Christianity and Islam
Keara Mcknight
Intro to Sociology, semester 1, Class 131 B
Professor L. Scola
October 5, 2012
I've chosen to compare my religion (Christianity) with Islam. My main reason in doing this is to understand the absolute difference in the two religions and why there is conflict between them. This research will help me answer the question I have been wanting to know for a while now. Throughout my essay I will give information about each religion in what makes them different and similar. By the end of my research I hope to have my answers. From birth I was raised as a Christian, there was a point in my life that I thought it was the only religion that existed. Christianity surrounds its self around the Son of God, which is Jesus, the Messiah or Savior. In The Bible tells of how "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"("Holy Bible, NIV" John 3:16). Even though Christianity began once God said "Let there be light"(Genesis 1:3), to me it really began at the birth of Jesus. Being that Jesus was born here on Earth marked the first coming, after his death, we as Christians are living our life according to the Bible and waiting on the second coming (The Rapture ), when Jesus returns. We live our life based on the Bible which has information on how to live our life the Christian way, for instance the 10 commandments that tell of what we should and shouldn't do, like never to hate and treat your neighbors how you want to be treated. Whatever this book says needs to be done to have eternal life, we do it, like being born again a process of professing your sins, believing that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, giving your life to God, and also being baptized (signalizing being cleansed). Being that my Uncle Shawn is a Muslim I decided to research Islam to get to know what this religion is about. Islam means 'Submission to the will of God' ("Islam") who they call Allah. The believers of Islam are called Muslims or Moslems and they believe that in whatever they do, it should be under the obedience of God, like the government, society, and life in general. Muslim's study the Qur'an, which is believed to be the message from God delivered through Mohammad. To Muslim's God is believed to be the one and only with no partner assisting him, the creator of all things and which he reigns over. There are rules to being of the Islamic faith, The 5 Pillars of Islam, for example are duties that need to be fulfilled. The First is Shahada (profession of faith) this is the recruiting of the Muslim creed, ‘There is no god but God’ and ‘Mohammed is the Messenger of God’ ("Islam"). Salat a formal prayer must be done every day 5 times a day facing the city of Mecca, Zakat is the purification in which you share your wealth according to the rules discussed in the Qur'an, Saum is Fasting during Ramadan, which this year began Thursday, July 19, 2012, and ended in the evening of Saturday, August 18, 2012("Google"). Lastly the Hajj or 'pilgrimage to Mecca' ("Islam") which should be done at least once in a lifetime. As I researched Islam I seen more similarities than differences when compared to Christianity. Just as The Qur'an is called the word of God, so is The Bible, This just being one of many similarities. Fasting is also common among both faiths but the only thing that is done differently is that Muslims have a specific time in when they fast and Christians usually fast during hardship, to get closure to God, or when waiting on a Blessing. Prayer is done with Christians whenever they want, there isn't a specified time telling them when to pray, how many times to pray, and where to face when praying, as the Muslims have. There is a belief of heaven and hell among both religions, and even though the Christians believe the story of Abraham willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac, they don't