The question of the relationship between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism is one of the most sensitive aspects of interreligious relations in modern society. Many claim that these religions are very similar, if not almost identical, in their nature, as all three worship the same deity disguised under different names. True, these religions stem from a universal, Abrahamic origin, and do have some prominent similarities in their doctrines. However, I cannot agree with the claim that they all are the same – a deeper analysis reveals that despite many cognate features, each religion is inherently different in its teachings from the others.
Differences in Origins
Judaism originates from the Israelites who were led by Moses to the Promised Land during their Exodus from Egypt. It is said that the first Jew was Abraham, and Israelites are his descendants – children of his son Jacob. Moses and Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years, and during this time, God passed the Torah onto Moses as a means to guide and discipline the people. The Torah contained both religious teachings and laws to manage the society. Thus, Judaism and the Torah emerged as a means of liberation – a teaching given to enslaved people to empower them and give them laws to regulate themselves.
The first and greatest Islamic prophet, Muhammad, a merchant in the city of Mecca, began receiving revelations from God in the form of the Quran rather unexpectedly. It is said that Allah contacted him and ordered to write and spread His words to other people, despite Muhammad being illiterate. As a result, Muhammad began to preach and convert the people of Mecca to Muslims, where he opposed the Judaism and the Jews with the new religion. All desert tribes united around Muhammad, and after his death, further religious narratives emerged from various other prophets in form of hadiths. One can say that Islam arose as a contradiction to Judaism, to oppose the beliefs of Jews, which were rather foreign to the tribesmen and people of Mecca, and offer a more appealing religious teaching.
Christianity stems from the Judaism’s doctrines of the 1st century, as it began developing in Syria and Palestine. It was established as a means to confront the polytheism of Roman Empire who conquered most of Europe and several African countries, and imposed their beliefs on the people. Roman religion was ultimately foreign to Syrian and Palestinian Jews who were strictly monotheistic and believed in the God Yahweh. The faith in Jesus Christ arose as the last means of liberation – the Jews believed he would free them as one true prophet of God’s will and his heir on Earth.
Differences in Beliefs and Worldviews
There are many contradictions between the teachings of these three major world religions, even in mundane matters. For example, they perceive marriage and family differently: polygamy is forbidden in Christianity, while it is legal in Judaism and Islam. The culture of architecture and eating habits varies between these religions: Christians have Roman architecture; Muslims’ traditional architecture of Medina and Judaism appeal to the ancient Jewish architecture. Moreover, both Christianity and Judaism have denominations with different teachings such as Catholicism, Protestantism, and other branches, in contrast to Islam, where the teaching is universal.
Christians believe in the Holy Trinity of God, His Son, and Holy Spirit, while Judaism and Islam believe in God as one and only. Muslims pray at fixed times, while Christians pray according to their own will. Jews offer their prayers to God in synagogues led by prayer leaders; Muslims do it facing Mecca as the historical center of their religion. Christians believe in the universality of God’s presence and therefore they do not require any specific directions or places to pray, while Jews usually need to face a sacred altar, usually in front of synagogue. All these differences might seem insignificant, but ultimately, the mass of them constitutes the fundamental distinctions between the three religions.