God=Allah

Submitted by Robert H. Tyrka Sr. (United States), Jun 28, 2005 at 11:09

It seems to me that the attributes of, attitudes toward, and obligations owed to such a Deity are much more similar when viewing pre-Christian era Judaism and Islam, than those same characteristics when viewing "modern" (over the last millenium or so) Judaism and Christianity.

The latter's emphasis on love and mercy rather than the former's reliance on obedience and vengeance highlight the stark differences in the creedal positions. Jesus spoke about the fulfilling of the Law, not the overturning of it, but I suspect that it was said to make the revolutionary shift in attitude more palatable to the Jews of the day.

It would seem that Islam would have to produce its own Jesus for such a transition, really a revolution, to take place, for the efforts of moderate Muslims don't carry the conviction of a faith that makes them willing to become martyrs in order to turn the hearts of those Islamists who are ready to give their own lives out of the old spirit of obedience and vengeance. From what little I've seen of moderate Islam, it is more of a turning away from the Quran than a reinterpretation of it.

The only blood spilled by the founder of Christianity was his own. Islam, at first under Muhammed's tutelage, has created bloodbath after bloodbath for the last thirteen centuries, whenever they have felt their own power to be enough to prevail over the infidel in a never-ending jihad until dar al-Harb becomes dar al-Islam through the killing, converting or enslaving of all infidels.

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