Wikipedia - Parallels Between Christianity & Islam

Christianity and Islam

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A Dutch crescent-shaped Geuzen medal at the time of the anti-Spanish Dutch Revolt, with the slogan "Liver Turcx dan Paus" ("Rather Turkish than Pope (i.e. Papist)"), 1570.

Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world and share a historical traditional connection, with some major theological differences. The two faiths share a common place of origin in the Middle East, are Abrahamic, and monotheistic.

Christianity developed out of Second Temple Judaism in the 1st century CE. It is founded on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and those who follow it are called Christians.^[1]

Islam developed in the 7th century CE. Islam, founded on the teachings of Muhammad as an expression of surrender to the will of God. Those who follow it are called Muslims which means "submitter to God".^[2][3]

Muslims have a range of views on Christianity, from viewing Christians to be People of the Book to regarding them as kafirs (infidels) that commit shirk (polytheism) because of Trinitarianism and as dhimmis (religious taxpayers) under Sharia. Christian views on Islam are diverse and range from considering Islam a fellow Abrahamic religion worshipping the same God, to believing Islam to be heresy or an apostatic cult that denies the Crucifixion and rejects the divinity of Christ.

Islam considers Jesus to be al-Masih, the Arabic term for Messiah, sent to guide the Children of Israel (banī isrā'īl in Arabic) with a new revelation: al-Injīl (Arabic for "the Gospel").^[4][5][6] Christianity believes Jesus to be the Messiah of the Hebrew scripture, the Son of God, and God the Son, while Muslims consider the Trinity to be a division of God's Oneness and a grave sin (shirk). Muslims believe Jesus (Isa) to be a messenger of God, not the son of God.

Christianity and Islam have different scriptures, with Christianity using the Bible and Islam using the Quran, though Muslims believe that both the Quran and the Christian Gospel, termed Injeel, were sent by God. Both texts offer an account of the life and works of Jesus. The belief in Jesus is a fundamental part of Islamic theology, and Muslims view the Injeel as tahrif (distorted or altered), while Christians consider their Gospels to be authoritative and the Quran to be a later, fabricated or apocryphal work. Both religions believe in the virgin birth of Jesus through Mary, but the Biblical and Islamic accounts differ.

Scriptures

The Christian Bible is made up of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament dates to centuries before the time of Christ. The New Testament dates from the time of Christ, or centuries thereafter. The central books of the Bible for Christians are the Gospels. Christians consider the Quran a non-divine false, later work.

The Quran dates from the early 7th century, or decades thereafter. The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Jewish and Christian scriptures. It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and differs in others.^[7][8][9] Muslims believe that Jesus was given the Injil (Greek evangel, or Gospel) from the Abrahamic God and that parts of these teachings were eventually lost or distorted (tahrif) to produce what is now the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament. Muslims believe that the Quran present today is the same (unchanged/unedited) as the one just at the time of death of their prophet.

Jesus

Christianity and Islam differ in their fundamental views in regard to the nature of their religion, their beliefs about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Most Christians are Trinitarian and believe that Jesus is divine and God the Son. Christianity teaches that Jesus was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin and the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, crucified and resurrected, as per the Gospel narratives. Christians believe Jesus was divine and sinless.Main articles: Jesus in Christianity and Jesus in Islam

Muslims and Christians both believe that Jesus was born to Mary, a virgin. They also both believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Islam teaches that Jesus was one of the most important prophets of God, but not the Son of God, not divine, and not part of a God as part of a Trinity. In Islam, Jesus was a human prophet who, like the other prophets, tried to bring the children of Adam to the worship of the One God, termed Tawhid. Muslims believe the creation of Jesus was similar to the creation of Adam (Adem). Muslims believe that Jesus was condemned to crucifixion and then miraculously saved from execution.

Muslims contend that Jesus argued against the division of God's oneness. Christians do not see the Trinity as implying any division and that Christianity follows God's command to have no other gods from the Old Testament.^[10] Christians argue that the New Testament, particularly the Gospel of John, contains or is centered on the Trinity and that Jesus made several implicit and explicit claims to be the Son of God, and divine in nature.^[11]

Muhammad

Main articles: Muhammad in Islam and Muhammad § Historical Christian views

Muhammad in the Nuremberg Chronicle

Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibril),^[12][13] gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609,^[14] when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death.^[15][16][17] Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of Muhammad, a proof of his prophethood,^[18] and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam and ended with Muhammad. They consider the Quran to be the only revealed book that has been protected by God from distortion or corruption.^[19]

Muslims revere Muhammad as the embodiment of the perfect believer and take his actions and sayings as a model of ideal conduct. Unlike Jesus, who Christians believe was God's son, Muhammad was a mortal, albeit with extraordinary qualities. Today many Muslims believe that it is wrong to represent Muhammad, but this was not always the case. At various times and places pious Muslims represented Muhammad although they never worshiped these images.^[20]

The first recorded comment of a Christian reaction to Muhammad can be dated to only a few years after Muhammad's death. As stories of the Arab prophet spread to Christian Syria, an old man who was asked about the "prophet who has appeared with the Saracens" responded: "He is false, for the prophets do not come armed with a sword."^[21]

The Trinity

Main articles: Trinity and Islamic view of the Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Islam such plurality in God is a denial of monotheism, and thus a sin of shirk,^[22] which is considered to be a major 'al-Kaba'ir' sin.^[23][24]

The Holy Spirit

Main articles: Holy Spirit in Christianity and Holy Spirit (Islam)

Christians and Muslims have differing views on the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is God, and also the Paraclete referred to in the Gospel of John, who was manifested on the day of Pentecost.^[25][26] In Islam the Holy Spirit is generally believed to be the angel Gabriel,^[27] and the reference to the Paraclete is a prophecy of the coming of Muhammad.

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you."

— John 16:7

Salvation

Main article: Salvation in Christianity

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the official doctrine document released by the Roman Catholic Church, has this to say regarding Muslims:

The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

— Catechism of the Catholic Church^[28]

Protestant theology mostly emphasizes the necessity of faith in Jesus as a savior in order for salvation. Muslims may receive salvation in theologies relating to Universal reconciliation, but will not according to most Protestant theologies based on justification through faith:

"The first and chief article is this: Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification (Romans 3:24-25). He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), and God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works and merits, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood (Romans 3:23-25). This is necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us ... Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls (Mark 13:31)."

— Martin Luther^[29]

The Quran explicitly promises salvation for all those righteous Christians who were there before the arrival of Muhammad:

Lo! Those who believe (in that which is revealed unto thee, Muhammad), and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans – whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right – surely their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.

— Quran, Sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 62^[30]

The Quran also makes it clear that the Christians will be nearest in love to those who follow the Quran and praises Christians for being humble and wise:

"And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians. That is because there are among them priests and monks and because they are not proud. When they listen to that which hath been revealed unto the messengers, thou seest their eyes overflow with tears because of their recognition of the Truth. They say: Our Lord, we believe. Inscribe us as among the witnesses.
How should we not believe in Allah and that which hath come unto us of the Truth. And (how should we not) hope that our Lord will bring us in along with righteous folk?
Allah hath rewarded them for that their saying – Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the reward of the good."

— Quran, Sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida), ayat 82–85^[31]

Similarities and Differences

The discussion about whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God brings out a whole nest of philosophical confusions. The argument that “Yahweh” and “Allah” are referring to the same entity, despite the dissimilar concepts of God involved, is not sound. A greater problem is that “worships x” is what analytic philosophers, like Dr. Peter van Inwagen, a leading professor in the philosophy of religion, label an "intensional (as opposed to extensional) context," where the term “x” does not have to refer to anything at all (as in, e.g., “Jason worships Zeus”). In an "intensional context" co-referring terms cannot be replaced without affecting the truth value of the statement. For instance, even though “Jupiter” may refer to the same entity as “Zeus,” still Jason, a Greek, does not worship Jupiter and may not even be aware of the Roman deity. So it cannot be said that "Abdul," a Muslim, worships Yahweh, even if “Yahweh” and “Allah” are co-referring names.^[32][33]

Early Christian writers on Islam and Muhammad

See also: Medieval Christian views on Muhammad

Dante, a Christian, and Virgil looking at Muhammad who suffers in hell as a schismatic, an illustration of the Divine Comedy by Gustave Doré. During the Middle Ages, Islam was often seen as a Christological heresy and Muhammad as a false prophet.

John of Damascus

In 746 John of Damascus (sometimes St. John of Damascus) wrote the Fount of Knowledge part two of which is entitled Heresies in Epitome: How They Began and Whence They Drew Their Origin.^[34] In this work St. John makes extensive reference to the Quran and, in St. Johns's opinion, its failure to live up to even the most basic scrutiny. The work is not exclusively concerned with the Ismaelites (a name for the Muslims as they claimed to have descended from Ismael) but all heresy. The Fount of Knowledge references several suras directly often with apparent incredulity.

From that time to the present a false prophet named Mohammed has appeared in their midst. This man, after having chanced upon the Old and New Testaments and likewise, it seems, having conversed with an Arian monk, devised his own heresy. Then, having insinuated himself into the good graces of the people by a show of seeming piety, he gave out that a certain book had been sent down to him from heaven. He had set down some ridiculous compositions in this book of his and he gave it to them as an object of veneration. ... There are many other extraordinary and quite ridiculous things in this book which he boasts was sent down to him from God. But when we ask: ‘And who is there to testify that God gave him the book? And which of the prophets foretold that such a prophet would rise up?’ – they are at a loss. And we remark that Moses received the Law on Mount Sinai, with God appearing in the sight of all the people in cloud, and fire, and darkness, and storm. And we say that all the Prophets from Moses on down foretold the coming of Christ and how Christ God (and incarnate Son of God) was to come and to be crucified and die and rise again, and how He was to be the judge of the living and dead. Then, when we say: ‘How is it that this prophet of yours did not come in the same way, with others bearing witness to him? And how is it that God did not in your presence present this man with the book to which you refer, even as He gave the Law to Moses, with the people looking on and the mountain smoking, so that you, too, might have certainty?’ – they answer that God does as He pleases. ‘This,’ we say, ‘We know, but we are asking how the book came down to your prophet.’ Then they reply that the book came down to him while he was asleep.[35]

Theophanes the Confessor

Theophanes the Confessor (died c.822) wrote a series of chronicles (284 onwards and 602-813 AD)^[36][37][38] based initially on those of the better known George Syncellus. Theophanes reports about Muhammad thus:

At the beginning of his advent the misguided Jews thought he was the Messiah. ... But when they saw him eating camel meat, they realized that he was not the one they thought him to be, ... those wretched men taught him illicit things directed against us, Christians, and remained with him.

Whenever he came to Palestine he consorted with Jews and Christians and sought from them certain scriptural matters. He was also afflicted with epilepsy. When his wife became aware of this, she was greatly distressed, inasmuch as she, a noblewoman, had married a man such as he, who was not only poor, but also an epileptic. He tried deceitfully to placate her by saying, ‘I keep seeing a vision of a certain angel called Gabriel, and being unable to bear his sight, I faint and fall down.’

Nicetas

In the work A History of Christian-Muslim Relations^[39] Hugh Goddard mentions both John of Damascus and Theophanes and goes on to consider the relevance of Nicetas^{[clarification needed]} of Byzantium who formulated replies to letters on behalf of Emperor Michael III (842-867). Goddard sums up Nicetas' view:

In short, Muhammad was an ignorant charlatan who succeeded by imposture in seducing the ignorant barbarian Arabs into accepting a gross, blaspheming, idolatrous, demoniac religion, which is full of futile errors, intellectual enormities, doctrinal errors and moral aberrations.

Goddard further argues that Nicetas demonstrates in his work a knowledge of the entire Quran, including an extensive knowledge of Suras 2-18. Nicetas account from behind the Byzantine frontier apparently set a strong precedent for later writing both in tone and points of argument.

Song of Roland

The author(s) of the 11th century Song of Roland evidently had little actual knowledge of Islam. As depicted in this epic poem, Muslims erect statues of Mohammed and worship them, and Mohammed is part of an "Unholy Trinity" together with the Classical Greek Apollyon and Termagant, a completely fictional deity made up by Christians in the Middle Ages. This view, evidently confusing Islam with the pre-Christian Graeco-Roman Religion, appears to reflect misconceptions prevalent in Western Christian society at the time.

The Divine Comedy

In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Muhammad is in the ninth ditch of Malebolge, the eighth realm, designed for those who have caused schism; specifically, he was placed among the Sowers of Religious Discord. Muhammad is portrayed as split in half, with his entrails hanging out, representing his status as a heresiarch (Canto 28).

This scene is frequently shown in illustrations of the Divine Comedy. Muhammad is represented in a 15th-century fresco Last Judgment by Giovanni da Modena and drawing on Dante, in the San Petronio Basilica in Bologna,^[40] as well as in artwork by Salvador Dalí, Auguste Rodin, William Blake, and Gustave Doré.^[41]

Catholic Church and Islam

Main article: Catholic Church and Islam

Second Vatican Council and Nostra aetate

The question of Islam was not on the agenda when Nostra aetate was first drafted, or even at the opening of the Second Vatican Council. However, as in the case of the question of Judaism, several events came together again to prompt a consideration of Islam. By the time of the Second Session of the Council in 1963 reservations began to be raised by bishops of the Middle East about the inclusion of this question. The position was taken that either the question will not be raised at all, or if it were raised, some mention of the Muslims should be made. Melkite patriarch Maximos IV was among those pushing for this latter position.

Early in 1964 Cardinal Bea notified Cardinal Cicognani, President of the Council's Coordinating Commission, that the Council fathers wanted the Council to say something about the great monotheistic religions, and in particular about Islam. The subject, however, was deemed to be outside the competence of Bea's Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Bea expressed willingness to "select some competent people and with them to draw up a draft" to be presented to the Coordinating Commission. At a meeting of the Coordinating Commission on 16–17 April Cicognani acknowledged that it would be necessary to speak of the Muslims.^[42]

The period between the first and second sessions saw the change of pontiff from Pope John XXIII to Pope Paul VI, who had been a member of the circle (the Badaliya) of the Islamologist Louis Massignon. Pope Paul VI chose to follow the path recommended by Maximos IV and he therefore established commissions to introduce what would become paragraphs on the Muslims in two different documents, one of them being Nostra aetate, paragraph three, the other being Lumen gentium, paragraph 16.^[43]

The text of the final draft bore traces of Massignon's influence. The reference to Mary, for example, resulted from the intervention of Monsignor Descuffi, the Latin archbishop of Smyrna with whom Massignon collaborated in reviving the cult of Mary at Smyrna. The commendation of Muslim prayer may reflect the influence of the Badaliya.^[43]

In Lumen gentium, the Second Vatican Council declares that the plan of salvation also includes Muslims, due to their professed monotheism.^[44]

Recent Catholic-Islamic controversies

• For the controversy surrounding Muslim prayer in Spain, see Muslim campaign at Córdoba Cathedral
• For criticism of interfaith dialogue with Muslims, see Pierre Claverie#Relations with Islam
• For the controversy over whether Islam is a religion or a political system, see Raymond Leo Burke#Islam and immigration
• For the controversy over advice not to marry a Muslim and move to an Islamic country, see José Policarpo#Marriages with Muslim men
• For the controversy over whether Catholics may call God "Allah" if they want to, see Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur v Menteri Dalam Negeri
• For the controversy over remarks by Pope Benedict XVI, see Regensburg lecture and Pope Benedict XVI and Islam

Protestantism and Islam

Main article: Protestantism and Islam

Protestantism and Islam entered into contact during the 16th century, at a time when Protestant movements in northern Europe coincided with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in southern Europe. As both were in conflict with the Catholic Holy Roman Empire, numerous exchanges occurred, exploring religious similarities and the possibility of trade and military alliances.^[45] Relations became more conflictual in the early modern and modern periods, although recent attempts have been made at rapprochement.^[46]

Mormonism and Islam

Main article: Mormonism and Islam

Mormonism and Islam have been compared to one another ever since the earliest origins of the former in the nineteenth century, often by detractors of one religion or the other—or both.^[47] For instance, Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of Mormonism, was referred to as "the modern Mahomet" by the New York Herald,^[48] shortly after his murder in June 1844. This epithet repeated a comparison that had been made from Smith's earliest career,^[49] one that was not intended at the time to be complimentary. Comparison of the Mormon and Muslim prophets still occurs today, sometimes for derogatory or polemical reasons^[50] but also for more scholarly and neutral purposes.^[51] While Mormonism and Islam certainly have many similarities, there are also significant, fundamental differences between the two religions. Mormon–Muslim relations have historically been cordial;^[52] recent years have seen increasing dialogue between adherents of the two faiths, and cooperation in charitable endeavors, especially in the Middle and Far East.^[53]

Christianity and Druze

Main article: Christianity and Druze

The Druze Maqam al-Masih in As-Suwayda Governorate.

Christianity and Druze are Abrahamic religions that share a historical traditional connection with some major theological differences. The two faiths share a common place of origin in the Middle East, and consider themselves to be monotheistic. Even though the faith originally developed out of Ismaili Islam, Druze do not identify as Muslim.^[54][55]

The relationship between the Druze and Christians has been characterized by harmony and coexistence,^{[56][57][58][59]} with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods, including 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war.^[60][61] Over the centuries a number of the Druze embraced Christianity,^{[62][63][64][65]} such as some of Shihab dynasty members,^[66] as well as the Abi-Lamma clan.^[67]

Contact between Christians (members of the Maronite, Eastern Orthodox, Melkite and other churches) and the Unitarian Druze led to the presence of mixed villages and towns in Mount Lebanon, Jabal al-Druze,^[68] Galilee , and Mount Carmel. The Maronites and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through the ruling and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.^[69]

Christianity does not include belief in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul, unlike the Druze.^[70] Christians engage in evangelism, often through the establishment of missions, unlike the Druze who do not accept converts; even marriage outside the Druze faith is rare and strongly discouraged. Similarities between the Druze and Christians include commonalities in their view of views on marriage and divorce, as well as belief in the oneness of God and theophany.^[70] The Druze faith incorporates some elements of Christianity,^[71][72] and other religious beliefs.

Both faiths give a prominent place to Jesus:^[73][74] Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, and in the Druze faith, Jesus is considered an important prophet of God,^[73][74] being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.^[75] Both religions venerated John the Baptist,^[76] Saint George,^[77] Elijah,^[76] and other common figures.

Artistic influences

Main articles: Christian influences in Islam § Art, and Islamic influences on Christian art

Islamic art and culture have both influenced and been influenced by Christian art and culture. Some arts have received such influence strongly, particularly religious architecture in the Byzantine and medieval eras^[78][79]

See also

• Christianity portal
• Islam portal

• Ashtiname of Muhammad
• Chrislam (Yoruba), a syncretist religion
• Christian influences in Islam
• Christian philosophy
• Christianity and other religions
• Christianity and war
• Crusades
• Constantinople
• Divisions of the world in Islam
• Islam and other religions
• Islamic philosophy
• Islam and war
• Muhammad's views on Christians

References

1. ^ "Christianity".
2. ^ Gardet, L.; J. Jomier (2012). "Islām". In P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam(2nd ed.). Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_038 (inactive 31 May 2021).(subscription required)
3. ^ Bravmann, M. M. (1977), Studies in Semitic Philology, BRILL, p. 441, ISBN 90-04-04743-3
4. ^ Glassé, Cyril (2001). The new encyclopedia of Islam, with introduction by Huston Smith (Édition révisée. ed.). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. p. 239. ISBN 9780759101906.
5. ^ McDowell, Jim, Josh; Walker, Jim (2002). Understanding Islam and Christianity: Beliefs That Separate Us and How to Talk About Them. Euguen, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers. p. 12. ISBN 9780736949910.
6. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, p.158
7. ^ name=sanigosian
8. ^ Nigosian, S.A (2004). Islam : its history, teaching and practices ([New ed.]. ed.). Indiana Univ. Press. pp. 65–80. ISBN 0-253-21627-3.
9. ^ Wheeler, Brannon M. (2002). Prophets in the Quran: an introduction to the Quran and Muslim exegesis. Continuum. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8264-4956-6.
10. ^ Exodus 20:2–5
11. ^ John 10:22–42
12. ^ Lambert, Gray (2013). The Leaders Are Coming!. WestBow Press. p. 287. ISBN 9781449760137.
13. ^ Roy H. Williams; Michael R. Drew (2012). Pendulum: How Past Generations Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future. Vanguard Press. p. 143. ISBN 9781593157067.
14. ^
    • Chronology of Prophetic Events, Fazlur Rehman Shaikh (2001) p. 50 Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.
    • Quran 17:105
15. ^ Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2007). "Qurʾān". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
16. ^ Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths, Mary Pat Fisher, 1997, page 338, I.B. Tauris Publishers.
17. ^ Quran 17:106
18. ^ Peters, F.E. (2003). The Words and Will of God. Princeton University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-691-11461-7.
19. ^ Understanding the Qurán - Page xii, Ahmad Hussein Sakr - 2000
20. ^ "Muhammad".
21. ^ Wilken, Robert Louis (2009). "Christianity face to face with Islam". First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Journal Article): 19–. ISSN 1047-5141. – via General OneFile (subscription required)
22. ^ Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (2003-01-01). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman Altamira. p. 429. ISBN 9780759101906.
23. ^ Mohammad Moinuddin Siddiqui (translator); M. al Selek (editor) (1993). The Major Sins : Arabic Text and English Translation of "Al Kaba'ir" (Muhammad Bin Uthman Adh Dhahabi). Millat Book Centre. ISBN 1-56744-489-X.
24. ^ "The Major Sins: Al-Kaba'r". Jannah.org.
25. ^ International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
26. ^ Casurella, Anthony (1 January 1983). Beiträge zur Geschichte der biblischen Exegese. Mohr. ISBN 9783161446481 – via Google Books.
27. ^ "Who is the "Holy Spirit"? - islamqa.info".
28. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. April 16, 2000. ISBN 978-1574551099. The Church and non-Christians #841
29. ^ "The Smalcald Articles," in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, 289, Part two, Article 1.
30. ^ Quran 2:62
31. ^ Quran 5:80–84
32. ^ Inwagen, Peter van (January 2015). "Did God Create Shapes?". Philosophia Christi. 17 (2): 285–290. doi:10.5840/pc201517224. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
33. ^ Craig, William Lane (2015). "Response to Bridges and Van Inwagen". Philosophia Christi. 17 (2): 291–297. doi:10.5840/pc201517225. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
34. ^ "St. John of Damascus: Critique of Islam".
35. ^ "St. John of Damascus: Critique of Islam".
36. ^ Theophanes in English, on Mohammed gives an excerpt with all pertinent text as translated by Cyril Mango
37. ^ The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor (Byzantine and Near Eastern History AD 284-813). Translated with introduction and commentary by Cyril Mango and Geoffrey Greatrex, Oxford 1997. An updated version of the roger-pearse.com citation.
38. ^ The Chronicle of Theophanes Anni Mundi 6095-6305 (A.D. 602-813) a more popularised but less rigorously studied translation of Theophanes chronicles
39. ^ Goddard, Hugh (1 January 2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748610099 – via Google Books.
40. ^ Philip Willan (2002-06-24). "Al-Qaida plot to blow up Bologna church fresco". The Guardian.
41. ^ Ayesha Akram (2006-02-11). "What's behind Muslim cartoon outrage". San Francisco Chronicle.
42. ^ (History of Vatican II, pp. 142-43)
43. ^ Jump up to:^a b (Robinson, p. 195)
44. ^ Lumen gentium, 16 Archived September 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
45. ^ "Monash Arts" (PDF).
46. ^ "Muslim-Christian Dialogue - Oxford Islamic Studies Online".
47. ^ Thomas Marsh and Orson Hyde Affidavit, for example; see also PBS's American Prophet: Prologue and Todd J. Harris, A Comparison of Muhammad and Joseph Smith in the Prophetic Pattern Archived2011-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, a thesis submitted for a Master of Arts degree at Brigham Young University in 2007, footnotes on pages 1 and 2.
48. ^ PBS's American Prophet: Prologue.
49. ^ Thomas Marsh and Orson Hyde Affidavit, also Todd J. Harris, A Comparison of Muhammad and Joseph Smith in the Prophetic PatternArchived 2011-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, a thesis submitted for a Master of Arts degree at Brigham Young University in 2007, footnotes on pages 1 and 2.
50. ^ See, for example:Joseph Smith and Muhammad: The Similarities, and Eric Johnson,Joseph Smith and Muhammad, a book published by the "Mormonism Research Ministry" and offered for sale by the anti-Mormon "Utah Lighthouse Ministries".
51. ^ See, for instance, Todd J. Harris, A Comparison of Muhammad and Joseph Smith in the Prophetic Pattern Archived 2011-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, a thesis submitted for a Master of Arts degree at Brigham Young University in 2007.
52. ^ Haldane, David (2 April 2008). "U.S. Muslims share friendship, similar values with Mormons" – via LA Times.
53. ^ World Muslim Congress: Mormons and Muslims; Mormon-Muslim Interfaith Ramadan Dinner.
54. ^ "Are the Druze People Arabs or Muslims? Deciphering Who They Are". Arab America. Arab America. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
55. ^ James Lewis (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
56. ^ Hazran, Yusri (2013). The Druze Community and the Lebanese State: Between Confrontation and Reconciliation. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 9781317931737. the Druze had been able to live in harmony with the Christian
57. ^ Artzi, Pinḥas (1984). Confrontation and Coexistence. Bar-Ilan University Press. p. 166. ISBN 9789652260499. .. Europeans who visited the area during this period related that the Druze "love the Christians more than the other believers," and that they "hate the Turks, the Muslims and the Arabs [Bedouin] with an intense hatred.
58. ^ CHURCHILL (1862). The Druzes and the Maronites. Montserrat Abbey Library. p. 25. ..the Druzes and Christians lived together in the most perfect harmony and good-will..
59. ^ Hobby (1985). Near East/South Asia Report. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. p. 53. the Druzes and the Christians in the Shuf Mountains in the past lived in complete harmony..
60. ^ Fawaz, L.T. (1994). An Occasion for War: Civil Conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520087828. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
61. ^ Vocke, Harald (1978). The Lebanese war: its origins and political dimensions. C. Hurst. p. 10. ISBN 0-903983-92-3.
62. ^ A. Kayyali, Randa (2006). The Arab Americans. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 21. ISBN 9780313332197. some Christians (mostly from the Orthodox faith), as well as Druze, converted to Protestantism...
63. ^ A. Kayyali, Randa (2006). The Arab Americans. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 21. ISBN 9780313332197. Many of the Druze have chosen to deemphasize their ethnic identity, and some have officially converted to Christianity.
64. ^ Hobby, Jeneen (2011). Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. University of Philadelphia Press. p. 232. ISBN 9781414448916. US Druze settled in small towns and kept a low profile, joining Protestant churches (usually Presbyterian or Methodist) and often Americanizing their names..
65. ^ Granli, Elisabet (2011). "Religious conversion in Syria : Alawite and Druze believers". University of Oslo.
66. ^ Mishaqa, p. 23.
67. ^ Gábor Ágoston; Bruce Alan Masters (2009-01-01). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. p. 530. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
68. ^ The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows
69. ^ Deeb, Marius (2013). Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah: The Unholy Alliance and Its War on Lebanon. Hoover Press. ISBN 9780817916664. the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.
70. ^ Jump up to:^a b Nisan, Mordechai (2002), Minorities in the Middle East: a history of struggle and self-expression (2nd, illustrated ed.), McFarland, p. 95, ISBN 978-0-7864-1375-1, retrieved 4 April 2012
71. ^ Quilliam, Neil (1999). Syria and the New World Order. Michigan University press. p. 42. ISBN 9780863722493.
72. ^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1992. p. 237. ISBN 9780852295533. Druze religious beliefs developed out of Isma'ill teachings. Various Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, Neoplatonic, and Iranian elements, however, are combined under a doctrine of strict monotheism.
73. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN 9781465546623.
74. ^ Jump up to:^a b Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN 9781903900369.
75. ^ A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East. Routledge. 2013. ISBN 9781135355616. ...Druze believe in seven prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and Muhammad ibn Ismail ad-Darazi..
76. ^ Jump up to:^a b Swayd, Samy (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 77. ISBN 978-1442246171.
77. ^ Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (2008). The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700. OUP Oxford. p. 205. ISBN 9780191647666.
78. ^ Moffett, Marian; Fazio, Michael W.; Wodehouse, Lawrence (1 January 2004). A World History of Architecture. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780071417518 – via Google Books.
79. ^ Swartley, Keith E. (1 January 2005). Encountering the World of Islam. Biblica. ISBN 9781932805246 – via Google Books.

Further reading

• Abdiyah Akbar Abdul-Haqq, Sharing Your [Christian] Faith with a Muslim, Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1980. ISBN 0-87123-553-6
• Giulio Basetti-Sani, The Koran in the Light of Christ: a Christian Interpretation of the Sacred Book of Islam, trans. by W. Russell-Carroll and Bede Dauphinee, Chicago, Ill.: Franciscan Herald Press, 1977. ISBN 0-8199-0713-8
• Roger Arnaldez, Jésus: Fils de Marie, prophète de l'Islam, coll. Jésus et Jésus-Christ, no 13, Paris: Desclée, 1980. ISBN 2-7189-0186-1
• Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret, Third ed., Oxford: Oneworld [sic] Publications, 2000, xv, 358 p. ISBN 1-85168-210-4
• Maria Jaoudi, Christian & Islamic Spirituality: Sharing a Journey, Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1992. iii, 103 p. ISBN 0-8091-3426-8
• Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Qur'anic Christians: An Analysis of Classical and Modern Exegesis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-521-36470-1
• Frithjof Schuon, Christianity/Islam: Essays on Esoteric Ecumenicism, in series, The Library of Traditional Wisdom, Bloomington, Ind.: World Wisdom Books, cop. 1985. vii, 270 p. N.B.: Trans. from French. ISBN 0-941532-05-4; the ISBN on the verso of the t.p. surely is erroneous.
• Mark D. Siljander and John David Mann, A Deadly Misunderstanding: a Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide, New York: Harper One, 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-143828-8.
• Robert Spencer, Not Peace But a Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam. Catholic Answers. March 25, 2013. ISBN 978-1938983283.
• Thomas, David, Muhammad in Medieval Christian-Muslim Relations (Medieval Islam), in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol. I, pp. 392–400. 1610691776

External links

• Hasib Sabbagh: A Legacy of Understanding from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
• "I'm Right, You're Wrong, Go to Hell" – Religions and the meeting of civilization by Bernard Lewis
• Islam & Christianity (IRAN & GEORGIA) News Photos

17 surprising similarities between Muslims and Christians

There are some obvious differences between Muslims and Christians,
but here are many surprising similarities. - photo by Emily Christensen

17 SURPRISING SIMILARITIES BETWEEN

MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS

article link

by Emily Christensen

FamilyShare: Nov 21, 2015

There are some well-known differences between Muslims and Christians. Muslims study the holy Quran, do not believe Jesus was divine or that He died on the cross and do not subscribe to the Trinity concept from the Council of Nicea. Christians do not recognize Muhammad (pbuh) as a prophet, do not celebrate Islamic holidays, and have different days of worship than Muslims. That said, there are at least 17 surprising similarities between the Islamic and Christian faiths.

God the Father

Muslims and Christians worship only one God and believe all are children of Him.

Prophets

Both religions revere the early prophets including Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph, John the Baptist and even Jesus (Peace be upon them.).

The Bible

Christians are familiar with the Bible, but Muslims also believe the Bible to be holy scripture insofar as it is translated correctly and does not contradict the Quran.

Religion

Both Muslims and Christians believe that practicing their faith is good for them personally now, creates peace and harmony among people, and brings blessings in the life after mortality.

Commandments

People of both faiths believe in similar rules given by God for all people and obeying them keeps humankind in a right relationship with God.

Mary

Both Muslims and most Christians believe Mary was a virgin and that Jesus was born miraculously.

Messiahs miracles

Islam and Christianity both ascribe that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah and did perform miracles.

Satan

Both Muslims and Christians believe Satan is real and evil and that he tries to make people follow him instead of God.

The return

The two faiths believe Jesus will return from Heaven.

Antichrist

The belief that there will be an antichrist who appears before the end of the world and that Jesus will return and conquer him is common to both theologies.

Judgment

Both religions believe a day of judgment will really happen and people will be judged for the lives they lead on Earth.

Hell and paradise

Muslims and Christians believe hell and paradise to be literal places.

Covenants

Muslims and some Christians believe God connects with His people through covenants.

Family

Family is a foundational part of both Christian and Muslim life. Both peoples believe the family has a critical impact on society.

Codes of health

Muslims and some Christians have codes of health such as not drinking alcohol or not eating certain foods. These codes of health are part of their covenants made with God.

Modesty

Muslims and most Christians believe the body to be sacred and/or should be treated with respect.

Clothing

Muslims and some Christians may wear sacred clothing as signs of covenants made with God.

With many different kinds of Mulsim faith practices and the variety of Christian denominations, there are many things common between these two faith groups. Let us unite together in faith, sharing covenantal cultures and protecting families in a changing world. Reaching out with kindness and understanding is a simple way to bring a little peace to the world around us.

* * * * * * * *

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Tell Me About Islam - 

http://tellmeaboutislam.com/parallels-between-islam-and-christianity.html

Five Surprising Similarities Between Christianity & Islam

Five Surprising Similarities Between

Christianity & Islam

https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/five-surprising-similarities-between-christianity-islam-70194d3ea11c

by Sal

December 21, 2020

Photo Credits: World Magazine

Let’s forget about differences for a second.

With more than 2.4 billion followers, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. In terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world with around 1.8 billion adherents. However, these two major faiths are still perceived to be substantially disparate in terms of followers, beliefs, and practices. With Christianity being practiced majorly in the Western world, and Islam is the dominant religion in Middle-East and Asia, their geographical compositions differ considerably as well.

Furthermore, both belief systems have attracted and provoked significant negative criticism and ire over the years. Contrary to what many believe, however, both Christianity and Islam are perhaps two of the most closely linked religions to have ever existed. With a myriad of similarities stemming from their shared history and belief systems, Muslims and Christians are called Abrahamic cousins for a good reason.

Here are five surprising similarities between the two major faiths that are a source of perceived salvation for billions of people around the globe.

1. Both have the same basic framework

Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are the main three Abrahamic religions. Abrahamic alludes to the fact that all three are Semitic-originated religions that claim descent from the Judaism of the ancient Israelites and the worship of the God of Abraham (Ibrahim in Islam). In this regard, Christianity and Islam are monolithic religions that propagate the belief that divinity lies with one God who is the creator of everything. In fact, monotheism is the underlining fundamental belief of both faiths. Moreover, the structural similarities go beyond this.

They both have a revered prophet who preached the word of God against all adversities of his time. Muslims draw their jurisprudence from Prophet Muhammad’s word, whereas Christians believe in Prophet Jesus Christ. Lastly, people of both religions believe in similar rules/commandments that not only influence their moral conduct and behavior in this world but also inform their relationship with God. In this regard, they are also run on the inherent notions of heaven, hell, day of judgment, and the divine reward.

2. A shared History

Not only do the followers of these Abrahamic faiths believe in the existence of one true God, but they also share their historical roots. The Middle East acts as the birthplace of these two faiths. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which is modern-day Israel, and carried his Baptisms in the region surrounding Jerusalem. Islam was born in Arabia (modern-day Saudi Arabia), mainly in the cities of Makkah and Medina, which were both home to Prophet Muhammad. All these places are accorded unparalleled spiritual importance in the Middle East.

Besides their region of origin, both religions also have similar genesis when it comes to major prophets and religious personalities that shape their legacies. Primarily, they trace their histories — and the history of human creation — to the first man ‘Prophet Adam’. Similarly, the sacrifice of Abraham (Ibrahim for Muslims), the struggles of Moses, the Ark of Noah (Noh in Islam), the piousness of John the Baptist, and the miracles of Prophet Jesus (Isa for Muslims) are all heralded as telling tales shared between the two religions. In fact, believing in Prophet Jesus — who is the main Prophet for Christians — is a cornerstone belief for Muslims as well. Quran and Prophet Muhammad hold Prophet Jesus in high regard. In fact, Islamic tradition also believes in the coming of the antichrist and the resurrection of the Prophet Jesus.

3. Jesus and Muhammad

Christianity revolves around the tradition and practices of Jesus and, similarly, Islam revolves around the tradition set by Prophet Muhammad. The sanctity of both figures is of utmost importance in both religions. The story of Jesus, as accepted by Islam as well, is quite similar to the story of Prophet Muhammad. Jesus’s birth was a miracle since he was born of a virgin woman named Mary (Maryum in Islamic tradition). He faced considerable hardships while preaching the message of God; his struggles are matched only by Prophet Muhammad who was shunned by his own people when he started spreading Islam. Despite all the social calamities they faced, both Prophets continued preaching their respective faith. It is true that, unlike Prophet Muhammad, Jesus was crucified by the Roman authorities; however, both of them still succeeded in setting stones for the two most prominent organized religions of the world.

Interestingly, both religions also value the steadfast companions of their respective prophets. For example, the twelve disciples of Jesus of Nazareth have the same status in Christianity as the ten blessed companions of Prophet Muhammad who were with him through thick and thin. Besides that, both did works of charity to help the poor. Both elevated the role of women in their respective societies. Both transformed their societies through major social and political reforms. And both taught about God, and in their own way, tried to bring people into deeper spiritual communion with God.

4. Holy Books — Bible and Quran

Islam and Christianity both have their own sacred books — the Quran in Islam and the Bible in Christianity — which are considered to be the source of God’s word. These books hold the messages that were preached by the respective prophets of both religions. In fact, the Quran acknowledges the existence of the Bible as God’s word as well; however, it holds that the essence and meaning have been changed.

Muslims and Christians treat their books as sources of morality. The basic doctrines stated in the holy scriptures are treated as God’s covenants which need to be followed earnestly by all. These include the commandments of Jesus in the case of the bible and the pillars of Islam in the case of the Quran. Both are treated with equal reverence by their followers.

5. Belief in the Hereafter and Accountability

One of the most defining features of all Abrahamic religions is the notion of accountability. The fundamental idea in both Christianity and Islam is that man would be held accountable for his actions on the day of judgment. The result of this divine accountability would then determine if a person would land in heaven on hell in the hereafter. It is the stringent theme of accountability at God’s hands that compels the adherents of both faiths to follow their respective commandments.

In fact, Christianity and Islam both regard the ongoing life on this planet as being frivolous and temporary; the life of the hereafter, on the contrary, is eternal and permanent. The promise of reward or punishment, therefore, influences the behavior and actions of Muslims and Christians alike.

Regardless of the differences between Islam and Christianity, both religions are closer to each other than what many people believe. Moreover, despite all their similarities and differences, these two great religions, with all their beliefs and dogmas, continue to influence the world in unprecedented ways.

* * * * * * * *

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Tell Me About Islam - 

http://tellmeaboutislam.com/parallels-between-islam-and-christianity.html

Similarities and Differences Between Christianity and Islam

Similarities and Differences Between

Christianity and Islam

https://historyofchristianitypodcast.com/2020/05/18/similarities-and-differences-between-christianity-and-islam/

by Stephen Bedard

May 18, 2002

Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world today. There are aspects of these two religions that are similar and that are different.

The purpose of this post is not to prove one better than the other. However, I am a Christian and so I do have a bias. Still, this is meant to be a historical comparison.

Similarities

• Both are monotheistic religions who believe in one eternal creator God.
• Both are steeped in the traditions of the Old Testament.
• Both began in the Middle East.
• Both are religions that are book-based.
• Both have divided into smaller groups. The two largest Christian groups are the Roman Catholics and Protestants. The two largest Muslim groups are the Sunni and Shia. Each religion has many smaller groups.
• Both have at different periods become wedded to governments and shaped empires.
• Both have persecuted heretics as well as people of other religions.
• Both have used forced conversion.
• Both have a conservative and liberal spectrum of believers.

Differences

• The Qur’an doesn’t have the same status as the New Testament. A more accurate comparison for the two religions would be Jesus and the Qur’an.
• The Bible contains more of a historical narrative than the Qur’an.
• The central event in Christianity is the death and resurrection of Jesus, while the central event for Islam is the revelation of the Qur’an.
• Islam’s first few centuries included growth by military conquest. Christianity’s growth was as a persecuted minority.
• Both have a radically different understanding of who Jesus was and what he did.
• Islam honours Jesus but Christianity doesn’t honour Muhammad.

What other similarities or differences do you see between these two religions?

* * * * * * * * * *

What is the Foundation of Christianity?

http://www.stephenjbedard.com/2015/05/15/what-is-the-foundation-of-christianity/

by Stephen Bedard

I recently had an interesting conversation about the foundation of Christianity. It began with a response to a pastor’s statement that the foundation of Christianity is not the Bible but is Jesus. Some people were deeply concerned about this statement.

What is the foundation of Christianity? Jesus or the Bible?

In terms of the Bible, we must acknowledge its extreme importance. What we know about Jesus comes primarily from the Bible. When we want to know Jesus better, we dig into our Bibles. I would never deny that.

But does that make the Bible the foundation of Christianity?

I am concerned by how some people seem to raise the Bible above Jesus. I have had conversations with Christians about inerrancy and I was surprised by the results. They admitted that they could see how Jesus could make (non-theological) errors but could not see how the Bible could make (non-theological) errors. They were willing to give the Bible a higher degree of inerrancy than Jesus!

Here are some of my thoughts of why the Bible is not the foundation for Christianity....

Bible

The earliest Christians did not have access to the Bible as we know it. What would they have in the first century? Those who had the money may have had access to the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint). We do not know exactly when the Gospels were written, but even with the early dates, not enough copies would have been made for most Christians in the first century to have access. Paul’s letters? We see from 2 Peter that they were being collected in the first century. But you still have the problem of copying them and distributing them to the various cities where churches existed.

What did the early church have? They had oral traditions and creeds. First Corinthians 15 3:7 would be an example of this. But you can’t equate oral traditions with the Bible. Some oral traditions made it into the Bible, some did not. The Bible contains some of these creeds but includes other original material as well.

What about Christians today? Is it possible for a person to become a Christian without access to the Bible? There are people who become Christians by hearing the simplest form of what Jesus did without any actual quotes. There are others that have become Christians through dreams and visions and who do not encounter the Bible until later.

What if the Bible was not inspired (don’t worry I believe it is inspired)? What if the Gospels were simply accurate traditions about who Jesus is and what he did? Even without the inspiration, people could put their faith in Jesus and become Christians.

I am not dismissing the importance of the Bible. But the Bible is important because it points us to Jesus, the true foundation of the Christian faith. The earliest creeds of the Church were not about the importance of the Bible, but that Jesus is Lord.

I am reminded of this passage:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39–40 ESV)

 

Jesus

Jesus’ opponents thought life was to be found in the Scriptures but in reality, life is to be found in the one the Scriptures point to.

Paul also teaches, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11 ESV)

The Bible is important but it is not the foundation of the Christian faith. The Bible points to and teaches about the true foundation, that of Jesus Christ.

Books by Stephen Bedard -

https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-J.-Bedard/e/B009OI0M8Y%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Stephen Bedard's Blogsite, Podcasts and Videos -

http://www.stephenjbedard.com/

Faith & Politics - Islam & Islamism

 

Is Islamism the Muslim Form

of Liberation Theology?

https://orientxxi.info/magazine/is-islamism-the-muslim-form-of-liberation-theology,2527

by Alain Gresh & Asef Bayat

[Note: I have bracketed my comment's to separate

them from the original article - re slater]

There is no doubt that Islamism, in its various forms, plays a major role in the evolution of Muslim societies, in the struggles that are developing there. What explains this centrality? Can we draw a parallel between Islamism and Christian liberation theology?

Interview

Alain Gresh. — Why is Islamism the dominant political language in the Arab world, the Islamic world? There was a time when there were other languages, socialism, Arab nationalism. . .

Asef Bayat. — Let me begin by making clear what I mean by Islamism, in particular the type that has emerged since the 1970s. By Islamism I am referring to those ideologies and movements that want to establish some kind of Islamic order—an Islamic state, sharia law and moral codes in Muslim societies and communities. Of course, the Islamist trends vary in terms of how to achieve these goals—they may be reformist, revolutionary, jihadi, or quietist. Yes, before the prevalence of Islamism, there were other kinds of largely secular political languages, like Arab nationalism or socialism. But I think Islamism of the 1970s emerged primarily because of the (perceived or real) failure of those political models in what they had promised. So, historically speaking, Islamism has been the political language, not simply of the marginalized but particularly of high-achieving middle classes who saw their dream of social equity and justice betrayed by the failure of secular nationalist project, capitalist modernity (represented by regional monarchs and sheikhdoms), and socialist utopia (embodied in the post-colonial modernist secular and populist states). Islamists aspired to an alternative social and political order with roots in “indigenous”, Islamic history, values and thought. Even though different currents of Islamists have adopted different ways to achieve their ultimate goals, they have all used a religious, Islamic language and conceptual framework, favoring conservative social mores and an exclusive social order; they have displayed a patriarchal disposition and often intolerant attitudes towards different ideas and lifestyles. Theirs, then, has been an ideology and a movement resting on a blend of religiosity and obligation, with little commitment to the language of rights.

Clearly then, Islamism has been oppositional. But the interesting question, as observers like Bobby Sayyid suggest1, is not whether Islamism is oppositional, but rather why so much of political opposition in the Muslim world takes an Islamist form. I think that the resiliency of Islamism—despite its failures, transformations, and post-Islamization—lies primarily in its serving as  (1) an identity marker in a global time that is deeply invested in the politics of “who we are”. (2) Secondly, Islamism offers an ideological package filled with seemingly consistent components, clear responses, and simple remedies, such that it automatically ejects philosophical doubts, intellectual ambiguities, or skeptical probing. And finally, (3) Islamism continues to project a utopian image of itself in a world in which the grand ideals and dreamlands (such as communism, democracy, freedom) have collapsed or being questioned; it continues to project itself as a unique combatant, revolutionary and emancipatory ideology.

A. G. — While Islamism is challenging the imperialist domination, is it challenging the neoliberal order? And what does it mean to challenge the imperialist order when you support neoliberalism?

A. B. — Well, the notion of “anti-imperialism” has traditionally held a normative stand, referring to a just struggle that is waged by often secular progressive forces to liberate subjugated peoples from the diktat of global capitalism and imperial (economic, political and cultural) domination; wanting to establish self-rule, social justice, and support for the working people and the subaltern subjects—women, minorities, and marginalized groups. The Zapatista movement in the Mexican Chiapas, and Anti-Globalization Movement may be said to represent such anti-imperialist struggles. In this understanding, the notion of “empire” is different from the liberal concept, where, according to Kenneth Pomeranz, “leaders of one society rule directly or indirectly over at least one other society”,2 using instruments that differ from those they used to rule at home. In the liberal conception, empire is not all that bad, in the way that the Harvard historian Niall Ferguson speaks of the British and the US empires3, because it spreads liberal values and the institutions of democracy across the globe.

The anti-imperialist thinking, however, draws on a left-critical notion of empire, something close to what David Harvey views as a mix of “neoliberal restructurings worldwide and the neoconservative attempt to establish and maintain a coherent moral order in both the global and various national situations”; in this understanding, imperialism results from the need for capital to dispose of its surplus, which by necessity involves geographical expansion. Put crudely, capital needs the state to clear the way for a secure and less troubled context for overseas expansion, which would involve not just economic restructuring but also political, ideological and military influence. Today’s imperialism is so ingrained in neoliberal normativity that it is hard to imagine how anyone can claim to challenge the empire while taking neoliberalism for gran.

[This is also so with America's neoliberal capitalism which progressive Christians have been rejecting in favor of a trans-democratic polyplural blending of cultural, religious, and ethnic identity. Opposed to these ideas is the effort of Trumpian conservative Christians supporting a religious form of anti-democratic imperialism (e.g. "Kingdom Reconstructionism") rejecting the equal rights of a polyplural democracy in favor of a much stricter imposition of church interpretation and so-called "biblical" ruling over societal rights known as Christian dominionism. In other words, God and the bible, is hardly different from the anti-democratic forms of Islamist interpretations of Allah and the Koran - re slater]

During the cold-war era, Islamic groups and thinkers were often competing with their key ideological rival—Marxism—to pursue anti-capitalist, populist and social justice postures. We saw this in the socialist ideas of Mahmoud Taha in Sudan, anti-capitalism of Syed Qutb, Islamic left of Hasan Hanafi in Egypt, economic Marxism of Ali Shariati in Iran, or distributionist perspective of Muhammad Baqir Sadr in Iraq. So, while some kind of left populism characterized the Islamism of the 1980s and 1990s, we see today a tendency towards neoliberal populism among both Islamists and post-Islamists—for instance, in the thinking of figures like Ahmadinejad of Iran, Kheirat al-Shater of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers, Turkey’s Erdoğan, or the so-called Costa Salafis4 who are not interested in distribution and welfare, but “prosperity” through individual entrepreneurship. This represents a significant shift to what might be called “neo-Islamism” of our neoliberal times. This “neo-Islamism” basically takes the market society for granted, but focuses instead on “cultural” struggles and violent methods (by militant Jihadies) to deter western imperial hegemony. Indeed, no other political force in recent years seems to have inflicted more economic, geopolitical, and physical injury to Western powers than militant Islamism.

But how liberatory has this fight been for the ordinary Muslims? In other words, what is there in the Islamist “anti-imperialism” for the Muslim subaltern—the poor, the marginalized, the excluded? In the book Revolution without Revolutionaries (see below), I suggest that Islamist “anti-imperialism” has been non-liberatory, to say the least, even oppressive - 

(1) it’s violence has triggered “war on terror” victimizing the mostly ordinary Muslims;

(2) it has emboldened autocratic regimes to quell dissent in the name of anti-terror campaign; and,

(3) when Islamists have had a chance to rule, they have established authoritarian religious rule, exclusivist social order and moral discipline (theirs has been somewhat similar to Robert Mugabe’s “anti-imperialism”).

Islamists’ “anti-imperialism” has been largely self-serving; their “cultural struggle” in particular has served to shield their ideological hegemony from the barrage of competing ideas and lifestyles that globalization unleashes. Such “anti-imperialism” does not necessarily bring anything better for the Muslim subaltern. It is on such grounds that I am increasingly inclined to forego the whole notion of “anti-imperialism” in favor of accentuating the objective of “liberation”—by which I mean freeing the populace from all types of (social, economic, political, ethnic, religious, or patriarchal) subjugation by establishing an inclusive and egalitarian social order. In other words, the goal is not anti-imperialism per se, but liberation. Because anti-imperialism does not necessarily cause liberation, but liberation is inescapably anti-imperialist.

[These suggested pro-liberal Islamist objectives would then be in line with progressive Christian objectives to recognize an inclusive and egalitarian social democracy within a post-capitalistic economy centered on the inherent value of the individual and local community networking towards social justice, education, health, wage labor, and anti-discrimination across all social fronts. - re slater]

A. G. —What are the differences between the theology of liberation and Islamism?

A. B. — Despite that both Islamism and liberation theology (in Latin America) often deploy religious language in their outlooks, they are quite different in other respects. Whereas Islamism takes the establishment of an “Islamic order” as its principal objective from which social justice and the advancement of the deprived may follow, the liberation theology considers the “liberation of the poor” as its point of departure; the Gospel is then reread and reinterpreted to achieve this fundamental goal. The principal question for liberation theology was “how we can be Christians in the world of misery?” “We can be Christians, authentic Christians, only by living our faith in a liberating way”, the theologians Boff brothers replied.

Originally liberation theology was a reaction to, and a reflection of, the hideous imperial legacy of the Catholic Church in Latin America. In contrast to the Islamic ulema (scholars) who were mostly involved in anti-colonial struggles in the Middle East, the Latin American Catholic Church was an instrument of Iberian colonialism, which was to bring riches to Spain and Portugal and to Christianize the colonies. Not only did the Church support colonial rule, it continued to back the wealthy conservative classes in society after independence was achieved. Even some rethinking during the 1930s, reflected in the “New Christendom” and the subsequent emergence of Christian Democratic Parties, failed to overturn the Church’s old conservative disposition. Yet dramatic social and political events (such as poverty and oppression, military coups, American support of the elites, the failure of the Christian Democratic Parties, the sudden victory of the Cuban Revolution and the wave of popular guerrilla movements) had pushed the Church to the brink of social irrelevance. There was a need to intervene to save Catholicism from the conservatism of the Church’s elites. In this sense, liberation theologians were similar not to Islamists but to post-Islamist intellectuals and critical clerics who were concerned with rescuing Islam as an inclusive religion from the exclusivist practices of authoritarian Islamism; “republican theology” became the central thrust in post-Islamist religious discourse, as I have shown in my book Making Islam Democratic (2007). But the post-Islamist embrace of market was no match to the socialist developmentalism of the Latin American liberation theology.

So, unlike Islamism, liberation theology was not so much an expression of cultural identity in the sense of self-preservation vis-à-vis a dominating Western “other”; it was rather imbedded in the indigenous discourse of development, underdevelopment, and dependency that Latin America was fiercely debating at the time. In fact, the phrase “theology of liberation” emerged in the context of clerics exploring a “theology of development”. It was Gustavo Gutierrez who, during the Conference of the World Council of Churches held in Switzerland in 1969, replaced that term with the “theology of liberation”; he popularized the concept through his book, Liberation Theology. Central to this notion was, of course, the emancipation of the subaltern.

In contrast, Islamism had a different birth and birthplace. Broadly speaking, Islamism emerged since the 1970s as a language of self-assertion to mobilize those (largely middle class high achievers) who felt marginalized by the dominant economic, political, or cultural processes, those for whom the failure of both capitalist modernity and socialist utopia made the language of morality (religion) a substitute for politics. In a sense, it was the Muslim middle-class way of saying “No” to those whom they considered their “excluders”—their national elites, secular governments, and these governments’ Western allies. So Islamists rejected Western cultural domination, its political rationale, moral sensibilities and cultural symbols, even if in practice many of them shared those traits, as in their neckties, food, and technologies. As an alternative to existing models they attempted to offer an alternative society and state for Muslim humanity.

While Islamists aimed to Islamize their society, polity and economy, liberation theologians never intended to Christianize their society or states, but rather to change society from the vantage point of the deprived. Liberation theology, then, had much in common with humanist, democratic, and popular movements in Latin America, including labor unions, peasant leagues, student groups and guerrilla movements, with whom it organized campaigns, strikes, demonstrations, land occupations and development work. Here, as a partner of a broad popular movement, liberation theology aimed not to proselytize, nor to make the coalition partners Christian, but to help advance the cause of the liberation movement in general. More importantly, liberation theology shared a great deal with humanist Marxism. Indeed, both Latin American Marxism and liberation theology had been influenced by the language of the radical “dependencia” of the 1960s and 1970s that originated primarily in the South American continent. Prominent priests such as Clodovo and Leonardo Boff (Brazil), Gustavo Gutiérrez (Peru), José Míguez Bonino (Venezuela), and Camilo Torres (Colombia) were intellectual theologians equipped with the discourse of dependency and Marxist humanism.

A. G. — Can we see the emergence of an “Islamic left?”

A. B. — As I pointed out earlier, old Islamism of the cold-war period did have quite strong anti-capitalist, populist, distributionist, and social justice postures, even though it was socially conservative, politically authoritarian, and ideologically exclusivist. The current post-Islamist currents want to address the authoritarian and exclusivist shortcomings of Islamism by speaking of inclusion, pluralism and citizen rights (for instance, the Iranian “reformists”, Tunisia’s al-Nahda Party, the Justice and Development Party AKP in Turkey until 2010, and the like). But, despite their pluralistic tendencies, post-Islamists (just like the neo-Islamism) have invariably embraced capitalist rationale, leaving people’s welfare to the impulse of the market, and making no programmatic commitments for equality and social justice. Look at AKP, al-Nahda and others, they are happy to go along with marketization, privatization, urban gentrification, as if the demands for social justice can be addressed by a few acts of charity and free iftar during the Ramadan. If post-Islamism as a project is to have a future, it needs to address not just “personal liberties,” but also social justice for the meagre and marginalized. It needs to turn into some kind of “Post-Islamist Social Democracy.” It can resurrect the ideals of the “Islamic left” without abandoning its embrace of pluralist democracy.

---

Alain Gresh - Is the Publication Director of Orient XXI. A specialist in the Near East, he is the author of several books, including De quoi la Palestine est-elle le nom ?, Les Liens qui libèrent, 2010 and et Un chant d’amour. Israël-Palestine, une histoire française, with Hélène Aldeguer, éditions La Découverte, 2017.

Asef Bayat - Is the Catherine & Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Trans-national Studies, teaches Sociology and Middle East studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Author of Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East (Stanford, 2009, 2013) and Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn (Stanford, 2007). Last book : Revolution without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring, (Stanford, 2017).

[R.E. Slater - Relevancy22; I have bracketed my comment's to the article above to help separate them from the original article herein given by Gresh and Bayat.]

* * * * * * *

Why Pan-Islamism is the biggest roadblock for Muslims' integration with modernity

(article link here)

by Arshia Malik, December 05, 2016

Why Pan-Islamism is the biggest roadblock for Muslims' integration with modernity. It is this very nature of Pan-Islamism, of excluding culture and ethnicity as primary factors in its goal of 'Ummah' unification, that I object to

Pan-Islamism is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic state – often a Caliphate - or an international organization with Islamic principles. As a form of religious nationalism, Pan-Islamism differentiates itself from other pan-nationalistic ideologies, for example, Pan-Arabism, by excluding culture and ethnicity as primary factors towards unification.

I started searching for the role of Muslims in 1947 in the formation of Pakistan and came up with the Hijrat of 1920. This lead me to the book Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918 By M. Naeem Qureshi. Which further brought up Jamal al-Afghani and his famous disciple Muhammad Abduh, who surprised me, or at least his Wikipedia entry did. His views on Islam seem very modern and liberal and he was definitely called an infidel according to his biographers, by his contemporary Muslims and both teacher and disciple fell in and out of favor with various Sultans and Kings of the then fragmenting Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East and Central Asia.

Their zeal for Pan-Islamism was in response to the hegemony of European Colonialism that they saw in their travels to various Muslim lands. But then they did not stop at just criticizing the West. Muhammad Abduh, in fact, went further and advocated that:

''...the two greatest possessions relating to religion that man was graced with were independence of will and independence of thought and opinion; and because Western civilization was based on these two principles, it had progressed to a much happier stage in the evolution of mankind."

Pan-Islamism went through its various stages, starting from the early days of Islam as a ''religious concept'' and moved on to become a ''modern political ideology'' in the 1860s and the 1870s at the height of European Colonialism when Turkish intellectuals began discussing and writing about it as a way to save the crumbling Ottoman Empire, according to the Oxford Islamic Studies site. From becoming the ''favored state policy'' as a ''defensive ideology'' directed against European political, military and economic, and missionary penetration in the East, ruling bureaucratic and intellectual Pan-Islamist elites of the fast-becoming obsolete Ottoman Empire, sought to pose the Sultan as a universal Caliph to whom Muslims everywhere would owe allegiance and obedience.

It is this very nature of Pan-Islamism, of excluding culture and ethnicity as primary factors in its goal of 'Ummah' unification, that I object to. As much as its early advocates continue to surprise me as I explore the translations of their writings, it is this core principle at its heart which stands out as a sore to seculars like me who live in places where a myriad of Islam is seen, followed and believed in. No doubt, the early advocates of Pan-Islamism wanted to offset military and economic weakness in the Muslim world by favoring central government over the periphery and Muslims over non-Muslims in dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after the Great War (World War I), but to me this ''sociopolitical solidarity'' which seeks coordination through political and economic cooperation internationally has now become an important ''political tool'' for the recruitment of extremists and terrorists in the perceived foreign aggression post-World War II.

Muhammad Abduh's conclusions from his vast array of works do not convince me that he was a true liberal and believer in social justice, even though both Jamal al-Afghani and he faced opposition not only obviously from the British rulers and diplomats but also from their own fellow compatriots and other Muslims, even down to what, we may in modern times call, inspiring their personal trolls to declare them as infidels. Abduh's quote,"Muslims suffer from ignorance about their own religion and the despotism of unjust rulers'', could very well fit into what I often call the ''Misgovernance of Kashmir'' - a term taken from the champion of Kashmiris, Robert Thorpe, a young British Army Officer who arrived as a tourist in the Valley in 1865 and wrote his first-hand observations in his book Kashmir Misgoverned and was probably poisoned because of it and lies buried in the Christian Cemetery in Srinagar.

Another quote attributed to Adbuh is uncannily similar to what independent observers post 90s started speaking of when they visited Muslim lands and their writings/observations came in the public domain due to social media networks, for example, the works of V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Pico Iyer, Hari Kunzru, Rabih Alameddine, Aatish Taseer, Kenan Malik, the various documentaries about the Middle East showing life as it truly is and the latest popular Ali A. Rizvi on his life in Saudi, Pakistan and in Canada straddling three civilizations. The quote goes: ''I went to the West and saw Islam, but no Muslims; I got back to the East and saw Muslims, but no Islam.''

Why I am still suspicious of these two revolutionary men is because no evidence was found in their works and activism to show that they leaned towards favoring political democracy or parliamentarianism. According to both their biographers and research experts like Nikki Keddie on al-Afghani and Mark Sedgwick on Abduh, both of them were no dangerous fanatics or religious enthusiasts and belonged to the broadest schools of Muslim thought, holding political creed akin to pure republicanism. They were most obsessed with “the overthrow of individual rulers who were lax or subservient to foreigners, and their replacement by strong and patriotic men, rather than Constitutional, Civil Law and Social Reform". For me the test for a true liberal and emancipator is what they think of women's rights and I am sure they both would have failed my test in the 1800s.

Also the fact that their actual intentions of liberating men from enslavement, providing equal rights to all, abolishing the monopoly of the mullah's (religious scholar's) exegesis, and advocacy for abolishing of racial discrimination and religious compulsion was suppressed and hijacked by latter-day organisations such as the Muslim World League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. Their agenda of modern Pan-Islamism projected these two as the founding fathers of the Wahabbi/Salafist ideologies (indoctrinating strains of Islamic thought, jurisprudence, interpretation and philosophy culminating in the formation of the barbaric and brutal ISIS) by linking them with leading Islamists such as Sayyid Qutb, Abul Ala Maududi, and Ayatollah Khomeini who actually stressed their belief that a return to traditional Sharia law would make Islam united and strong again (an early Islamic Kharijite extremist concept which practised takfir) is what brings me back to the ''hijacking of movements by Islamists'' for their own agendas as has been done in Kashmir since the 90s.

What could have been a simple protest against the high-handedness, interference, and pampering of India of the ruling elite turned to be a Pak-sponsored armed revolt which left a generation dead, disappeared and maimed for life, physically and mentally. The 'Tanzimat'' reform period in the Ottoman Empire has a similar disgruntlement echoing when secularization of the leadership, so that the Christian population would feel more a part of the Empire, through the promotion of a sentiment of equality for all citizens, and would be less likely to agitate for the right to self-rule; led to the formation of a constitution and a legislature. This was being achieved and had been achieved to some extent in Kashmir after 1947 but for the corrupt rule of the elite dynastic party the NC.

Similarly, the West needs to be careful who it chooses as ambassadors from the Muslim communities, now with the mass migration of Muslims into the West. For in the example of these two, one can see how organizations like CAIR/Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas can operate among the white-guilt-ridden Western countries. A much better example is to be found in my initial starting point of the role of Indian elite Muslims of the 1940s who were responsible for the Khilafat movement and found a supporter in Gandhi too. That is to be explored next.