The Advent of Christianity and The Emergence of Islam  

Introduction

Christianity is one of the most significant religions in human history and is one of the most common religions today along with others, including: Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.  Christianity is by far the largest religion in the world, holding the most members out of all the others with 2.4 billion believers. This means that nearly one third of the world’s total population is Christian.  Also, it is a monotheistic religion, which means that it centers on the idea that the world was created by one god and not a series of gods.

“Islam” is an Arabic term which means to submit one’s will to the will of God. Islam is a monotheistic religion that teaches that there is only one divine being, one supreme Creator of the universe. Muslims believe that Islam is the true religion of God revealed to humanity. It is a universal religion that can be practiced by anyone at any time and in every place. The central concept of this way of life is total submission to God.

Islam is a complete, holistic way of living that covers every aspect of life. Islam leaves no stone unturned as it teaches mankind on how to behave in every area of life: individual, social, material, moral, ethical, legal, cultural, political, economical, and global.

Advent of Christianity

Christianity was preached by a Jew named Jesus, who was probably born in 4 BCE, in Bethlehem, in Judaea. Jesus Christ began his ministry when he was about 30 years of age. He was raised in Nazareth (Palestine). He was also considered as the Messiah and the Son of God by the Christians.  He studied Jewish scriptures. However, his understanding of Jewish religion and interpretation of the Law of Moses clashed with the traditional Jewish leaders. According to the Gospels written by his disciples, he had healing powers and could perform miracles. Thus he attracted large crowds which irritated the Jewish leaders.

Christianity first emerged from Judaism in the Middle East in the mid-1st century.  It began in the century after the death of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom the religion is based around.   In fact, Christianity is centered on the teachings and life of Christ.  Our understanding of the life of Christ today comes from the accounts in the Gospels.  These were written by four of the twelve disciples, which were the people who followed Jesus and helped to spread his teachings. These twelve disciples believed him to be what is referred to in Christian ideology as a Messiah, or the chosen prophet talked about in the  Old Testament teachings.   In the Gospel we learn that Jesus taught people during his life and built a considerable following among the poorest.  As part of his teachings, Jesus taught his followers to reject sin and instead follow the code passed down in the Sermon on the Mount.  The Sermon on the Mount was a series of teachings on morals found in the  Gospel of Matthew.  The purpose of Jesus’s teachings was in preparation for Judgement Day when God was said to reward the righteous and condemn the sinners. These teachings and writings later were solidified into a book known today as  the Holy Bible.  Christ’s following caused anger among some people at the time and ultimately led to his death.  The Romans, under pressure from local religious leaders, arrested him and crucified him around 30 CE.

Teachings of Jesus Christ 

Jesus Christ preached about God in simple terms

traveling across Palestine region between his 30 years and 33 years of age.

With these preachings, he laid the foundations for peace and compassion in human society. His preachings are:

• God is one and he is the most merciful. He is the creator of the entire creation.
• Everyone should develop brotherhood feelings about others.
• Loving the people who are in distress is equal to worshipping God.
• One should serve others without expecting anything from them.
• Serving people is equal to the worship of God.
• If one repents for his mistakes God will forgive him.
• Love your enemy. Do good to the people who try to harm you.

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ 

At the height of his ministry and miracles, many Jews came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. Jewish leaders feared Jesus because of his growing followers. With the help of Judas Iscariot, Roman soldiers arrested Jesus, and He was put on trial for claiming to be the king of the Jews. According to Roman law, the punishment for rebellion against the king was death by crucifixion.

The Roman governor Pontius Pilate was reluctant regarding the punishment for Jesus. Pilate could find no wrong in Jesus, yet he wanted to give the people what they wanted, and that was the death of Jesus. Pilate washed his hands in front of the crowd to symbolize that he was not taking responsibility for the bloodshed of Jesus and then handed Jesus over to be beaten and lashed. Jesus had a crown of thorns thrust on his head and made to carry his cross along the pathway to the hill where he would be crucified. 

Spread of Christianity

 Christianity gained followers not only from Jewish communities, but from throughout the Roman world. The individual responsible for the cascade of this new religion was the apostle Paul. Paul traveled around 10 thousand miles across the Roman Empire to spread the teachings of Christianity. He preached in some of the empire’s most important cities, such as Ephesus and Athens, which were home to tens of thousands of poor, desperate people who were the perfect audience for the Christian message of eternal life. Paul’s preaching resulted in an information cascade, because mass amounts of people in the same region tended to convert to the same religion. Paul encouraged Christian missionaries to cascade the knowledge of the bible throughout the Mediterranean region. Another extremely important factor which contributed to the spread of the Christian faith was the creation of a universal language- this came in the form of Greek. The diffusion or movement of ideas was no longer restricted by the language barrier. For the first one hundred years of the church’s writings, Greek was the medium used for expansion into the Gentile world. Greek was a kind of universal language which one could make shift anywhere- there would always be found someone who could speak it. The Greek language was adamant in the growth of this religious network and allowed Christianity to spread to millions.

The Emergence of Islam

The prophet Muhammad, sometimes spelled Mohammed or Mohammad, was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in A.D. 570. Muslims believe he was the final prophet sent by God to reveal their faith to mankind.

According to Islamic texts and tradition, an angel named Gabriel visited Muhammad in 610 while he was meditating in a cave. The angel ordered Muhammad to recite the words of Allah.

Muslims believe that Muhammad continued to receive revelations from Allah throughout the rest of his life.

Starting in about 613, Muhammad began preaching throughout Mecca the messages he received. He taught that there was no other God but Allah and that Muslims should devote their lives to this God.

In 622, Muhammad traveled from Mecca to Medina with his supporters. This journey became known as the Hijra (also spelled Hegira or Hijrah), and marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Some seven years later, Muhammad and his many followers returned to Mecca and conquered the region. He continued to preach until his death in 632.

After Muhammad’s passing, Islam began to spread rapidly.  A series of leaders, known as caliphs, became successors to Muhammad. This system of leadership, which was run by a Muslim ruler, became known as a caliphate.

 

Main Tenets of Islam

Prophet Muhammad spread the teachings of Islam. Some of the important teachings he preached are as follows:​

• There is no other God other than Allah; Muhammad is his prophet, and that God should not be worshipped in the form of any idol. ​
• All Muslims are servants of God and therefore everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah. ​
• All Muslims should pray, recite the Namaz five times a day facing the direction of the Kabba. They should also fast during the month of Ramzan. ​
• Muhammad asked all Muslims to give compulsory charity or zakat to the poor and take the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their life. ​
• Islam prohibits eating of pork, consumption of alcohol and not practice money-lending.

Spread of Islam 

Islam spread through military conquest, trade, pilgrimage, and missionaries.

Arab Muslim forces conquered vast territories and built imperial structures over time.

Most of the significant expansion occurred during the reign of the Rashidun from 632 to 661 CE, which was the reign of the first four successors of Muhammad.

The caliphate—a new Islamic political structure—evolved and became more sophisticated during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates.

Over a period of a few hundred years, Islam spread from its place of origin in the Arabian Peninsula all the way to modern Spain in the west and northern India in the east.

Islam traveled through these regions in many ways. Sometimes it was carried in great caravans or sea vessels traversing vast trade networks on land and sea, and other times it was transferred through military conquest and the work of missionaries. As Islamic ideas and cultures came into contact with new societies, they were expressed in unique ways and ultimately took on diverse forms.

Impact of Islam

• Islam had a great and lasting effect on Indian subcontinent in terms of society, art, religion etc. 

• The missionary zeal of Islam which aimed at conversion of the maximum number of Hindus to Islam gave rise to conservatism. The Hindu leaders thought that they could save their religion and culture only by adopting more orthodox outlook. 

• The Bhakti movement was to a large extent influenced by Islam and the Hindu reformers preached fundamental equality of all religions and the unity of God. Sufism exercised considerable influence on the Hindu society and the Sufi saints attracted the attention of the, Hindus. The influence of Islam was also noticed in economy, society, language and literature and art and architecture.