Joshua Eastin - Misunderstand

Joshua Eastin

Block D

Religion Paper

In the ancient world religion was the defining characteristic of a society and in many ways still is today. Two religions which had great power in the early common era were Islam and Christianity. Christians being followers of the new testament and of Jesus, and Muslims followers of the prophet muhammad. These two religions have many similarities and differences spanning from traditions such as prayer and holidays, to moral code represented in the five pillars and the ten  commandments.

On the surface islam and christianity are very similar with their base beliefs. Both are monotheistic meaning that they believe that there is only one God who is the creator of all people and all things. Both had a prophet guided by God to lead common people to a holier existence Jesus for christianity and the prophet muhammad for islam. Both believe in the afterlife, and both believe that our actions on earth have an impact on our fate in the afterlife. The most notable difference in these basic beliefs is that  muslims do not believe in the trinity of God the son and the holy ghost although muslims do believe that Jesus was real and was a prophet but not God's son. These basic concepts give islam and christianity are very similar this gave some basic understanding for the two religions.

Traditions are practiced by most religions and Islam and christianity are no exceptions. Some similar traditions is prayer which to both are simply conversations with God usually asking for something such as guidance or forgiveness. Though the islamic and christian prayer differ in some ways one example of this is that an islamic prayer is very structures with a designated opening and ending Rabia Mills writes that “ There are five prescribed prayers per day at set times according to the rotation of the earth around the sun. All of these prayers are obligatory on every Muslim.” (12)  While a christian prayer is much less orthodox while there are some prayers such as the lord's prayer that is recited the same way every time ( Some differences occur with different branches of christianity.) Some other differences in traditions are some clothing that is required for women and men in islam while christianity does not have this requirement. Syed Mumtaz Ali writes about Polygamy saying “Polygamy is allowed to Muslims. There are strict limitations and prohibitions concerning it so it does not become a method to dominate women… Polygamy used to be allowed by the Church, but now it is forbidden…” (13) A common tradition of islam is caligraphy. Muslims believe that the ability to write was given to us by allah and is therefor holy. This is shown in the Qur’an 96:5  “And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, Who taught (the use of) the Pen, taught man that which he knew not.”

Morals are arguably the most important part of a religion and there are several similarities and differences between the two religions. One basic moral the two share is that all humans have rights meaning no man or woman should be stolen from, lied to, assaulted, rapped, or murdered. Another similarity is that parents have rights and should be respected and obeyed (both religions mention exceptions for abuse). A difference is that homosexuality is highly discouraged and in some sects forbidden in islam Syed Mumtaz Ali writes “Since the prohibition on homosexuality is found in the Old Testament only, some Christian sects say it does not apply…” (16)  

The differences and similarities of islam show that the two religions have very similar ideas and concepts though they are still far from the same. The most major differences being the belief on who Jesus was, the rules of prayer, and the rules on homosexuality. These differences do not change the fact that both religions have very similar core beliefs.

Ali, Syed Mumtaz, James Abdul Rahim Gaudet, and Rabia Mills. "Islam and Christianity." Encyclopedia of Christianity Online (n.d.): n. pag. Islam and Christianity Similarities and Differences. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

odiq, Yushau. "Introduction to Sunni." World Religions: Belief, Culture, and Controversy, ABC-CLIO, 2016, religion.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1580782?cid=41&sid=1580782. Accessed 14 Dec. 2016.

"Five Pillars of Islam." World Religions: Belief, Culture, and Controversy, ABC-CLIO, 2016, religion.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1527473. Accessed 14 Dec. 2016.