Judaism and Islam - Research Paper Example

?Judaism and Islam Introduction Among the many existing religions in the world, perhaps there are no other two religions that have been at odds with each other aside from Islam and Judaism. They seem to be born enemies. This paper shall look into the customs and traditions of Judaism and Islam along with the formation of the sacred texts of the two religions. This paper aims to see the similarities and differences between two as well as if there is any hope towards an end to the animosity between the two religions. Most importantly, this paper shall try to find if there is any common ground between the two religions where members of each faith may co-exist in peace. Judaism Among the major religions in the world, Judaism can be said to have the oldest and richest history. Since the biblical times until the twentieth century, the Jews were persecuted, driven off of their land and then returned to their promised land. It is like the biblical story replayed again and again. The most basic of sacred texts of Judaism is the Torah. Depending on the context in which it is used, the term “Torah” may denote the meaning of either teaching or law (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs). It is also referred to as the Pentateuch because it is composed of the five books of Moses, namely, The Book of Genesis, The Book of Exodus, The Book of Leviticus, The Book of Numbers, and The Book of Deuteronomy (Jewish Globe). Interestingly, these books are also found in the bible used by Christians and the accounts contained in these books can also be found in the Moslem Qur’an. In terms of its creation, the Jews believe that the Torah was written by Moses as it was revealed to him sometime in 1380 BCE (Jewish Globe). They believe that the words contained in the Torah are the very words of God; they are not mere words of men who were inspired by God. The Torah contains the words of God himself. For this reason, the Torah is revered as the holiest of all the holy documents of Judaism. As a matter of fact, once it is destroyed and rendered unserviceable, it is given a ceremonial burial. A case in point is the elaborate burial of 11 Torah scrolls that were destroyed by fire in July 2010 in Bnei Brak, a city located on the east of Tel Aviv, Israel. Members of the faith mourned the scrolls’ destruction during an electrical fire at the synagogue. They placed death notices around the city and the burial rite which was attended by several rabbis and thousands of ultra-orthodox Jews made headlines around Israel. (Ettinger) It is worth noting that the Jewish tradition invest a lot of time, energy and resources in order to reproduce their sacred texts as they appear in original form. Especially in reproducing scrolls for use in the synagogues, they still use the traditional materials, namely, the parchment paper and quill pens of the ancient times. Even the manner, the method and the stroke of writing the texts are maintained in its original appearance. As a matter of fact, the Jews take pride that “the oldest known parchments (the Dead Sea Scrolls, produced shortly before the Common Era) are virtually identical to those produced today” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Judaism has several sacred texts. At the pinnacle of the hierarchy of sacred texts is the Torah. The other sacred texts in Judaism are the Nevi’im and the Ketuvim. Together with the Torah, these three sacred texts form the Jewish Bible known as the Tanakh. Unlike the Torah which is the word of God that was revealed unto Moses, both the Nevi’im and the Ketuvim were written by prophets over an extensive period of time from the thirteenth century BCE to the sixth century BCE. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) In order to assist the faithful in reading and understanding the laws contained in the collective body of sacred texts called the Tanakh, religious and biblical scholars make commentaries on specific texts, words and lines in the Tanakh. Called the Targumim, these commentaries are “interpretive and contain fragments of exegesis and legend” and made an integral part of the Tanakh itself. Then there is also the Mishna and the Talmudim which are used to supplement the laws contained in the Tanakh. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) In essence, the Torah teaches about “the absolute unity of God, His creation of the world and His concern for it, and His everlasting covenant with the people of Israel” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs). This belief in monotheism is at the very core of Judaism. On this issue, they disagree with Christianity which believes in the three-person God, namely, the God the Father who created the universe, the God the Son in the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Jews believe that God is divine and that there is only one God. His divinity will never be shared by anything else, much less a human being. Like all other religions, Judaism also practices several religious customs and traditions. This includes the circumcision of newborn sons in a ritual called Brit Milah. Another notable Jewish custom is the Mikovaot which is practiced by married Jewish women. It is a cleansing ritual that is performed after the woman’s monthly menstruation period wherein the woman dips herself into a cleansing bath before she is allowed to resume to her marital obligation to her husband. (Jewish Globe) The Jews also have prohibitions when it comes to food. They are not allowed to eat in the same meal dishes that contain meat and dairy products. These foods must be eaten separately in separate meals. Jews are also prohibited from eating pork and animal blood. Finally, the meat that they eat must come from animals that have been slaughtered according the prescribed manner. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Finally, the most striking feature of Judaism is their belief that man is saved through the performance of good deeds. They do not look at themselves as assured of a seat in heaven and look at the members of the other religions as people doomed for hell. Judaism is both a religion and a way of life; hence it is for the person to decide whether or not to join them in their faith. Jews do not actively seek out converts. The convert must seek to be accepted into the faith. It is worth noting that membership in Judaism takes a positive act of applying for membership into the faith which must be approved by the religious authorities. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Islam Unlike Judaism which has an extensive collection of sacred texts, the religion of Islam has only one sacred text which is the Qur’an. However, like the Jewish Torah, the Moslems believe that the Qur’an contains the words of Allah as told by Allah to the prophet Mohammed within a twenty year period starting from 610 AD and ended in 632 AD when the prophet died. Hence, the Qur’an is the perfect and exact copy of the words of Allah. The faithful Moslem also believe that Allah has the original copy of the Qur’an and the Qur’an in their possession is the exact replica of the one held by Allah in all his glory (One Islam). According to Moslem beliefs, the entire contents of the Qur’an were recited by Mohammed that was then transcribed by his followers. These actual words of Allah were either placed by Allah into the memory of Mohammed or taught to the prophet by the Angel Gabriel (Flesher). The term Qur’an is an Arabic word meaning recitation (One Islam). When the Qur’an was written, it was from the words recited by the prophet Mohammed. This literature on the origin of the Qur’an is the root of several major beliefs in Islam. First, they believe that the words contained in the Qur’an are the actual words of God; hence they are holy by themselves. Second, the message that these words convey are the laws of God; hence they are holy and sacred. Third, the very act of memorizing and reciting passages of the Qur’an which was recited from memory by the prophet Mohammed is a holy act of worship and therefore desirable. Finally, like the first followers of Mohammed who worshipped Allah by listening to the prophet Mohammed recite the passages, it is a holy act of worship to listen to someone, especially to the Imam. True to their religious beliefs, Moslems memorize the entire part of the Quran which deals with their daily prayer rituals and way of life. This part of the Quran is called the Fatihah (Flesher). Not surprisingly, because of their belief that the words of the Quran are the words of God, translating the Qur’an into the local languages of the believers are out of the question. Anywhere around the world, Moslems read and recite the Qur’an in the Arabic language. The word Allah is the Arabic word for God. Moslems would want to recite the very words of Allah himself although they do not understand what the words mean. Judaism vs. Islam Although we are mostly aware of the animosity that exists between Islam and Judaism, it is important to note that these two religions share a number of similarities in terms of their religious beliefs and practices. First, both religions prohibit the consumption of pork and the performance of a prescribed ritual in the killing of the animals that are allowed to be consumed for food. Second, although they call their Gods by different names, both religions adhere to monotheism, that is, the belief in the existence of only one God and one God alone. Third, they both believe that their sacred texts, namely the Torah and the Qur’an, are the exact words of God, therefore they must be preserved in form, language, and even appearance in almost exact replica of the original. However, perhaps due to the animosity between the two religions which is even traced back to the original conflict between their ancestors, namely Isaac for the Jews and Ishmael for the Moslems, the two religions focus on their differences although it would seem that their similarities far outweigh their differences. On top of the list is their disagreement with regard to the conversion of people into their faith. Moslems wage wars in order to convert people into Islam whereas Jews are specifically instructed not to convince much less coerce other people to join them in their faith. As aforementioned, adhering to Judaism requires the positive act of the person who wishes to join in much the same way that a person exercises positive act in order to be a naturalized citizen of another country. (Arab-Israeli Conflict) Their second dissimilarity is in the belief of Jesus Christ who is the second persona in the three-person God of Christianity. While Judaism completely shuns Jesus either as a divine son of God or a prophet, Islam believes in Jesus Christ not as a God but as a prophet. On the one hand, for Jews Jesus was an ordinary man who misrepresented himself as a prophet; hence he deserved to die by crucifixion. On the other hand, Islam accepts that Jesus was a prophet of Allah. (Religion Facts) Conclusion Judaism and Islam are two different religions with different names for their Gods and different sets of belief. Islam and Judaism have been at odds which each other which is intensified by the Arab-Israli conflict in the Middle East. However, we have seen that they also share some similarities which could serve as the starting point for their peaceful co-existence. If only members of each religion let go of pride and stop regarding their own group as the only saved race because they have the one and true religion, then wars that are wage in the name of and in defense of religion could have been avoided. The keyword here is respect. Respect for fellowmen. Respect for the beliefs of others. Respect for the religion of one’s fellowmen. And most important of all, we need to have respect for the life of a fellow human being. If all members of the different religions agree to respect one another; if all simply respect the fact that they disagree on some points, and respect this disagreement, then we would finally be living in peace. Works Cited: Ettinger, Y. Thousands expected at Bnei Brak funeral for Torah scrolls. July 10, 2010, Haaretz.com. Accessed on July 25, 2011. available at http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/thousands-expected-at-bnei-brak-funeral-for-torah-scrolls-1.317587 Flesher, P. Holy Texts and Sacred Tales (1998). Accessed on July 25, 2011. Available at http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/islam/Itexts.htm Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jewish Sacred Texts. Accessed on July 25, 2011. available at http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/People/Jewish+Sacred+Texts.htm Israeli Science and Technology Directory. Arab-Israeli Conflict: Role of Religion (1999). Accessed on July 25, 2011. Available at http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict-2.asp#Jewish-values Jewish Globe. Torah - The Religious Text of Judaism. Accessed on July 25, 2011. available at http://www.jewishglobe.com/Torah.html One Islam.Org. Qur’an. One Islam.Org (2009). Accessed on July 25, 2011. Available at http://one-islam.org/religion_islam/texts.htm Religion Facts. Comparison of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Accessed on July 25, 2011. Available at http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm Read More