Islam Response Paper (Opt. 3)

Between Muhammad and Jesus, as founders of two major world religions, there are many similarities. Both were prophets, said to have brought the word of God to their people. Their preaching was a response to existing religion and society, and the problems they saw within each. In promoting societal change, both figures had their primary support from the lower class, although the message each brought was appealing to all or Christianity and Islam would not be world religions today. Part of what made each of their messages so appealing was that both men came from the lower, working class themselves. There is enough historical evidence to say that both men did indeed exist, and they even came from the same part of the world, separated by several hundred years.
At the time of their deaths, each one left behind some problems for their followers. As a new religion, Muhammad left his followers without clear leadership and Jesus left his followers struggling to make sense of his death and how to live in the spirit of his preaching.
The biggest discrepancy between these two figures in how their followers viewed them, as one was believed to be divine while the other insisted upon his humanity. Jesus is thought to be the son of God, both fully divine and fully human. He rejected his Earthly family and did not have one of his own. Muhammad, however, claimed his role was merely to be the mouthpiece for God and nothing more. He had a family of his own, marrying multiple times and having several children. Muhammad lived a much longer life than Jesus, and this may have contributed much to this discrepancy as he actually had time after he began preaching to enjoy the earthly realm.

Muhammad vs. Jesus

Muhammad and Jesus are both major figures in the religion they belong to. Their prophecy not only include similar concept- God and morals, they also underwent some struggles throughout their life devoting to spreading God’s words. While they were similar, they processed different experience and believe in God in different ways. Jesus’ life had been a miracle since he was born because his mother was a virgin. He started missionary at young age and performed many miracles throughout his life. Muhammad was different because he had always been a common man who was given mission to recite Allah’s words. Jesus was considered son of God and savior of all human beings who are sinful; Muhammad was thought to be the final prophet of God. As stated in the Profession of Faith in the Five Pillars, “there is no God but God, and Muhammad is the prophet.” People did not worship Muhammad but admired him, since he had undergone some dreadful experience to be able to recite God’s words directly. Both Muhammad’s and Jesus’ words were recorded and collected into books. Muhammad’s words were recorded at the time and it later became Qur’an. In contrast, Jesus’ words were recorded a lot after Jesus’ death by the four Gospels and collected into Bible. Although Islam and Christianity are fundamentally derived from the same origin and they both pray to the same God, the differences in between Muhammad and Jesus have had great influence on the development of the two religions. 

Islam RP 1- prompt #3

Muhammad and Jesus are central figures in Islam and Christianity respectively. Both men were successful religious reformers who sought to spread their news of God/Allah to the people. Early on, Muhammad and Jesus acquired the same type of follower—young and poor or working class. However, these early circumstances did not stop Islam and Christianity from becoming the two most widely practiced religions in the world.

The fundamental difference between Jesus and Muhammad is that, while Jesus is considered by Christians to be both human and divine, Muslims regard Muhammad as a strictly human prophet. Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish revolutionary, is the Messiah. Jesus is part of the Trinity which includes God the Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity has historically raised issues about Christian monotheism. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) met in part for the purpose of clarifying the relationship between God the Father and Jesus and ultimately declared that Jesus was of the same divine essence of the God the Father and was God’s son, not His creation. However, one could make a valid case today, even after the above assertion by the Nicene Creed, the Christianity is not an absolutely monotheistic religion. Islam, on the other hand, demands strict monotheism. Muslims respect Muhammad and believe him to be the outlet through which God revealed his final message to humanity. Muhammad is not divine, but rather “a stenographer or loudspeaker for Allah” (Hopfe, 326). Everyday, the followers of Islam recite the phrase, “There is no God but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God.” In contrast to Christianity, Islam is unequivocally monotheistic. The Qur’an depicts Allah as “the one sovereign God over the entire universe” (Hopfe, 327). Another significant difference between Jesus and Muhammad is that Muhammad led his followers militarily in his efforts to conquer Mecca, whereas Jesus never took on the role of military leader. Jesus did however sacrifice himself for his followers with the promise that he would one day return to earth. Perhaps the Christian notion of Jesus as a divine figure prevents Jesus from taking on what can be argued as an earthly or overly-violent role and allows instead for his promise to return.

It is important to consider Muhammad and Jesus as historical figures within the context of their respective time periods. Jesus was born around 6/7 CE and executed sometime around 36 CE and Muhammad lived from 570-632. The huge advances in technology between 6 CE and 632 allowed for thorough documentation of the life of Muhammad whereas record of Jesus’ life is less reliable having been compiled from a huge number of sources after a significant amount of time following his death.

Islam RP1

Before learning about the origins of Islam I didn’t realize how connected it was to Judaism and Christianity. I understood that it was a monotheistic religion and a few other facts about it, but other than that, that was all I really knew. There are two main components that contributed to my lack of knowledge.
Although I’d like to think of myself as a person who knows a diverse group of people, there was a lack of Islam in my life. I don’t know very many Muslims, and I don’t really compare and contrast the origins of Christianity and Islam with the ones that I do know. Not to say that I compare the origins of Christianity and Judaism with my Jewish friends, but I hear the phrase, “Jesus was Jewish,” all the time. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Muhammad was Christian,” or, “Muhammad was Jewish.” Because Islam wasn’t really a regular topic of discussion in my life I just didn’t know about it as much.
The attacks on 9/11 contributed to my ignorance as well. I did not hate Muslims after the attacks or anything drastic, but the government and the media were constantly talking about Islam. They presented the terrorists and Islam in such a way that they became very distant from Christianity and Judaism.
Because of current events (and life in general) I’m glad that I was able to study Islam. After learning so much more about it, it is interesting and easier to see the parallels between the three most popular religions in the world.

Islam Response Paper

The biggest misconception I had about Islam was that I thought it had its roots in Hinduism. I believed that Islam was polytheistic like Hinduism. I had no idea that Islam is very close to Judaism and Christianity. Judaism and Christianity sound much more conservative and reserved, where as the Middle East appears too revolutionary and unrest to practice these religions. I was prejudiced, and it was difficult for me to connect the Middle East with Jesus.
Instead of relating to Judaism or Christianity, I combined Hinduism and Islam together because they exist around the same area, especially in India. India has very big chunk of its land in the middle occupied by many Muslims and the rest by Hindus. Vague geographic distinction between the two religions contributed to this misperception. Also, I knew that Hindus believe in Samsara. To me, the words Samsara and Islam sounded so similar and drew similar pictures in my head. Several absurd remarks like this automatically made me associate Islam and Hinduism; however, since I learned about the beginnings and the progress of Islam, I should correct more misconceptions I have about Islam and even other religions.

Islam Response Paper

Muhammad was able to accomplish the impossible by uniting the Arabian Peninsula under his new religion called Islam, but other factors contributed to its success. From a very early age Muhammad lived with his uncle, a leader of the Quraysh tribe which was powerful in the area. This allowed Muhammad to belong and learn from a tribe of come influence in the area.
Muhammad grew up in and around Mecca. Because Mecca was a hotspot for trade in the Arabian Peninsula many different groups of people with different religious traditions including Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians were around and practicing, so Mecca was a relatively tolerant area. Muhammad was able to use this diversity t build up his new religion. Also in Mecca was the Kaaba, a religious center for tribal religions that housed deities of the local traditions. Muhammad was able to incorporate some of these local traditions, like the black stone in the Kaaba which still has a central role in the hajj. While luck may have played a role in Islam’s rapid spread Muhammad was able to make Islam successful by incorporating pre-Islamic traditions, his charisma and political skills, taking advantage of the accepting climate and the appeal of his teachings.

Islam RP 1

My biggest misconception about Islam was the concept of jihad. The American media has construed it in a way that is confusing and misleading. When 9/11 happened the media blamed Osama bin Laden and his quest for a jihad. The way the media portrayed jihad in general and hostel way caused the public to think that many Muslims were working for the same jihad as Osama bin Laden. In the following years there was a significant amount of discrimination against Muslims. The media then proceeded to portray many of the suicide bombings at the same attempt at a jihad. The media portrayed it as one continuous war. The media failed to talk about the actual jihad, and how it can mean a conflict but usually is not. The media also emphasized the idea that if a Muslim fought in a jihad that they would go to heaven, and used that to explain the reasoning of the 9/11 terrorists.

The way the idea of jihad was presented to me confused me more than anything else. I knew it was not the way the media portrayed it, but until this course I had left it as an ambiguous concept in Islam. It is interesting that some Muslim scholars say jihad is only a defensive war. The way the Muslim scholars teach is completely opposite of how the American public views jihad. The most interesting thing about jihad is that it does not necessarily mean a war. It can be any struggle either physical or emotional. The American media manipulates jihad to mean what they want it to, much like Osama bin Laden did. Jihad has become a tool to Muslim leaders and reporters alike to help them explain or justify an event.