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CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

Christianity began in the Middle East where Jesus was born. The religion centers on

Jesus Christ whose ministry lasted for three years. Many people saw him as the messiah and the

son of God who was sent down to deliberate the world from captivity. They viewed him as the

chosen one. Jesus grew to be a revolutionary leader and it was for this reason that the roman

leaders saw him as a threat to law and order. He was at some point crucified during his latter

days before he resurrected and ascended into heaven, according to the Christian belief. Belief in

the resurrection of Christ is one of the pillars of the Christian faith. During his lifetime and

ministry Jesus had gathered around himself a group of disciples and women followers. It’s

believed that after his resurrection, he confined upon them the Holy Spirit who provided them

with rigor to spread the new religion. (Williams)

The origin of the Christian faith has been a subject scrutiny and massive research. Many

conflicting theories have been developed but the main source of information in the Christian

history, which has provided near-accurate information, is the Bible. Jesus was born in the Middle

East which was then referred to as Bethlehem. After Jesus’ death it was spread into the whole

Mediterranean world by apostles and disciples. The apostles went to Corinth (Asia Minor),

Ephesus, Antioch and other towns of the Mediterranean. By 1000 CE, Christianity had spread

through the Roman Empire, then encompassing a large area of Europe, the Middle East and

North Africa. In these years, Christianity faced persecution and this was acute under Emperor
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Nero (1000 BCE-1000 CE), Domitian (81-96AD), Marcus Aurelius (161-181 AD) and

Diocletian Galerius (303-311). These emperors where against Christianity. In spite of the

persecutions, the spread of Christianity was not deterred. (cameron 545)

There are many reasons that led to the spread of Christianity. To mention a few, we

firstly realize that the nature of the Roman Empire was torn apart and the disruption of its

citizens led them to seek refuge in the new religion. Furthermore, most doctrines that were in this

new-found faith showed compelling matches with older faiths and their respective beliefs.

Solidarity among Christian believers was also seen as a factor that encouraged new followers to

join the faith through the torturous persecutions the earlier believers went through coupled by the

bravery they displayed in enduring such nerve wrecking experiences. Linguistics involved in the

faith also led to its spread as most people at that time had high proficiency in Latin and Greek

which were the main modes of communication by Christian activists. Coupled with the special

attraction it had to the poor and oppressed in the society, together with the excellent road

network and relative peace created by the Romans, ideas and people spread faster to vast

geographical regions. (Williams)

As time passed by we see that Christianity developed to be part of people customs and

this brought about both advantages and disadvantages with regard to its beliefs. On the positive

side, the apostle’s mission was indeed fulfilled and the gospel was spread throughout the ends of

the earth however, seeing as we are all humans and that we all have different opinions regarding

issues of our beliefs, rifts were created and Christianity split into various denominations that are

now present in the earth. Each subscribes to its own set of doctrinal positions. In order to

examine the beliefs of Christianity as an entity we therefore look at the core doctrines which
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encompasses of the belief that there is only one God who is all-knowing, all-powerful and

omnipresent, that there exists a trinity of God the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit, God the

father is eternal and is also regarded as the creator of the earth. Man is also seen to be sinful by

nature but finds redemption through the Holy Spirit. God is regarded as a forgiving God as he

created man in His own image and likeness. In the end, it is believed that God will create a new

heaven and earth whereby there will be no existence of sin. (cameron)

Islam beginnings started out in the 7th century and has since been a social and political

force to reckon with within the North African and Middle East republics. It was introduced by

Prophet Mohammed shortly after 1000 BCE Prophet Mohammed was an orphan at an early age

and was adopted and brought up by his uncle who was a Bedoin. The Bedouins were nomadic

people, a lifestyle that had great influence in Mohammed’s way of thinking.Mecca,

Mohammed’s birthplace was a very important pilgrim center at the time as it was a trading town

that lay between the caravan routes linking parts of North and South Arabia. (Geertz)

Mohammed, under the mentorship of his uncle became a merchant and married a widow

named Khadija. He was mostly concerned with the moral code that was being eroded by the

lifestyle of his community especially through the practice of polytheism. This disturbed him

greatly. In his escapades of meditation in a nearby cave, he repeatedly received visions from God

(Allah) which urged him to spread the news of God. In his preaching, he condemned traditional

Arab beliefs and attacked the corrupt society around him. Many feared that this would shake the

political and social order of the land and thus he received hostility and disapproval in return from

his people. After his preaching, he only managed to salvage 30 believers. (Geertz)

Mohammed retreated north to Yathrib.His flight marked the beginning of the Islamic

calendar. In 930 BEC Mohammed returned to his native home (Mecca) and finally conquered
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it.converting people to his new faith. He died just as Islam was beginning to spread throughout

the peninsula and into North Africa. (Geertz)

The ethical codes of Islam laid down 5 principles called the pillars of Islam. They include

confession, prayer, giving of alms to the poor and destitute in the society, fasting and

pilgrimage .Pilgrimage involves visiting Mecca at least once in one’s lifetime to worship God.

(Bonner)

Mohammed’s preaching resulted in the formation of one great book that consists of the

guidelines of the Muslim lifestyle, The Quran, an equivalent of the Christian Bible.

In today’s modern society, Muslims are seen to coexist peacefully with others who may

or not be believers of their faith. Though there have been many controversies regarding the faith

and its peaceful lifestyle with regard to terrorism and extremists found in the religion, the leaders

in the Islamic world insist that Islam is a faith based on peace and tranquility. Terms such as

“Kafir” are used by the Islamic community to refer to people who have rejected the word of God

and do not believe in the existence of a supreme being. (Geertz)

One of aspect of which has helped Islam to spread is the concept of Jihad which means

“to struggle in the way of Allah”. The term has had wide implications over the years

stretching over the boundaries of violent and non-violent meanings. It involves both

spiritual and warfare struggles which are distinctly aimed at protecting and conserving

the faith of Islam and is guided by a variety of rules which have been subject to

interpretation to different Muslims on how to conduct jihadism as a form of Holy War. It

should be noted that it is done mainly to conserve peace and to attain a higher purpose of

life. (Bonner)

References
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Bonner, Michael. Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice. Princeton University Press,
2008.
cameron, Averil. Christianity and the Rhetoric of Empire: The Development of Christian
Discourse. Carlifonia: University of Carlifonia Press, 1994.
Geertz, Clifford. slam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1971, 1971.

Williams, Walter. The Historical Origin of Christianity. Walter Williams, 1992, Mar 1, 1992.