Similarities between Judaism and Islam?

Question

What are some similarities between Judaism and Islam?
No idiotic answers please.

lol im talking about the similarities. I already know how Islam was created, so you dont have to give me false, or should i say pathetic & false ideological answers.

No Allah does not mean "moon god" lol, it means God, which is the same God the Jewish people believe in, as the One.

Answer 1

Hmm both were allowed polygamy. Judaism does not allow it now, based on rulings by the rabbi's (except for a select minor few), as far as I know Islam still allows it.

Both religions require there meat to come from an animal that was ritually slaughtered. I am not familiar with Islams exact customs in that regard.

Both religions require their males to be circumcised. Judaism by eight days old, barring any medical reasons. That law is based on Isaac being circumcised by his eighth day. Islam by thirteen years of age, based on Ishmael being circumcised when he was thirteen years of age.

Truthfully there are a lot of similarities and historically Muslims and Jews got along a lot better than Christians and Jews. This tension (the Middle Eastern hotbed) is relatively recent!

Here are some sites you might find helpful in understanding more about Judaism.

http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/
www.chabad.org
www.askmoses.com

Answer 2

Why say something new on an issue when someone has already said it perfectly? The following answer is not my own work, but rather is borrowed from www.simpletoremember.com, and originates from www.aish.com (both websites are run by the same organization). I recommend both websites for people seeking a better understanding of Judaism, and the former in particular for those seeking to understand what distinguishes Judaism from other religions.

Okay, so to answer your question as to how Judaism and Islam are similar and different:

Islam, like Christianity, accepts the Jewish Bible

(I'm going to have to interrupt here to clarify the above statement as I feel it may be easily misinterpreted. Islam acknowledges the validity of much of Jewish scripture, including the Torah, which consists of the first five books of the Bible, and the Psalms of King David, which are called "Zabbur" in Arabic -- however, the prevailing belief among Muslims is that these scriptures, and those of Christianity, have been corrupted by Jews and Christians respectively. The paradox this creates within Islamic theology is beyond the scope of this answer. Now, back to the essay:)

and is based largely upon Jewish ideas and traditions. The philosophical underpinnings of Islam, however, are more closely aligned with those of Judaism. Whereas Christianity incorporates the idea of the "trinity," Islam believes in one all-powerful, infinite God.

Mohammed, the founder of Islam, based many of his beliefs on the practices of local Jewish population in his native Mecca. For example, the Moslem practices of not eating pig, circumcision, daily prayer and fasting during the first month of the year were all culled directly from Judaism.

Since Islam was so similar to Judaism, Mohammed assumed the Jews would immediately accept this new religion. When the Jews did not live up to his expectations, he turned violently against them and many Jews died by the sword. (We are still suffering from this today; may there be peace soon.)

The real difference between the two religions, however, lies in their basis for belief. Judaism is based on the unique historical event of a divine revelation experienced by the entire nation. Whereas Islam is based on the prophetic claims of a single individual who subsequently convinced others to follow his ways.

Talmudic tradition says that while Abraham's son Isaac became the forefather of the Jewish people, the Islamic line is descended from Abraham's other son Ishmael.

Maimonides states that the popularity of Christianity and Islam are part of God's plan to spread the ideals of Torah throughout the world. This moves society closer to a perfected state of morality and toward a greater understanding of God. All of this is in preparation for the Messianic age.

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I hope you find this information helpful.

Answer 3

The Five Pillars of Islam are all based off things in Judaism.

1. Shahada--declaration of faith. In Judaism, we have something called the Shma, which we are called to recite several times a day, just as Muslims must recite the Shahada...although the Shma is much longer than the Shahada, they both serve the same purpose.

2. Salah--praying 5 times a day. In Judaism, Jewish males are required to pray three times a day.

3. Zaka--almsgiving. In Judaism, we have tzdekah, which translates to justice, but is charity. We are required to give between 10 and 20% of our income to the less fortunate.

4. Sawm--fasting. In Judaism, we fast to remember the horrible things that have befallen the Jewish people and also to make ourselves closer to G-d on Yom Kippur.

5. Hajj--pilgrimage. Just as Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lives, so are Jews required to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times a year (if they can)

Answer 4

On the surface, it would seem that Islam gets its roots from Judaism, being, as it is claimed, an Abrahamic religion.

However, Islam is more rooted in paganism than in Judaism. The Allah in Islam is not the same as YHVH in Judaism.

However, it should be noted that Islam does practice similar, if not greater, legalism than even Judaism. The Qur'an, thankfully, tells us under what circumstances and with what force Muslims can beat their woman and kill those who don't bow down to their crescent moon god, Allah. It's a veritable treasure trove of bloodshedding.

Of course, there is some difference between the two major denominations of Islam, the Sunni and Shi'a, but they more or less both comply with the Qur'an.

*****

I am not saying that Allah *means* moon god. I'm saying that Allah *is* a moon god. Muhammed picked and chose what he wanted for his god and, at the time, a combination of the moon god (who went by many names) and YHVH seemed to him to be most appropriate. To this day, Muslims either refuse to acknowledge this, or are largely ignorant of it.

Answer 5

Serious answer.

Mohammed made up Islam. The whole thing is a the ultimate male mid-life crisis dream. 72 virgins after death, making women second (or third) class citizens, polygamy, etc.

When he fabricated his religion he used bits and pieces from other religions he had been exposed to. Mohammed had been to Jerusalem and he had known Jews in Mecca and Medina so he stole from both Jewish and Christian theology, as well as from Arab Pagan theology (hence the whole "Satanic Verses" problem... and no I'm not talking about the book).

So there are bits and pieces in there that he stole from Jewish theology...one of the things he stole is the idea of Kosher food... Moslems call it Halal, but the rules are almost a direct copy. The other thing that was stolen was the idea of Jerusalem as a holy city. (At one point VERY early in Islamic history Moslems were supposed to pray towards Jerusalem, but after he took Mecca that was changed IIRC). In fact the whole idea that the Dome of the Rock is an Islamic holy site was an invention that came about after Mohammed died. It is due to a fanciful legend that was invented so that the Moslems could have a holy site there, along side the real religions.

Answer 6

They both believe that Abram had a revelation of the one God that created everything that is seen and unseen. Other than that they are vastly different and have been warring against each other ever since.

Answer 7

we both believe that Jesus isnt God and that we each are responsible for our OWN sins. Also, we both share the "kosher/halal" principle and we dont eat pork and certain other foods.

We have a lot of things in common, its really too bad for political differences.

Answer 8

They pray 4 Christians.

Answer 9

Fundamentally, the only thing these two religions have in common is the belief in one God, though neither would ever admit it was the same God.

Answer 10

They both follow the Old Testament laws about pork, shellfish, and so on. Islam includes the Old Testament as part of their holy text.