Introduction
Over the years, the religious feature has greatly changed and it has therefore been demonstrated that there is not a sole religion or faith custom throughout the 21st century that could be considered an island. Judaism and Islam are among the sacred customs of the 21st century. The United States terrorist attack which took place in 2001 of September has looked for an accepting among the different traditional religions such as Judaism and Islam which are two of the world's oldest, and major monotheistic faiths. Judaism and Islam partake a range of faiths, principles, and even customs. Nevertheless during the similar time, there are more than enough dissimilarities to make Judaism and Islam opposes each other significantly. With that said, even some similarities among Judaism and Islam have been the basis of war for thousands of years.
Islam vs. Judaism: Historical Facts
Out of all the Abrahamic religions, Judaism is known as the oldest. The person that was the founding prophet was Moses, and he was chosen by God to help lead the people out of the clutches of the Pharaoh of Egypt and into the land of milk and honey which was considered to be modern day Israel. When they were camped under Mount Sinai, Moses provided the Jews with what was called the Torah of their God, and after traveling in the desert for almost 40 years, they finally made it to their destination, which they trust was God's gift to them. Most of the Jews believe that their lineage is traced through Abraham.
Islam came on the scene way later on down the road by Muhammad in the year 622. Muhammad believed that God selected him to be his prophet. He believed it was his job to reveal to the Arab world that there is only one God named Allah. Muslims are also able to trace their Abrahamic lineage through his son named Ismael.
Conflict
During the young days of Israel, the Jewish tribes came into conflict with the Muslims because they broke the peace treaty. When that happened, they kicked the Jewish tribes out of Arabia. Once the Muslims took control over the Arabian Peninsula, for 1300 years there were no wars or conflict . Sometime during the 20th century, the Zionist ideology started to come on the scene and this was put together to win back their homeland away from the controllers. Tensions broke out among Judaism and Islamic followers in Palestinians. The state of Israel was reborn in 1948, and soon after its announcement of freedom. The Arab States professed war on the nation of Israel, but they lost and Israel was yet victorious again. When the 1948 Arab-Israeli War ended, there was twelve more years of battle between Judaism and Islam . These conflicts and wars were more radical-nationalistic than spiritual. The Arab-Israeli conflict has deteriorated the Jewish–Islamic dealings harshly, as both Judaism and Islam respect the city of Jerusalem as a place that is sacred.
Religion
As far as the Islamic faith is concerned God is the one True Creator and to then God has always existed. They also believe that no other God existed before him and that their God will exist forever. He transcends life and death. In the Judaism faith God is also the one True Creator. Just like the Islam, They also believe that God has always been in existence. They also share the same similar belief that there was no other God before him. The Jews also hang on to the belief that there was none that existed before him and that he will exist forever. Unlike Islam they believe that God surpasses life and death.
As far as practices are concerned, Islam has what is called the five pillars: (1) Shahadah [testify that Muhammad is his messenger and that their god is one a (2) Praying five times a day (3) Fasting for Islam is called Ramadan which is the Muslim month of fasting (4)Zakat [this involves giving charity to people that are poor. (5) Hajj. This involves here other different practices. Those that are in the Jewish faith such as the Orthodox Jews are the ones that will recite their prayers 3 times daily, which is two less than what they do in Islam. On certain holidays such as Shabbat they add a fourth prayer The Judaism faith practices Shacarit prayer which is done in the morning, and in the afternoon they practice what is called Mincha and then during nighttime that have what is called the Arvit.
When it comes to means of salvation, Islam and Judaism do things a little different. For example, in order for them to go to heaven they believe that they need to have things such as the right belief, doing a lot of good deeds and making sure that they do enough prayer to make sure that they make it in. Fasting is also something that is key for their salvation and also making sure that you are not struggling with hidden desires. In the Jewish faith there is a lot less to work with when it comes to salvation. All they have to do is perform good deeds, and have complete faith in God.
Death is also something that is also different in both faiths. They believe that two angels will actually come to a person in their grave. In the Judaism faith, they believe in reincarnation and a place called paradise.
Similarities and differences between dietary laws of Islam and Judaism
Judaism and Islam have dietary laws that are similar with respects to killing animals. The Judaism dietary rule states that all of the will need to be butchered by sticking to the proper rules. That rule is that the throat of the animal will need to be cut quickly and in a kindhearted way. As stated by Judaism dietary law, the animal is believed to be non-kosher if appropriate practice of slaughtering is not done. Whenever the animal is killed, close examination of the corpse is done to find out rather or not the animal had any kind of defects or diseases. If the animal is discovered to have some kind of defect, then it is looked at as being be non-kosher and there it should not touched. The Islam dietary laws likewise necessitate the correct measures to be followed while killing an animal. Also, the animal is looked at as being Haram if appropriate killing actions are not done right .
When it comes to the Judaism dietary laws, kosher food is openly permitted to be spent while the Islamic dietary laws are unrestricted. Kashrut obviously describes the animals that are allowed which are animals that have split hooves and chew the cud and while, Halal there is not a clear meaning of limiting animals. The Quran merely clearly forbids animals and pork that have hooks are indirectly forbidden indicating that human beings can are able to eat these kinds of animals as camels .
Contrast between Islam and Jewish values
In contrast to Islam, the Jewish customs and beliefs are linked particularly with the Jewish People. Judaism intensely is against forcing their nation to serve another faith. Using the Islamic faith for encouraging young men and women to become suicide bombers shows the huge gap that is among Judaism and Islam. The Hebrew Bible does not allow slaying in the Ten Commandments and totally discards and condemns suicide. Nevertheless Judaism likewise mentions that "If one comes to kill you, then kill him” . This expression is a pertinent ethical monitor for handling with the current day terrorists.
There are a lot of different instances all throughout histories where the Jews were able to live in peace without no conflict with Muslims or any other group. At one time for over 400 years, Islam and Jews were able to get along without any wars but lived together in peace.
Conclusion
It is clear that Judaism and Islam have some similar things when it comes down to what they believe and certain customs. They also have many differences that appear to keep them apart. These differences appear to be more apparent than the things that are similar. These differences obvious go all the way back to the biblical days. Even though the bloodline of Judaism and Islam can be traced all the way back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, both groups do not seem to be putting away their conflicts anytime soon. In the end, it appears their differences are what will bring opposition among each other.
Bibliography
Alon, Ilai. Concepts of the other in Near Eastern religions. London: Philadephia: BRILL, 2004.
Blackburn, S. "Daughters of abraham: Feminist thought in judaism, christianity, and islam." The Muslim World 94.1 (n.d.): 148-150.
Bunzl, John. Judaism, and the political role of religions in the Middle East. Florida: University Press of Florida, 2004.
Cohn-Sherbok. Dan.Judaism: history, belief, and practice. London: Routledge, 2004.
Miller, G. J. "Mysticism in judaism, christianity, and islam: Searching for oneness." Choice 47.7 (2009): 1332-1333.
Smith, Debbie. Israel the People. New York City: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2008.
Thomas, Amelia. Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Victoria: Lonely Planet, 2010.
