Religions of the Middle East

							Religions of the Middle East
       Three Major Religions
• Three of the world’s major religions were
  born in the Middle East.
• They are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
• They are all linked together.
• Christianity was born from within the
  Jewish tradition, and Islam developed from
  both Christianity and Judaism.
• All three religions refer to Adam and Eve.
• All are called Abrahamic religions.
              Monotheism
• Monotheism is the belief in one god.

• Each of these religions has a monotheistic
  tradition.

• While there have been differences among
  these religions, there was a rich cultural
  interchange between Jews, Christians,
  and Muslims.
                Judaism
• Judaism is the oldest surviving
  monotheistic religion.
• Abraham is traditionally considered to be
  the first Jew and to have a made a
  covenant with God.
• Their place of worship is a synagogue.
• Saturday is their holy day.
  What Jews believe!

• Jews believe in one god and his prophets.
• Special respect is given to Moses as the
  prophet to whom god gave the law.
• Jewish law is embodied in the Torah.
• Judaism is more concerned with actions
  than dogma (beliefs).
• Jewish law includes 613 commandments
  given by God in the Torah.
              Jewish Law

•   Jewish laws cover matters such as:
•   Prayer and ritual, diet, rules regulating
    marriage, divorce, birth, death,
    inheritance, and holidays.
•   Jewish holidays include: Yom Kippur,
    the Day of Atonement; and Passover, the
    feast celebrating the exodus of the Jews
    from slavery in Egypt.
            Jewish Beliefs
• Jews believe others besides Jews will go
  to Heaven.
• Jews do not believe in the prophets after
  the Jewish prophets, including Jesus and
  Muhammad.
• They do not subscribe to the idea that
  Jesus was the Messiah and the son of
  God, nor do they believe in the teachings
  of Islam.
                   Christianity
• Christianity started as an offshoot of Judaism.
• The Orthodox Church and its patriarch split away from
  the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope in 1054
  because of political and doctrinal differences.
• Martin Luther, upset at the corruption of the Catholic
  papacy, spearheaded a reformation movement that led
  to the development of Protestantism.
• Christian missionaries traveled all over the world, and
  there are large populations of Christians on every
  continent.
• The holy scriptures are the Old Testament (the Jewish
  Torah) and the New Testament (written by followers of
  Jesus).
  What Christians believe!
• Christians believe that God is revealed through three
  dimensions: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the
  Holy Spirit.
• Jesus is considered the son of God, born to the virgin
  Mary and come to Earth to offer redemption for
  mankind’s sins.
• After Jesus was crucified and executed by the Romans,
  he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
• This event is celebrated at Easter, while the birth of
  Jesus is celebrated at Christmas.
• Christians believe in an afterlife where some will reside
  in heaven with God, and some will be punished in hell.
• Their day of worship is Sunday and their place of
  worship is a church.
What Christians believe!
• Christians do not believe in Jewish law.
• They believe that the law was fulfilled by the
  gospel and that you should, “Love thy neighbor
  as thyself.”
• Christians and Jews have often had a violent
  relationship.
• Christianity has also had a problematic
  relationship with Islam.
• Christians do not accept Muhammad as a
  prophet.
       Islam


• Islam began in the desert community of
  Mecca (Makkah).
• It developed from both the Judeo-Christian
  tradition and the cultural values of the
  nomadic Bedouin tribes of Arabia.
• Islam has expanded into other areas:
  North Africa, Europe, and Asia.
What Muslims believe!
• Muslims believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God) sent his
  revelation, the Quran (Koran), to the prophet Muhammad.
• Muhammad was born in Mecca.
• He was a prophet that received the message from the Angel
  Gabriel.
• This message was collected in the Quran.
• The Quran tells Muslims to worship one god, and explains how to
  treat others properly.
• The central message is “There is no god but God!”
• Muhammad died in 632 AD.
• Another text, the Hadith, written by scholars after the death of
  Muhammad, describes Muhammad’s life and proscribes laws for the
  community, and explains how certain rituals should be performed.
    The Five Principles (Pillars) of
                Islam
1. Orally declaring their faith (shahadah).
2. Praying five times a day (salat).
3. Fasting in the daylight hours during the month of
   Ramadan (sawm). They must abstain from food,
   water, cigarettes, gossip, anger, and anything else
   perceived as negative behavior.
4. Giving a share of their income for charity (zakat)
   usually 2.5%.
5. Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their
   lifetime (hajj). Many Muslims also observe dietary rules
   that forbid pork, outlaw alcohol, and dictate how
   animals should be slaughtered for food. Friday is their
   holy day.
          What Muslims believe!
• Muslims believe in a Day of Judgment (by
  Allah, who will call up those still alive and
  all those who have died, present them with
  a record of their deeds, and weigh their
  obedience to God and actions toward
  human beings.
• The faithful with righteous souls will go to
  heaven and wrongdoers will go to hell.
• The place of worship is a mosque.
  What Muslims believe!
• Islam sees Judaism and Christianity as earlier versions of Islam,
  revelations given within the same tradition by Allah but misunderstood
  over time.
• Muslims see Islam as the final, complete, and correct revelation in the
  monotheistic tradition of the three faiths.
• Muslims recognizes many of the Jewish and Christian prophets,
  including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (although he is not considered to
  be the son of God).
• Many non-Muslims mistakenly believe that Muhammad is the equivalent
  of Jesus in the Islamic tradition; in fact it is the Quran that stands in the
  same central position in Islam as Jesus does in Christianity.
• Muhammad himself is not divine, but a prophet chosen by God to deliver
  his message.
• Jews and Christians are specifically protected in the Quran as Peoples of
  the Book.
• The Islamic legal tradition has upheld the rights of Jews and Christians to
  maintain their beliefs and practices within their communities in Islamic
  lands.
• The Islamic religion recognizes the Torah and the Bible as sacred books.
                  Summary
• The majority of the people in the Middle East are
  Arabs. 90% of all people are Muslim who
  practice the Islamic religion.
• Constant fighting among countries, different
  religious sects, etc. keeps tension high.
• Primarily the fighting between the Israelis and
  the Arabs has been over “who has the right to
  land.” Both sets of people believe they have the
  right to the areas because of religious reasons.
  Right in the middle of this area is Jerusalem.
• All three religions view Jerusalem as a sacred
  city.
The End