Introduction to Religious Traditions from the Middle East

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Introduction to Religious Traditions from the
Middle East
Judaism, Christianity, Islam
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Abrahamic Faiths

• The monotheistic faiths Judaism, Christianity,
  Islam that recognize a spiritual tradition
  identified with Abraham.
• Sometimes this also includes the Baháí Faith and
  the Druze.

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Over half of the worlds population
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Judaism
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Judaism

• Judaism is the foundation of the religious
  tradition that includes Christianity and Islam,
  along with minor groups such as the Bahai and
  Druze.
• Unlike its predecessors, Judaism is a blend of
  religion, culture, and ethnicity that defies easy
  classification.

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Where did Judaism come from?

• Date of beginning of Judaism unknown, but around
  1900 BCE
• Judaism originated in the ancient Fertile
  Crescent (Mesopotamia)
• Abraham is recognized as the first Hebrew
• The term ????? yehudi (meaning one from
  Judaea) is not used for several more centuries.

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Moses (??????)

• Moses is possibly the most important figure in
  the development of Jewish thought
• He leads the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt to
  the Promised Land
• While sojourning in the Sinai, he receives The
  Law from God

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Principles of Judaism

• Belief in one indivisible God
• Belief in Prophets
• Belief in Scriptures
• Belief in Reward and Punishment
• Israel as chosen for a purpose
• Belief in the purity of the soul

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Scripture (Tanakh)

• Torah The Books of Moses
• Neviim The Books of the Prophets
• Ketuvim (Writings)
• Oral Law the Mishnah, Toseftah, midrashim, and
  the Talmuds

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The Law in Judaism and Islam
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Practicing Judaism

• The principal place for Jewish prayer and
  religious observance is the home
• Traditional prayer includes the Amidah (standing)
  prayer three times per day.
• Communal prayer takes place in a temple or
  synagogue, traditionally on Monday, Thursday, and
  Sabbath mornings and afternoons, as well as new
  moons and religious festivals

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Keeping Kosher

• ????????? (kashrut) the use of ritually pure
  (kasher) food.
• Refers both to the way food is prepared as well
  as to certain types of food.
• There are numerous categories of clean and
  unclean (??????? - terepah) food.
• Among foods that are not kosher are pork, horse,
  shellfish, and any reptile or amphibian.

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Christianity
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Christianity

• Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism
  around 30 CE
• Early Christians identified strongly with
  Judaismincluding the use of synagogues for
  prayerbut began to form a separate and distinct
  identity within about 200 years
• Jesus is a prophet in Islam, second in importance
  only to Muhammad he is also recognized as the
  Messiah by Messianic Jews

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Yeshua - Jesus

• Jesus lived _at_ 6 BCE _at_ 26 CE in Roman Palestine
• There is debate as to his background and
  upbringing

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Jesus

• Christian doctrine states that
• Jesus was born to Mary, a member of the priestly
  family of King David
• Jesus preached against corruption and malpractice
  in the Temple in Jerusalem, and against the Roman
  leadership of Palestine
• For this, he was crucified as a criminal

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Jesus

• Most Christians believe that
• Mary was a virgin at the time of Jesus birth
  (also a tenet of Islam)
• That Jesus was the literal son of God
• That Jesus was also God himself (concept of the
  trinity)
• That three days after his crucifixion he rose
  from the dead and ascended into heaven
• That he will return to earth (the second coming)
  to bring about the Day of Judgment

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Major Christian Groups

• Roman Catholicism (1 billion members)
• Eastern Christianity, including the Eastern
  Orthodox churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches,
  and the Assyrian Church of the East (300 million
  members)
• Protestantism, including Anglicans, Lutherans,
  Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, etc. (600 million
  members)

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Major tenets of Christianity

• Monotheism
• Messiah
• Jesus as God and Man
• Holy Trinity
• Salvation
• Crucifixion and Resurrection
• Second Coming
• Afterlife

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Holy Trinity

• God is a single being who exists as three
  distinct persons God the Father, God the Son
  (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.

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Salvation

• Salvation from sin and death is available
  through acceptance of Jesus as savior.
• Salvation is a gift from Jesus through his divine
  grace.
• There is considerable disagreement between
  various churches and denominations about how
  salvation is obtained.

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Crucifixion and Resurrection

• Christians believe that Jesus was crucified on
  the cross and died for the sins of humanity
• 3 days later, he rose from the dead and ascended
  into heaven

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Second Coming

• There will be a General Resurrection at the end
  of time, in which all who ever lived will be
  raised from the dead and be judged by Jesus.
• Muslims share this view of the end of time.

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Afterlife

• After death (and, some churches maintain, the end
  of time), humans will be judged according to
  their deeds, and will be sent to heaven or hell
  accordingly.
• Some churches maintain that only the righteous
  will be resurrected and judged.

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Islam
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Basic Terms

• Islam the name of the faith
• Islamic an adjective used to describe non-human
  things related to Islam (Islamic text Islamic
  belief)
• Muslim an adjective used to describe human
  things related to Islam (Muslim man/woman
  Muslim nation)

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10 Countries with the largest Muslim population

1. Indonesia (170 million)
2. Pakistan (136 million)
3. Bangladesh (106 million)
4. India (103 million)
5. Turkey (63 million)
6. Iran (61 million)
7. Egypt (55 million)
8. Nigeria (47 million)
9. China (37 million)
10. Ethiopia (34 million)

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Where did Islam come from?

• Muhammad (570 - 632 CE) was/is the prophet of
  Islam.
• He lived in Makkah (Mecca), now in modern Saudi
  Arabia, a wealthy trading and pilgrimage center.
• Muhammad had a reputation as a just and honest
  man.
• Muslims believe that God revealed the Quran
  (recitations) to Muhammad beginning in 610 and
  continuing for the rest of his life

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Major Tenets of Islam

• Belief in God
• Belief in Gods Prophets and Messengers
• Belief in Scripture
• Belief in Angels and Unseen Beings
• Belief in the Day of Judgment and Afterlife
• Belief in Fate and Predestination

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Belief in God (????)

• God has no conceivable form or gender (God is
  called he because Allah is grammatically
  masculine) God was neither begotten nor has God
  begot
• Muslims believe that the god of the Quran is the
  same as YHWH of the Hebrew Scripture and New
  Testament

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Belief in Gods prophets and messengers

• The line of Prophets begins with Adam (???) and
  includes all prophets of the Old and New
  Testaments, including
• Abraham (??????? - Ibrahim)
• Moses (???? - Musa)
• Mary (???? - Maryam)
• Jesus (???? - Issa)

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Belief in Scripture

• The Quran (????)is the definitive scripture, as
  it is the literal word of God, in the language of
  revelation (Arabic)
• The religious texts of Judaism and Christianity
  are Divine in origin, but their message has been
  corrupted between revelation and the time it was
  written down.

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The Five Pillars

• Statement of Faith
• Prayer
• Fasting
• Charity
• Pilgrimage
• Struggle

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Prayer - Salah (????)

• Personal prayer takes place 5 times daily at
  proscribed times sunrise, noon, mid-afternoon,
  sunset, and night.
• A prayer cycle, or rakaah, takes about five to
  ten minutes. Each prayer-time includes a set
  number of proscribed rakaat.

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Fasting Sawm (????)

• Healthy adults should fast during the Islamic
  month of Ramadan (the 9th month of the Islamic
  calendar), from sunrise to sunset.
• This means no eating, drinking, smoking,
  profanity, sexual activity, or impure thoughts.
• Children, the elderly, pregnant or menstruating
  women, or adults with health problems are not
  required to fast.

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Charity zakat (????)

• Similar to the Christian tithe, zakat is money
  given to the mosque or a charitable organization
  yearly, traditionally at the end of Ramdan.
• Zakat is calculated at 2.5 of excess income
  yearly.
• The money is supposed to be used to help the less
  fortunate, and not for upkeep on the mosque.

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Pilgrimage hajj (?????)

• Adult Muslims who can afford to do so are
  strongly encouraged to visit Makkah to perform
  the hajj rites.

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Struggle jihad (????)

• Defense of the cause of God
• Although frequently translated as holy war,
  jihad involves much more than military or armed
  fighting
• The lesser jihad involves fighting to protect
  Islam from attack or oppression. In such
  fighting, no woman, child or innocent civilian is
  to be harmed, and no tree is to be cut down.
  Shi'as believe that only Prophet Muhammad and the
  twelve Imams had authority to declare positive
  jihad of the lesser kind.

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Struggle jihad (????)

• The greatest jihad is said to be the struggle
  for ones own soul