Christianity and Islam

Comparing the world's two largest religions:

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are three closely related religions. Because they all revere Abraham and certain other patriarchs mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, Christian Scriptures and Qur'an as their spiritual ancestors, they are sometimes called Abrahamic religions. (The Baha'i Faith is sometimes also included in this grouping.)

However, their many points of similarity are no guarantee that their followers can get along. Most of the serious religiously motivated conflicts, mass crimes against humanity and genocides in the 20th century have been between Muslims and Christians. This has included genocides in Bosnia Herzegovina, East Timor, and the Sudan, as well as serious conflicts in Cyprus,  Kosovo, Macedonia, and the Philippines. As of late 2009, two of these conflicts (Sudan and Philippines) are still active, and three others are inert only because of peacekeepers on the ground.

It is difficult to compare Christianity to any other religion, because there is such a wide range of beliefs and practices among various wings of Christianity: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican communion and the tens of thousands of Protestant faith groups. Some commentators have suggested that Christianity consists of a number of different religions which share little more than the Bible and the name of their religion. Protestant Christianity is obviously divided into a least liberal and conservative wings -- divisions which hold few beliefs in common. Some of the descriptions below will thus necessarily be somewhat simplistic and lacking in precision.

                what different faiths in various countries teach about homosexual behavior, and how their legal systems treat lesbians, gays, and bisexuals:

 

	--Same-sex behavior is a capital crime in six Muslim countries.
	--One Christian country in Africa is considering making such behavior a capital crime.
	--Many countries, both Muslim and Christian, assign long term jail sentences to sexually active gays and lesbians.
	--Other countries have no laws on the books regarding same-sex behavior.
	--Same-sex couples in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain and South Africa -- all at least nominally Christian -- can marry.

Thus, it is quite impossible to compare the Muslim and Christian beliefs and practices concerning same-sex behavior without going into a major explination -- something for which we have no room below.

Practices:

Name of the religion:	Christianity	Islam
Current interpretation of the Holy Book:	Ranges from statements of the Pope in Roman Catholicism to resolutions at conventions among Protestants.	Learned scholars in various countries. There is no single spokesperson or authoritative group.
Name of worship center:	Church, cathedral.	Mosque.
Main worship:	Sunday; Saturday for some.	Friday.
Church and state:	Largely considered separate. Most Christian countries are democracies	Integrated. Most Muslim countries are dictatorships.
Law	Generally restricted to legal matters.	Covers both moral and legal matters.
Legislation	Prerogative of the people	Prerogative of God
Use of statues of deity, saints, prophets, etc:	Common in some denominations	Absolutely forbidden. Statues and pictures are considered a very serious form of idolatry.
Main holy days:	Most Christians celebrate at least Christmas, Easter, and associated holy days.	Ashura; Mawlid; lunar month of Ramadan; Eid al-Fitr; Eid al-Adha.
Status of women:	Variable. Conservatives & liberals differ greatly.	Strongly affected by cultural traditions. Severely oppressed in some countries.
Status of sexual minorities:	Variable; ranges from limitations on the right to marry and other rights to acceptance of same-sex marriage	Variable; ranges from being driven underground into hiding to execution.
Marriages forbidden:	Inter-faith marriages, in the Eastern Orthodox church. Marriages between conservative Christians and others, within conservative Christianity.	A Muslim woman may not be married (or remained married) to a non-Muslim man.
Racism:	Promoted by the LDS church until 1978. Still supported by Christian Identity, KKK, and other Christian fringe groups. Officially rejected by almost all other denominations. Remains widespread.	Officially rejected by all Islamic movements. 5
Reaction to apostasy (leaving the faith due to religious conversion):	Prior to 1792, the end of the "burning times," execution was possible.	Traditionally, death to the apostate. This is rarely practiced in the 21st century.
Historical treatment of Jewish people in Muslim countries (Prior to World War 1):	Prolonged and widespread anti-Judaism, anti-semitism, oppression, and mass murder.	Additional taxation, because Jews were not required to serve in the military, but otherwise general tolerance.
Recent treatment of Jewish people:	Lessening of anti-semitism from historical levels, and gradual support of Israel, particularly since World War II.	Massive opposition and physical attacks since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the occupation of Palestine.
Relations with state of Israel since 1948	Widespread support for Israel among religious conservatives. Criticism among some liberals concerning treatment of Muslims.	Widespread rejection of Israel. Discrimination, suicide bombing, etc. practiced. An exception is Turkey, a Muslim country that is a secular state.
Basis of calendar:	Gregorian solar calendar.  1 CE occurred about four to seven years after birth of Jesus.	Many Muslims use Gregaorian calendar. Religious events based on the Islamic lunar calendar. 1 AH occurred in 622 CE, the year of the Hegira when Muhammad traveled from Mecca to Medina.
Most misunderstood practice:	The sacrifice of the Mass, a Roman Catholic ritual. Some Native Americans and others interpreted it as a form of ritual cannibalism.	Female genital mutilation. This is often incorrectly considered to be a religious requirement of Islam. Actually it is cultural tradition common in some countries of Northern Africa. It is unknown in many Muslim countries.

 

1. The Christian church is normally considered to have begun at Pentecost, 50 days after Christians believe that Jesus was executed. Unfortunately, the year of his death is unknown.
2. Most religious historians view Islam as having been founded in 622 CE. However, many if not most of the followers of Islam believe that:

   	Islam existed before Muhammad (pbuh) was born.
   	The origins of Islam date back to the creation of the world.

3. Muslims traditionally acknowledge respect for Muhammad, Jesus and other prophets (peace be upon them) by adding this phrase or an abbreviation "(pbuh)" after their names.
4. Greg H. Parsons, Executive Director, "U.S. Center for World Mission," Pasadena, CA; quoted in Zondervan News Service, 1997-FEB-21.
5. One exception is the Nation of Islam which promotes a black supremacist ideology. For example, leader Louis Farrakhan stated that "White people are potential humans'they haven't evolved yet." (Philadelphia Inquirer, 2000-MAR-18). However, most Muslims do not consider the Nation of Islam to be part of Islam, because of its unique beliefs about God, humanity and the rest of the universe.
6. The books included in the Bible differ among Christian faith groups. The Roman Catholic Church includes the Apocrypha; most other Christian denominations do not. Members of the approximately 100 faith groups in the LDS Restorationist movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) add other holy books, including the Book of Mormon. Christian Scientists consider Mary Baker Eddy's book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" to be a major resource.
7. Muslims generally believe that the Qur'an is the literal word of God, as dictated to Muhammad over an interval of 23 years. It is the only book that is considered free of tahrif (error). There are four additional books:

   The Suhuf-i-Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham/Ibrahim) which have been lost. The Tawrat (the Pentateuch from the Hebrew Scriptures) which many Muslims believe were altered by ancient Hebrews. The Zabur which many Muslims believe are the Psalms from the Hebrew Scriptures. The Injil (the Gospels; the words of Jesus). Muslims believe that this consists of the entire Christian Scriptures (New Testament), or perhaps only the four canonical Gospels. They also have been distorted and corrupted over time. Other Muslims believe that the Injil is not a book, but a group of teachings.