What are the similarities between Islam and Judaism?

[TKramar]

Both are monotheistic. Both have a holy book. Both consider Abraham to be a primary figure. Both believe in a form of afterlife.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

There are the many differences between the Christian version of the Jewish Bible and the Jewish version of the Jewish Bible:

I surely didn't mean to overlook the translation issues, the textual differences between the septuagint based texts and the Masoretic texts, or even the questions of "apocraphal" books.

Or profound differences in interpretation, which occur even where translation is not the principle issue.

I think the shared narratives, SOME shared commandments, etc, contribute to making the idea of a "judeo-christian" heritage not a completely wacky idea, though I am aware of course of challenges to it. The Jewish views on this do NOT always accord with a "ref-cons-Orthodox" continuum. For example, Leo Baeck, who was Reform/Progressive, emphasized the differences, while Franz Rosenzweig, who defended the binding quality of Halacha, emphasized a positive relationship between Judaism and Christianity.

Note, when I speak here of a Judeo-Christian heritage, I am mainly thinking of the idea as it was important to early Reform jews, not the politicized notion used by some Americans today as a stick against Islam.

[brooklynborndad]

"This is an example of true Christian peace & love, I suppose? Obviously I understand all religions have violence in their histories, but anyone who knows anything about history realizes the Jews (and historically the Muslims) are typically on the receiving end... Spanish Inquisition, Holocaust, Crusades, Russian Pogroms, etc. That's the whole reason my ancestors got the HECK out of Russia, as they were tired of being persecuted and murdered for their beliefs. That would get old after a while, don't you think?"


The usual defense of the crusaders for that, is that that was the standard way a siege ended in the 11th century - when you besieged a city, you offered to let it surrender - if it did not, and the siege/assault succeeded, killing and looting everyone and everything was fair game. This was true of christian on christian sieges, muslim on muslim etc. Though one MIGHT expect that they would have done things different in Jerusalem.

I would not say muslims have been particularly on the receiving end. As rulers of states, they engaged in quite a lot of violence. Sometimes religiously motivated (if not as much as the Islamophobes think) mostly not. But then most Christian violence wasnt religiously motivated either. Even in the crusader periods. Richard the Lion hearted spent about as much time putting down rebel vassals in Poitou as he did fighting Saladin, for example.

As for us Jews, for most of the the last 2000 years we havent been tested, because we were not sovereign anywhere (I will focus on Jews as a nation, not on individuals) Which is why the experiment of Israel is so important. Will we act there as a light unto the nations, or will be just like the "goyim"?