Christianity and Islam: Do they really know each other?

Having been exposed to many different branches of Christianity in my life, the opportunity to learn about the Islamic faith has been enlightening. Interestingly enough, I found more similarities than stereotypical Christian views would care to admit. Quoting from the Quran in Sura 26:188,191,193,210: “188. My Lord knows what you do… 191. And most surely your Lord is Mighty, the Merciful… 193. The Faithful Spirit has descended with it… 210. And the devils will not have brought this down upon the unbelievers” A slight deviation between the two beliefs come in verse 210, where it appears that Islam believes in more than one devil whereas Christianity believes it to be a single being. While reading these passages I recognized that a few of the ways they refer to Allah, are the same used to refer to Jesus in the Bible, as well as possibly referring to a similar Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible. In Isaiah 30:29 Jesus is referred to as “the Mighty One of Israel,” and “the Lord of lords,” in 1 Timothy 6:15. Continuing on in the Quran, Sura 26:214 reveals an exact similarity with Christianity, it reads: “And warn your nearest relations.” While this verse may not seem like much, it carries the same meaning as Jesus’ declaration to his apostles in Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Commonly known as the Great Commission by Christians, it shows that Allah giving a similar command to his disciples, to share and invite others to learn. Lastly, and the most surprising to me, came from Sura 36:77, 79 as it reads: “77. Does not man see that We have created him from the small seed? Yet his is openly contentious…79. Say ‘He who first brought them into being will give them life again. He comprehends all creation.” Assuming that I am interpreting this correctly, it appears that Allah will bring those who have died, back to life. This is very similar to the Christian belief of Resurrection, as it reads in John 11:25-26: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

 

I do not believe that the intent of the two religions was to be mutually exclusive, personal interpretations have brought people of both faiths to extreme acts of violence in the name of their God. Sayyid Mawdudi, an Islamic commentator says in his book, The Meaning of the Quran: “One cannot understand fully many of the topics discussed in the Quran unless one is acquainted with the background of their revelation.” This statement is equally true for the revelations of the Bible, as verses from both books when taken out of context can appear contradictory. All in all, if there was an increase of neutral exposure to both faiths about the other, than I believe that there would be an increase in peace. Not to say that there would not be extremists on both sides, but that understanding in general will help these faiths live in harmony.

 

WC: 539

Was the War on Terror a Crusade?

While the term “crusade” has become a generality used to describe action taken towards a particular issue, the history of the “crusade” is based in death and suffering. When Pope Urban II first called for the first Crusade to reclaim the Holy Lands and aid Eastern Christians, he hoped that he would solve many of the problems faced by medieval Europe in 1095. However, the resulting events of the first crusade arguably created many more long term problems than solutions. In a recent article from by author James Carroll, he compares the failure of the first and subsequent crusades to the Bush Administration’s crusade to avenge the 9/11 attacks.

Following the 9/11 attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States entered the War on Terror, which was aimed at combating international terrorism. On September 16th, President Bush addressed the nation and stated that “This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while.” (1) James Carroll reasons that President Bush’s use of the word crusade in this instance is meant to be positive, and that the word crusade is synonymous with a noble act of justice. Carroll also uses the word “crusade” to describe the US’s entry into the War on Terror, however, it means something different in his opinion.

Much like the first Crusade advocated for by Pope Urban II, he suggests that this modern crusade was a failure for many reasons. For one, Carroll shows how the objectives of the War on Terror were not exactly clearly defined, and often this led to confusion for the ground units deployed to fight. Similarly, the knights, peasants, and other able bodies that traveled to the Holy Lands did not exactly know the objectives of their conquest. Pope Urban II offered the consolation of “remission of your sins, with the assurance of the reward of imperishable glory” to every brave warrior, yet the actual objective of the crusade was not tangibly defined nor did it have an established end point (2).

In both instances, they were given a goal that was not concretely defined and therefore this led to confusion that ultimately cost innocent lives and resources.

The use of the word “crusade” varies wildly, and I believe it is most important to tread carefully when using it. People have used the term “modern crusade” to describe Hitler’s persecution of the Jewish population during the Holocaust, and that is a clearly negative connotation, just like James Carroll’s use (3). In the instance of President Bush’s speech, I believe it would have been appropriate to use another more neutral term (like campaign) to describe America’s involvement in the war- especially considering the region’s history and the demographics of the area at that time.

 

Word Count: 453

Sources:

  1. https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-is-on-a-crusade/
  2. Pope Urban II: Speech at Clermont 1095 (Robert the Monk version)
  3. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m4/armstrong.html

Islam and Christianity

Christianity and Islam serve at the two largest universalizing religions in the world. Upon initially examining these religions and the historic feuds (The Crusades) between them, it can appear that they do not have anything in common. However, once one begins to understand the origins and beliefs of the religions, they will begin to notice many similar tenants. Although some of their ideological and theological beliefs significantly differ, these two religions share many connections. Both of these religions trace their origins to the prophet Abraham, believe in a centralized holy text, and profess to one true God. Oftentimes referenced as religions of the book, the Bible and the Qur’an serve as the baseline of these two religious cultures. After closer examination of the two holy texts, I was shocked to notice a surprising amount of similarities between the two. The central texts of Christianity and Islam both mirror similar stories and characters which are sometimes unrecognized by many.

One of these stories is the dispute between Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve. As the story goes, the brothers made sacrifices to God. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice due to his righteousness. Cain, out of jealousy for his brother, then killed Abel and was exiled by God. In the Bible says, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (Genesis 4:8). Although not mentioned explicitly by name, the Qur’an shares a virtually identical narrative of two brothers by saying, “Then his mind facilitated to him the slaying of his brother so he slew him; then he became one of the losers” (Sura 5:30). Although the stories were annotated differently, they remarkably describe the same story. Growing up Catholic, I did not realize that Muslims believed in many of the same parables that I did.

Another surprising fact to me is that the Qur’an and the Bible have over fifty characters in common. One of the most important of these to appear in both texts is the Angel Gabriel. In Bible states, “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God…And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:26-29). The Qur’an narrates a similar story by stating, “…Then We sent to her Our Angel, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man….He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you [news of] a pure boy.” (Surah Maryam, 17-19). Among other similar characters are Abraham, Noah, Joseph, John the Baptist. However, one character upon which both religions differ in the belief of is Jesus. While Jesus is mentioned in both of the books, the two religions believe in his divinity differently. In the Bible, Jesus is the son of God, but in the Qur’an, he was just a prophet sent by Allah. Having no previous knowledge of the Qur’an, I thought the two religions shared more differences like with Jesus than similarities like Gabriel.

After examining the holy texts of Islam and Christianity more closely, I was generally surprised to find how many similarities that they share. It also got me thinking that Islam and Christianity might not be distinctly different religious traditions that many people think they are. They are merely varying understandings of a coinciding religious culture, deeply rooted within the centralized holy texts.

Melissa Cortese (Word Count: 572)

 

Islam and Christianity

Both Christianity and Islam begin with having similar roots and history.  They are both monotheistic religions that are guided by a book.  These are the Bible for Christianity and the Quran for Islam. They share similar quotes.  In our class, when we looked at quotes from the Quran and from the Bible, it was sometimes difficult to even tell which book it was from.  The religions believe in the same prophets up until Jesus, whom they believe was a prophet but not the son of God like Christians believe.  Although they do not believe he was divine, it is interesting to learn that they still believe he was born of the Virgin Mary.  After all, a virgin birth is something that is not all that common…  However they also both still believe that Jesus was an important prophet who performed many miracles.  I did not realize until now that Jesus, although not considered the son of God, was still such an important person in the Islamic religion.

Both Islam and Christianity use the same justification for their fighting in the crusades.  They both believed that it was the will of their god to fight and interpreted this from passages in each of their religious books.  Dying in battle in the name of their god was considered a great act and worthy of eternal life.  This is made clear in Pope Urban the II’s speech for persuading people to join the crusade when he says, “Everyone that hath forsaken houses…shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life”.  The Quran also makes it very clear in Sura 9:39 that Muslims believed in fighting against the Christians when it states “If you do not go to war (Jihad), He will punish you severely and replace you with other men.  You can in no way harm him: For Allah has power over all things”.  In the end, both sides thought that they were right and were just fighting for what they believed in.

Although Christianity and Islam have many similarities, they are mutually exclusive because of their fundamental beliefs about Jesus Christ.  Christians believe that Jesus Christ is indeed God and the savior, and Muslim people believe that Jesus was only a prophet.  The basis of Christianity is this belief in Jesus.  Therefore, this one principle alone means that no person can be both Islamic and Christian.  However, they can still believe in many of the same other things because of the many similarities between the two religions.  Whether someone is Muslim or Christian, they will still practice the golden rule of loving thy neighbor as thyself and working in this life on achieving eternal life in heaven with God or Allah.

Word Count: 449

Sources:

Second Crusade Document from readings

Pope Urban II speech Robert the Monk version

https://www.onfaith.co/text/9-similarities-between-christianity-and-islam

Chr-islam?

Eric Wilson

Before this class, I was not aware of many of the similarities between Islam and Christianity. Other than both of them being monotheistic religions, I believed that their ideologies were inherently different. However, this is not the case.

One of the shocking similarities to me was the role Jesus Christ played in both religions. In Christianity, Jesus is seen as God himself. He came to Earth and died for human beings’ sins before ascending back to Heaven. In Islam, Jesus, also known as Isa, was a prophet of God. Rather than being God himself, Isa was sent by Allah, born of the Virgin Mary, but was not divine (Quran 5:17). The key difference is that he was not God himself. Before learning and researching about this, I didn’t think Jesus played a role in Islam’s foundation of faith at all.

Another similarity is the concept of the Holy Spirit. In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is “the third person of the Trinity and is truly divine.” The Holy Spirit plays a crucial part in how Christians view the concept of God and the divine. In Islam, the concept of the Holy Spirit is “identical with the Angel Gabriel, who appeared to the Prophet Mohammed [when] giving him the Quranic text.” I thought it was an interesting fact that Islam featured any type of idea of a “Holy Spirit.” While these concepts may not be identical, they carry similar parallels in how the foundations of each religion were started.

Islam and Christianity are also similar in the aspect of prayer and guidelines. In Christianity, specifically Catholicism, followers are taught that there are seven sacraments that are to be strived for. These sacraments are blessings from God administered through the church. It is a blessing to receive these sacraments and each Catholic should strive to receive them. In Islam, there are five important rituals as well, also known as the pillars of Islam. These include a profession of faith, prayer five times daily, alms giving, fasting, and a pilgrimage. I thought it was interesting that both of these religions contained a specific set of sacraments, or rituals, that are required of their followers.

I believe that these two religions are much more closely aligned than we are sometimes taught to believe, specifically in America. The foundations of both of these religions are closely aligned and even carry the same type of practices. As discussed in class, all religions can be portrayed as the “right” or “wrong” one by narrow-mindedly looking at specific parts of text within a religion’s Holy Scripture. In America, we generally think with a Christian mindset and many Americans carry the stereotype that Islam is inherently bad because if its scripture passages regarding extreme forms of jihad. What many don’t realize are some of the egregious verses in the Bible. One quote from St. Paul provides advice on whether women should be allowed to teach men in church: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:12). This is a perfect example of how either religion could be portrayed poorly in the eyes of the other. Rather, I like to look at the philosophies and views on humanity from both religions’ perspectives. I believe they both carry great lessons that could benefit all people and are a lot more similar than many may think.

 

Word Count: 567

 

Sources: http://christianityinview.com/xncomparison.html

Islam and Christianity

Christianity and Islam have many apparent and well-known similarities. Both are “Religions of the book”, both are a form of monotheism, and both regard Jerusalem as the holy land. However, these are also things reflected in Judaism—the third of the three prominent monotheistic religions in the world. Having recently learned more about both Christianity and Islam, there are many other details that show how similar they really are, and highlight ways in which Christianity and Islam contrast with Judaism.

The Caliphate represents the community of Islamic people, and is headed by the Caliph. The Caliph is someone that the Islamic people look up to as an example, as someone pure, someone to get advice from and to seek guidance from. If you are a Christian, you are a follower and member of the church. The Pope is in charge of the church, and supposed to be an example for the community of someone pure and free of sin—someone completely invested and dedicated to God and teaching the ways of a good Christian. In this way, Christianity and Islam are very similar.

Jesus Christ is seen in both Islam and Christianity as an important figure. Christianity views Jesus as both divine and human, the son of God and the Messiah. Islam sees Jesus as a prophet of God. Each religion’s belief doesn’t quite line up. However, when compared to that of Judaism, they are more similar than it originally appears. In Judaism, Jesus was not an important religious figure. In fact, the Jewish people regard Jesus Christ as a false prophet. The fact that Islam and Christianity both believe in Jesus as an important religious figure sets them apart from Judaism, and closer to each other.

Both Christianity and Islam have had to fight many battles in order to keep their religion and expand its influence. For Christianity, these battles were the Crusades. The First Crusade came about when the Christian city of Constantinople became overrun. Pope Urban II then called for the Christian men of Europe to assemble and reclaim the city and protect their religion. Fighting in the Crusades was the will of God, and those who died in conflict earned a spot in heaven. In Islam, the term “Jihad” translates to “the struggle”. Jihad is the struggle to protect Islam and spread its influence. Dying while participating in Jihad is seen as Holy. The likenesses of Jihad and the Crusades highlight the similarity between Islam and Christianity.

While all these things compare Islam and Christianity, many parts of the two ideologies remain mutually exclusive. For example, while the Crusades have happened in the past and do not represent a constant push of Christianity, Jihad is seen as more of a concrete part of Islam.

Both ideologies structures and many of their beliefs line up. However, there also remain parts that are mutually exclusive of each other. My recently gained knowledge of both Islam and Christianity have made it clear that these two ideologies are a lot more alike than your average Joe might think.

508 Words

Islam vs Christianity

5 NOV 18

Two of the largest religions in the world today are Christianity and Islam. While many people may argue that these two religions differ vastly in their beliefs and practices, there are actually many similarities between the two. Starting with the most general fact about Islam and Christianity, they are both monotheistic which means belief in one god. Islam believes in Allah and Christians believe in God. Following this is Jesus. Each religion has a Jesus who were both virgin born. Islam however, believes that Jesus is not the son of god but rather a messiah. Christians believe Jesus is the divine son of God and savior to humanity. Two of the biggest differences between the two religions deal with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The Islamic religion believe that someone was substituted for Jesus so the real one could hide and meet with his disciples. Per Christianity though, Jesus was crucified on the cross for the atonement of sin and salvation of all those who believed. Due to the Islamic people not believing in the crucifixion, they do not believe in the resurrection. Christians though believe Jesus rose on the third day. Another comparison between these religions deals with the idea of man. Islam states that when men are created, they are sinless. Christians believe that man is created in God’s image and is sinful by nature and have to believe and serve to wash away their sin. After doing some small research and looking at the similarities between these two religions, I was very shocked to see how much the two have in common. A majority of the beliefs are very similar and only differ by one or two small details if that. Both religions have similar overarching ideas within their practices and beliefs such as the idea of judgment day and also the idea of heaven and hell. The two religions also share the belief that Jesus will come again one day to defeat the Antichrist. To answer the last question are they mutually exclusive, I believe the answer cannot be decided by one person. I believe that respect should be given towards all religions and that a Christian could study Islam in order to become a better Christian and vice versa. Although very similar, each religion had exclusive lessons and principles that although aren’t taught in other religions, could still be applied to whatever religion you practice. So my answer is yes and no. I do not believe that you could be Islamic and Christian, but I do believe you could be a Christian and study the Islamic religion alongside to help you in your religious journey or vice versa.

 

Kody Crider

Can Two Major Religions Coexist?

Christianity and Islam have many similarities rooted in the foundation of their beliefs. Both religions today are widely practiced all across the world by many cultures, with over 3.7 billion combined followers. Both of these regions hold many of the same ideologies, but continue to coexist to this day. Christianity and Islam are monotheistic-meaning they believe in one god, although they differ in the way that they worship and interpret their god’s teachings. Although Islam and Christianity have many similarities, they are not mutually exclusive because each religion interprets their god’s teachings in a unique way.

One similarity between Islam and Christianity that surprises me is that both religions are divided into groups. Islam has two main groups: the Sunni and Shia. This division originally occurred regarding a dispute as to who is the legitimate successor of the prophet Mohammed. This division can still be seen to this day, with many countries being predominately one faction or the other. Similarly, in Christianity we see divisions in three main groups: Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic. This groups also have unique traditions, believes, and practices. Christianity groups also tend to occupy the same geographic areas.

Another similarity between Islam and Christianity is how they both worship from holy texts. The Bible, which Christians worship from, are stories that were written by authors who were inspired by god in their writings. Many of the stories in the Bible are about God’s only son- Jesus Christ. The Bible is seen to Christians as the word of God. Similarly, the Quran is seen by Islamic people as the word of Allah given to mankind through the prophet Mohammed.

Furthermore, both religions have many important rituals that help people practice the teachings of their religion in their everyday life. Christians practice rituals such as baptism, prayer, communion, marriage, and conformation to express and reaffirm their beliefs in their everyday life. I was also surprised to learn that Islam also practices similar rituals. Islamic people practice the five pillars of Islam which include, a conformation of their faith, prayer five times a day, giving to charity, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca. These customs and traditions that people practice define these two religions to this day.

These similarities however do not mean that the religions are mutually exclusive. Both Islam and Christianity can coexist as long as each religion respects each other’s customs and traditions. Also, neither one religion delegitimizes the other. Both religions have separate thoughts and ideas that developed through the cultures that they developed in. Cultures differ no matter where you are in the world. To say that your religion is better than someone else’s religion would also discredit and disrespect their culture. Both religions can be practiced differently similarly to how cultures around the world behave differently. We should appreciate each other’s regions and take into account the many similarities that Christianity and Islam have to help understand them better.

WC: 487

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tViPIynK3_bqu_Rzf_DD1kP4Sagpe3EV

Blog Post 5

Christianity and Islam share many characteristics that most people are not aware of. Prior to taking HH215, I, like many others, was quite ignorant to the several similarities shared by Islam and Christianity. I found it interesting that Islam and Christianity share many prophets, both recognize Jesus as a figure in the religion, and hail from the same background. With that being said, I would say that with the current state of the world that the two religions are mutually exclusive.

The two religions share many prophets, most notably prophets such as Jesus, Moses, and Noah. While their roles and stories are not exactly the same, the presence of these people was a shock to me. For example Noah is portrayed as a drunk in the bible, but not in the Islamic religion, because prophets would never be portrayed like that in Islam. Regardless of that, the reality is that the two share this figure. This parallel between the two religions is so shocking due to the fact that today they are perceived as polar opposites.

The most surprising fact is that both religions involve Jesus. Obviously, the Christian religion recognizes Jesus Christ as the most prominent figure, as the Messiah. They worship him as their God. Whereas the Islamic religion as a prophet of God, not as a god. Although the religions don’t view him in the same way, it is very interesting that they both include Jesus as a figure.

The previous two points prelude to the fact that they came from the same background. To someone growing up in this day and age it comes as a surprise that these two religions come from the same roots. Most probably believe the similarities end with monotheism, and nothing other than that. But the truth is that these religions share prophets, and similar beliefs, and come from the same origins, even share Jesus.

But are these religions mutually exclusive? I would say that in this world’s current state that they are. The world is filled with so much hate and conflict, and because of that fact these religions cannot seem to get along. If people on both side realized all of the similarities stated above, as well as the countless others, then these two religions could come together in harmony. For people on both sides they merely see the stereotypical radicalized groups, skin color, and background of each respective religion, and write them off completely. Until people on both sides overcome these differences then the religions will remain exclusive.

 

Word Count: 420
http://www.islamforchristians.com/greatest-prophets-christianity-islam-prophet-noah/

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tViPIynK3_bqu_Rzf_DD1kP4Sagpe3EV

Justified War?

MIDN 3/C Ionatan Soule, USN

The First Crusade was the first Christian attempt to retake the holy land promised in the Old Testament. Even though the Crusaders defended Constantinople, they had no greater claim to the holy land than any of the other Abrahamic religions.

To discuss this topic fully, it is important to recognize the significance of the holy land, primarily Jerusalem, has for each of the three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. To the Christians, Jerusalem is home to the majority of Jesus’ actions and life, especially his death and resurrection. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is supposedly built on the hill of Calvary, the location of Jesus Crucifixion, and his tomb, where he was resurrected, is located inside. The significance of these is events is core to the Christian religion and it is no wonder that they believe they had the rightful claim to this land during the first crusade. The Muslims would disagree, however, because Jerusalem also contains the al-Aqsa Mosque. This mosque is the third most holy location in the Islamic tradition because it is said that Mohammad ascended into heaven there. For the Jews, Jerusalem contains the Wailing Wall which supported the Holy Temple before its collapse. Additionally, they believe the foundation stone from which the rest of the world was created is located there. All these reasons make it clear that every branch of the Abrahamic religions has significant claims to Jerusalem.

Since every branch has a very good and valid reason why Jerusalem should be under their control, it would be unfair to give one branch sole rights to the area for these reasons. Looking back to the first crusade, the crusaders may have been fighting for what they thought were noble reasons, but their reasons were no nobler than those of the Muslims and Jews. Since they did not have a greater claim to Jerusalem, other methods must be used to determine the justifiability or unjustifiability of the crusades.

Using Just War Theory as an ulterior way to analyze the situation, it is clear that the Christian Crusaders were not justified in capturing Jerusalem. Despite their claims, the local population—with similar claims—had already inhabited that region for many centuries and had established their own government and way of life. Since they posed no threat to the European powers, Europe was not retaliating against an aggressor, rather it was the aggressor thereby making their actions unjust.

Though the Crusaders had many biblical and traditional reasons to fight the first crusade, they were not justified in doing so. An ideal solution would have been to diplomatically arrange safe passage to all faiths in order to make the pilgrimage to the holy lands and practice their beliefs without the need to control the region outright.

Word count: 459

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26934435