I wrote in a previous blog entry about Islam and Christianity, and I wanted to take the time to make one point that I think is very important for both camps to consider.

For 1400 years, virtually ever since the day Muhammad became filled with the fire of revelation and personal conviction, Christianity and Islam have been at odds. Holy wars, crusades, jihads, inquisitions . . . Islam and Christianity have shared a history of mutual hatred, misunderstanding, and violence that has marred human history over the centuries--and threatens in this decade to bring human civilization to its knees.

Let me set the record straight, ladies and gentlemen: Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

Whatever you've heard about Allah being some sort of pagan moon God (or, if you're Muslim, whatever you've heard about Christians following the ravings of a lunatic) is ridiculous. In Arabic, "Allah" is simply "God"--there is no connotation beyond that. The word "Islam" itself simply means "submission to God".

What does the word "Christ" mean? It means "Messiah," which means "Anointed One." It was the ancient Israeli promise of a restoration to power made manifest--and Christians ("those who are submitted to Christ") believe that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled these prophetic expectations.

Let's look at the 5 pillars of Islam, which Christians often point at as evidence that Islam is a restrictive regime:

The prayer--3 times a day--about there being no God but Allah, and Muhammad being his prophet, is really not that different (in substance and practice) from Christian prayers like "Now I lay me down to sleep/I pray the Lord my soul to keep" or "God is great/God is good/Now we thank him for our food" that many Christian families teach their children to recite 1-3 times a day in their households. (BTW, it is my understanding that in Islam, Muhammad is not worshipped--only acknowledged as the last prophet of God, but also one of many others, including Moses, Isaiah, and the other men of the Bible.)

Weekly fasting and annual observance of Ramadan are no different (in substance or form) from the millennia-old Christian practice of weekly fasting (traditionally on Fridays) and Lent.

Moreover, the hajj every Muslim is required to make to the city of Mecca is not very different from the individual pilgrimages that Christians make to sites of religious and spiritual signficance for themselves, such as places of martyrdom or places, like Palestine, where Jesus walked.



Am I advocating pluralism here?

No--after all, I follow Jesus, and I believe Jesus to be exactly what my Muslim brothers claim he is not--the Messiah, and the Son of God.

However, I would like to suggest that the differences between Islam and Christianity (either in substance or in application over the centuries) really amount to one thing--whether or not one believes that Jesus was (and is) the Messiah . . . and nothing more than that. Christianity has had ample opportunities to show Christian love, charity, and respect to peoples of the world who subscribe to other beliefs--and to date, our performance in this regard has been egregiously poor.

Before we criticize the Osama bin Ladens and al-Zarqawis of the world for using religious ideals for violent purposes . . . maybe we'd better examine our own history (past and present) for similar abuses.