Christianity and Islam
Question for thought…
 What are some things that most religions have in
common?
 What are some things that often differ from religion
to religion?
Question for thought…
 If you were starting your own religion, list 5
characteristics, beliefs, or requirements that would
be absolute must haves.
Christianity
 Roman empire had a religion grown out of various traditions
 Polytheistic, influenced by Greeks and others
 Emperor began to be viewed as divine
 All conquered peoples must worship Roman gods
 Jews in the Middle East were allowed an exception – Why?
 Jewish leaders did not like being under Roman control
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Believed Messiah (anointed king sent by God) would appear to lead them to
independence – Does Jesus fit this description?
Rebellion rises out of their discontent
Romans destroy Temple and eventually most of Jerusalem
Diaspora – Jews are forced to leave Israel and spread out along Mediterranean
 Jesus – all we know of him comes from Gospels
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Said to be descendant of King David
Said to be a carpenter by trade
Age 30 - begins preaching near sea of Galilee
Recruited 12 apostles or close followers
Used parables or short stories with moral lessons
His followers viewed him as the promised “Messiah”
Others viewed him as a false prophet and a threat to Judaism -
Christianity
 Jesus spread a new way of looking at Judaism
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Same beliefs - 1 God, 10 commandments, Jewish prophets
New beliefs
Jesus is son of God (many thought he was the Messiah) – Your reaction?
 Mission  spiritual salvation, eternal life to those who believe
 Emphasized  Gods love, need for justice, morality, service to others
and importance of forgiveness
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 Jewish priests and Roman officials saw him as dangerous
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Why would Jewish leaders feel this way? Roman officials?
 Was convicted and crucified on the cross
 Disciples claim he rose from the dead, telling them to
spread his teachings
 For a time Christianity stayed a Jewish sect
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Over time evolved into a new religion
Growth of Christianity
Growth of Christianity
 In only a few hundred years, Christianity grew from a
cult of a few hundred people following Jesus into the
main religion of Europe
 Why was Christianity able to grow so quickly?
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Christianity is inclusive, actively recruiting converts
Christianity gives everyone access to heaven
Christians spoke and wrote in Greek
Allowed them to blend in during times of persecution
 Allowed them to spread the word quickly (many people knew Greek)
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Martyrs died for the religion, sparking interest of others
Constantine converted to Christianity, giving it political clout
Islam
 Islam is a religion
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Arabic translation – “submission to the will of Allah”
Similar in many ways to monotheistic faiths of Christianity and
Judaism – What do you call a follower of Islam?
 A Muslim is a follower of Islam
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Arabic translation – “one who has submitted”
 Allah
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Monotheistic God of Islam – How is Allah different?
Same God as Christians and Jews
 Muhammad
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Main prophet of Islam
570-632 AD
Religious, military, and political leader
How is Muhammad different from Jesus?
Five Pillars of Islam
What would your
5 Pillars be?
The Five Pillars of Islam
Benefits? ----- Challenges?
 Faith (Shahada)
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Declaration of Faith
“I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His
Servant and Messenger.”
 Prayer (Salat)
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Five daily prayers while facing Mecca
 Alms (Zakat)
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2.5% of income is given for charity
 Fasting (Sawm)
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During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until dusk
 Pilgrimage (Hajj)
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All able Muslims are expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in
their lifetime
Pilgrimage (Hajj) to the Kaaba in Mecca
The Kaaba is a sacred
shrine in Mecca. The
Quran states it was
originally built by
Abraham, though it has
been rebuilt many times.
Quran
 The Quran is the holy book of Islam
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The collected revelations from the angel Gabriel to Muhammad
Written in Arabic – only when read in Arabic does it reveal the true
word of Allah
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How is the Quran different from the Bible?
 The final book
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Muslims trace their ancestry back to Abraham, just like Jews and
Christians
Muslims view the Quran as a perfected version of the Torah/Bible
 Shari’a Law
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Moral code and religious law of Islam - covers MANY areas of daily life
Compiled from the Quran and the example of Muhammad
Expansion of Islam
 632 AD – Muhammad dies
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Mecca and Medina (and a portion of the Arabian peninsula) are
united under Islam
There is no system set up for his political succession
 Muslims elect Abu-Bakr as the first Caliph, or
“successor,” to Muhammad
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Expanded the empire through jihad
Jihad – translated to “striving” against inner evils, but could also be
interpreted as a call to armed struggle against unbelievers
 All four of the “rightly guided” Caliphs continue this
policy
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Abu-Bakr  Umar  Uthman  Ali
How was the spread of Islam different than the spread of
Christianity?
Expansion of Islam
Umayyad Caliphate (661 – 750)
 Came to power after the assassination of Ali (the 4th
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Caliph) in 661 AD
Went against the tradition of Muhammad and
accumulated wealth and prestige
Moved capital from Mecca to Damascus
 Why?
 More central location to control empire
Created a rift in the Muslim world
 Sunni – went along with Umayyad rule
 Shi’a (Shiite) – party of Ali – thought the Caliph must
be a descendent of Muhammad
 Sufi – rejected the luxurious life of the Umayyads
Rebels overthrew the Umayyads in 750 AD
Abbasid Caliphate (750 – 1258)
 Drove out remaining Umayyads to Spain
 Moved capital to Baghdad
Newly built city
 Why?
 Economic reasons – access to trade routes
 Created large bureaucracy (government)
by raising taxes
 Especially on non-Muslims
 Became economically strong through trade
 Created advanced systems of banking
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Muslim Culture
 Muslim cities such as Damascus, Baghdad, Cordoba,
Cairo, Jerusalem, and Mecca became centers of
commerce, culture, and thought.
 Social Classes within Baghdad
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1. Muslims at birth
2. Muslim converts
3. “Protected people” – Any guesses?
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Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians
4. Slaves
 Role of Women
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Were granted larger roles and responsibilities than women in many
other cultures of the time period, but still expected to submit to men
Modern Day – Muslim women’s rights and responsibilities lag
behind much of the modern world
WITHOUT THE ARAB MUSLIMS, ALL OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF
Emphasis on Art and Science
GREECE AND ROME WOULD BE
GONE!!!!!
Art
 Art
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Calligraphy – ornamental
writing
Use of geometric patterns in
art
 Literature
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Rich poetry tradition
Often influenced by the Quran
 Architecture
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Built upon Roman and Greek
concepts
Science
 Math
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Algebra
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al-jebr – “reunion of broken
parts”
 Science
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Observation and
experimentation
 Medicine
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Highly advanced for the time
 Astronomy
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Advanced observatories
House of Wisdom – Center of Scholarship set up in Baghdad
Islam into the Modern Era
 Muslims continued to control much of Persia, The
Middle East, and Northern Africa into the modern
day
Flag of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan
Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme
Leader of the Islamic Republic
of Iran
Islam into the Modern Era
 Islam continues to be a major world
religion, second only to Christianity
 It also is one of the fastest growing religions today