Considering the Evidence: The Making of Christian Europe - Essay Example

The religious ties between Christianity and Islam are undeniable as they seem to share most of the teachings and beliefs, but the conversion to Christianity in Europe was a path full of hurdles, many ways were used to spread it with failures along the way but with time the masses came to accept the religion. The Hadiths state that any slave who serves his master earnestly and worships the Lord will be given double. Any person who shows concern to the less fortunate and the widows is just as good as anyone who goes to Jihad for Allah’s sake or who fasts by day and prays by night.

It is forbidden to look at a woman even if it is without a lustful eye and man has also been asked to put up patiently with any conduct hat he dislikes in his ruler. Those who can make a home have been called to get married and those who cannot to be steadfast in fasting so that they are not overcome by their passions. The Hadiths teach that to be shown tenderness, one has to show it to others as well and not to indulge in the things of this world but to await theirs in the world to come. It has also been written that anyone who partakes in wine and does not repent will be forbidden from being part of the world that is to come (Strayer and Robert, 2010) A notable difference in Christianity and Islam is that Christianity paid more attention to theology and correct belief while the Muslims emphasize on law and correct behavior.

The Muslims follow the sharia law to create a good society, which will provide the right environment for the Islam way of life (Coulson, 2011). In the issue of prayer, sharia dictates that a person must pray five times a day once they reach puberty and can reason well apart from women who have just given birth or are menstruating. Any person who owns property such as animals, agricultural produce, anything that can be sold, precious metals and so on should pay Zakat; these are the alms for the poor.

In case a person does not agree to pay he should be put to death but if his reasons are avarice, the amount due should be taken from them a sentence handed to them by a judge. The work of the Government according to sharia is; to maintain the religion, to ensure that legal judgments are applied so that a party is not oppressed. It should also protect the flock of its people to ensure economic prosperity and ensure that the punishments of law are applied. The process of making a Christian Europe was long and full of setbacks, mainly due to the fact that there were various versions of the faith.

The Franks who occupy the present France were under the leadership of Clovis. It was seen as a positive step towards defeat of paganism and marked as victory for what would come to be called Roman Catholic. It was during a war that Clovis noticed that his army was being destroyed that he cried out to God to grant them victory. The enemies began dispersing and with that Clovis acknowledged that God is all powerful in the trinity. Pope Gregory urged people to be accommodating of other religious practices around them especially the Anglo-Saxon people instead of being hostile to them (Strayer and Robert, 2010).

In the 9th century, the king of the Franks was Charlemagne and turned the kingdom into a Christian empire; however, he was not as accommodating as had been advised earlier; he tries for a long period to subdue the Anglo-Saxons. The