws/Halal

(elaborate system) (except a few in Rom. Cath. (No pork products)

& several in Orthodox Church)

Circumcision Required Not required Circum. required

Ethical conduct Ethical conduct Ethical conduct

justice stressed love submission

Alcohol permitted Alcohol permitted No alcohol

Afterlife Afterlife Afterlife

not stressed important important

Convert-making Evangelization Islam should be

not stressed very important spread

Monogamy Monogamy Polygamy (up to 4

wives; not common)

Gambling reluctantly permitted in moderation? Forbidden

HISTORICAL SOURCES OF CONFLICT:

A. JEWISH-CHRISTIAN

1. Bitter rivalry between rabbinic Judaism and early church reflected in New Testament

2. Christianization of Roman Empire and subsequent centuries of persecution of Jews--including "the teaching of contempt,” Jews as Christ-killers

3. Modern anti-Semitism, especially the Holocaust, not strongly resisted by most church leaders

B. MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN

1. Islam's initial expansion tied to conquest

2. The Crusades

3. Efforts by Muslim countries, especially Turkish Ottoman Empire, to conquer parts of Europe

4. Second-class (dhimmi) status of Christians in Muslim countries

5. Western imperialism, e.g., in the somewhat artificial creation of new Middle East states after WW I

C. JEWISH-MUSLIM

1. Jewish rejection of Muhammad's claims to prophethood (reflected in a few Qur'anic verses)

2. Second-class (dhimmi) status of Jews in Muslim countries

3. Founding of State of Israel in 1948 against strong objections from Muslim and Arab nations, leading to subsequent Arab-Israel wars, terrorism directed against Israel and refugee problems for Palestinians

Signs of Hope:

a. Second Vatican Council's document on relations with non-Christian religions (1965); Vatican's recognition of State of Israel (1993)

b. Growth of Jewish-Catholic and Jewish-Protestant dialogue movement

c. Gradual emergence of Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue (e.g., Academy for Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies), and of Jewish-Muslim and Christian-Muslim dialogue

d. The American Islamic experience as a model for other countries (“integrity and adaptation”)

e. Making common cause to solve global problems: hunger, political repression, religious persecution, etc.

Continuing Sore Spots:

a. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Palestinian terrorism answered by Israeli military repression

b. The perception by Muslims that America unfairly supports Israel vis-à-vis Palestine

c. The invasions of Iraq & Afghanistan and their troubled aftermath

d. Repressive or fundamentalist regimes in predominantly Muslim countries

e. The use of terrorism by Muslim extremists (Al-Qaeda, ISIS) to achieve political goals

f. The perceived moral laxity of predominantly Christian countries, especially the USA, in the eyes of the Islamic world