Islam, Christianity, Judaism: Compared Essay

In the past decade, Muslims have been in the front pages of newspapers for militancy, from Palestinian intifadah (uprising) in the West Bank to Hezbollah’s armed warfare against the Israeli military forces. The most dramatic being the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by the Al Qaeda. This attack later on spawned â€Å"suicide† bombings in London, Indonesia and elsewhere around the globe. To date, the Al Qaeda remains active albeit possibly weakened and its leaders on the run. Its alleged associate groups such as the Jemaah Islamiya (in Indonesia) and Abu Sayyaf (in the Philippines) also remains active and continue to battle government forces in their respective countries. The Taliban continue their armed resistance in Afghanistan where they once held the reins of government. Undoubtedly, it is their faith that fuels the militancy of these groups. Whatever political motivations they may have in their struggle is underpinned and premised on their religious beliefs. Islam, Christianity, Judaism: Compared Judaism, Christianity and Islam claim to be monotheistic and worship one God. They claim a common ancestry through Abraham and share the prophetic tradition through Moses and the prophets. They all believe in angels and angelic activity in behalf of man. They believe in divine revelation and the last judgment. All adopt laces of worship and teaching, Judaism the Synagogue, Christianity the Church and Islam the Mosque. They place a heavy emphasis on prayer and hold special weekly days of worship, Judaism the Sabbath, Christians the Lord’s Day (or Sunday) and Islam the day of Salat (or Friday). (A Christian Comparison With and Evaluation of Islam, 2007). With these similarities, where lies the source of militancy and steadfastness of the Muslim mujahideen and jihadists? Why would a devout Muslim sacrifice himself in bombing military and civilian targets? The main area of theological difference pertains to the Christians’ (particularly the Catholics) concept of Holy Trinity. Christians see God has having three persons – God the Father, God the Son (or Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, Muslims and Jews are simple monotheists and believe in one God, called Allah and Yahweh respectively. Both the Jews and Muslims see Jesus as man and not God but they differ in perceiving the significance of Jesus’ life. To the Jews, Jesus was an ordinary Jew (not divine) who crucified for claiming to be the Messiah. Muslims also see Jesus as a human (not divine) but that he was a prophet, a messenger of God (Qur’an, 5:17; as cited in Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007). Furthermore, Muslims say that Jesus was not crucified, but was raised to Heaven by Allah (Qur’an, 4:157 – 158; as cited in Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007). In addition, the Holy Spirit is also seen differently. It is a divine power given to the prophets according to the Jews. Muslims view the Holy Spirit identical with the Angel Gabriel who came to give God’s message to Muhammad. Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007) Islam: An Overview Islam is a monotheistic religion that originated from the teachings of Muhammad. The word Islam means totally surrendering oneself to Allah (God). The word Islam is derived from the Arabic aslama which means to accept, surrender or submit. Its fundamental theological concept is that there is only one God (Allah). (Islam, 2007) An adherent or believer of Islam is known as a Muslim. Islam originated in Arabia in the early seventh century. At around this time, Muhammad had begun to proselytize. As of today, there are two major denominations of Islam, namely the Sunni and the Shi’a (or Shiite). The schism took place in the seventh century on the issue of rightful succession in the religious and political leadership of the Muslim community. Islam instructs that all faiths essentially have one common message: the existence of a Supreme Being, the one and only God. It teaches that God’s Sovereignty must acknowledged in worship and in the pledge to obey His teaching and commandments. These teachings and commandments are conveyed through His messengers and prophets who were sent at various times and in many places throughout history. (Zahid, 2004) In this regard, Muslim’s believe that God delivered his final message for humanity to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad is a prophet. He is man and not a god although being a prophet, he is closest to perfection of man. (Islam, 2007) Muslims believe that some prophets, even though human, are able to perform miracles to prove their claim of being messengers of God. In this light, Muslims consider Jesus as just one in the long line of prophets since Adam. The central religious text of Islam is the Qur’an that was written down by Muhammad’s companions while he was still alive. Nevertheless, the Muslims believe that the Qur’an is not simply holy scripture; it is the holy word of God. Hence, the words and meaning of God’s message can best be understood in Arabic, the language of Muhammad. Also, Muslims all over learn to recite portions of the Qur’an in its original language. (Islam: A Worldwide Religion and Its Impact in Southeast Asia, 2007) Qur’an literally means â€Å"recitation†. While the Christian Bible has been translated into as many languages as possible, the Muslims see differently. Any translation is simply considered as a commentary or interpretation of the Qur’an due to language differences and fallibility of the translators. It is also impossible to preserve the original’s inspired (by God) style. A supplement to the Qur’an is the Hadith (meaning â€Å"reports†). The Hadith is a complete and authentic record of the life of Muhammad. It recounts his words, actions and personal characteristics. (Zahid, 2004) Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad in their daily life. They are to follow the Sunnah (literally, â€Å"trodden path†), Muhammad’s normative example. Five Pillar of Islam Obligatory actions are required of Muslims and these are collectively called the Five Pillars of Islam. Cline (2007) wrote, â€Å"Unlike Christianity, Islam is founded on orthopraxy (right action) rather than orthodoxy (right belief)†. The Five Pillars are ritual acts of worship. These were ordained in the Qur’an as a means to discipline humanity to remember God constantly. (Zahid, 2004) First is the declaration of faith or shahadah. This is expressed in the statement â€Å"Ash-hadu anla ilaha illal-Lahu Wahdahu la Sharika Lahu wa-ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu†. The English translation is â€Å"I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One, without any partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger†. (Shahadah: Declaration of Faith, 2007) Second is prayer or salat. This is offered five times a day because the prayers cannot be said all at the same time. As a result, they create a rhythm that structures a Muslim’s day. Prayers are to be recited at fajr (after dawn but before sunrise), duhr (early afternoon till late afternoon), ‘asr (later afternoon till sunset), maghrib (just after sunset), isha (late evening till late at night). The prayers are recited in the Arabic language. They consist of verses from the Qur’an. The third pillar is alms-giving or zakat. In Islam, man holds wealth as a trust from God. As trustee, possessions must be used wisely including sharing with the unfortunate. In practice, Muslims are required to annually give a fixed amount of excess personal assets for the benefit of the poor, the sick and the welfare of the community. Zahid (2004) calls this â€Å"purification of wealth†. Sharing, through zakat, becomes an act of purifying not just the wealth but also the giver for having disciplined oneself against greed through selflessness. Fourth is fasting or sawm. The fourth pillar actually refers to self-purification through fasting. Every Muslim fasts from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. It involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and marital intercourse. Sawm is a reminder of the believers’ dependence on God as well as their kinship with others who involuntarily fast due to lack of food or its unjust distribution. (Zahid, 2004) The last pillar is piligrimage or hajj. All Muslim should undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. The hajj is a ritual to create a single community out of the diversity of the believers. Hence, ten kilometers away from Mecca, all pilgrims are required to wear the same clothing, which consists of two white seamless sheets.