Jesus & Muhammad c

Jesus & Muhammad

Barb Favela

HUM/130

January 29, 2011

Frank Mueller
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Both Christianity and Islam have had followers that were subjected to persecution and

violence because of their religious beliefs. A great deal of death and destruction has occurred

because of those who promote their religion. Religion is a very strong and powerful subject that

can easily influence those people in search of answers. When disagreement comes into the

picture the debate can and has become dangerous and hurtful. Rumors and hearsay can spread

like wildfire and cause people to believe untrue things. This is exactly what happened to many

Americans after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The people that led the attack

claimed to be Islamic. Many people in the United States now believe that those who are Islamic

are violent and heartless people because of the careless acts of extremists. These accusations are

obviously untrue but even so it has caused problems for many Muslim Americans. Issues just

like the one above caused problems for Jesus of Christianity and Muhammad of Islam. Jesus and

Muhammad were two very influential characters that were subjected to hostility and harassment.

Even though they reflect two different religions, Jesus and Muhammad led similar lives because

they were both persecuted for their religious beliefs. This paper will provide a short biography of

Jesus and Muhammad, their religious influence on people of their time, and how their religious

messages are being used in the world today. First, let us discover and learn more about both

Jesus and Muhammad.

According to religious texts, Jesus¶ mother Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant. It

is believed that both Mary and the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus. While Mary was pregnant, it was

mandated that every person had to travel to their ancestral cities for a census (Fisher, 2005).

When Mary and her husband Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, there was such an overload of people

in town for the census that there was no room at the local Inn for them to stay(Oshri, 2005). Both

Mary and Joseph ended up staying in a local stable for shelter. Mary ended up giving birth to

Jesus in that very stable among all of the animals. Fisher (2005) stated that ³According to Luke,
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those who came to pay their respects were poor shepherds to whom angels had appeared with the

glad tidings that a Savior had been born to the people (Living Religions, p. 288). It is believed

that the Old Testament prophesies that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem so Christians

believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Information about Jesus was lost until Jesus reached the age

of about twelve. Even at the age of twelve, Jesus was very intellectually smart for his age

regarding religious information about God. From the age of twelve through manhood, it is

unknown what exactly occurred in Jesus¶ life but, it is known though that when Jesus was thirty,

he asked John to baptize him. John did not believe he was worthy of baptizing the Messiah but

he did as Jesus asked. This act was believed to rectify that Jesus was the Messiah. Many events

came after the baptism including a 40 day refuge that Jesus took, the gathering of the first

disciples (John, Andrew, James, and Peter), Jesus performed miracles, and he preached openly

about God. Jesus was eventually run out of town because some thought he was an agitator. Once

he returned to Jerusalem, Jesus was taken to the Roman governor because of the claim that he

was Christ. He was eventually sentenced to crucifixion. They put a crown made of thorns on

his head and crucified him. According to the Bible, Jesus was resurrected three days later and

then finally ascended into heaven. During the time when he was alive, Jesus was worshipped

greatly because he was believed to be God in a human form or the son of God. With the history

of Jesus laid out, let us begin the history of Muhammad.

Muhammad¶s father died before he was born and his mother died not too long after he was

born. Without parents, he was sent to live with his uncle who was quite liked by many people.

Muhammad lived a fairly easy life with his uncle. He was a shepherd and enjoyed that line of

work. When Muhammad was in his early twenties, he married Khadijah. Once they were

married, Muhammad was gone quite a bit on solitary retreats. During his many spiritual retreats,
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Muhammad had revelations from God (Allah.) These revelations were eventually written down

and put into a compilation knows as the Koran. The Koran is studied by all Muslims. At the time

of the revelations, Muhammad felt a need to share them with those close to him. After some

time, he then felt the need to publicly preach about Allah. Apparently that was not a good idea

because he was ridiculed. Despite the nasty remarks and behaviors of those around him,

Muhammad persistently preached. This caused many of his followers to be persecuted.

Eventually, Muhammad and his followers were banned from their home town for three years

(Fisher, 2005). They stayed in quite terrible living conditions with barely any food or shelter

(Fisher, 2005). Muhammad and his followers ultimately returned but the harassment and

persecution did not stop. He ended up escaping Mecca and started a life in Medina. Muhammad

was involved in a brief war between Mecca and Medina which ended quite fast. After many

years of preaching and spreading the faith, Muhammad passed away. While Muhammad was

alive, he did not want the people to worship him. It was believed to be wrong to worship

anybody other than Allah. Muhammad was simply a messenger. Now let us discuss how Jesus¶

and Muhammad¶s¶ death influenced each religion. Let us also discuss how each of their

messages is being used today.

The death of Jesus ultimately gave Christianity its meaning. Jesus was believed to have died

for the sins of his people and that is basically the foundation of Christianity. Once Jesus was

resurrected, it gave Jesus¶ followers the courage to persevere through hardships so they can

spread the word of God. Today, Jesus is still a big part of Christianity. His name is almost

always said at the end of every prayer. Because of the courage that Jesus had, many Christians

use that as a way to push through the bad times in life. As for the death of Muhammad, it caused

somewhat of an uproar because Muhammad never elected a successor for himself. Abu Bakr, a
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close friend of Muhammad was elected as the successor but the Sunnis and Shiites did not agree

with that decision. The Sunnis and Shiites eventually split because of the disagreement. Even

though there was a brief time when there was no successor that did not stop his followers from

spreading their religion. The messages from both Jesus and Muhammad have spread all over the

world. Missionary work is done and those that follow each religion try to be as giving as

possible. The death of Jesus and Muhammad made each religion stronger in the long run.

Both Jesus and Muhammad were persecuted for their belief in their religion. The

perseverance and humility of each helped shape what Christianity and Islam is today. Jesus and

Muhammad were very influential in their time and just as influential today if not more. Even

though they reflect two different religions, Jesus and Muhammad led similar lives because they

were both persecuted for their religious beliefs.

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References

Fisher, M., P. (2005). r
   (6th ed.). Retrieved January 29, 2011 from HUM130

course materials.

Oshri, A. (2005). Where was Jesus born.

 . Retrieved January 29, 2011 from

http://www.archaeology.org/0511/abstracts/jesus.html