From the dusty plains of Mesopotamia, the father of all believers - Abraham - brought onto the world the early practices of monotheistic religions. His first illegitimate son, Ishmael, was blessed by God and became the father of the original Arab population, and through his lineage, became the father of Islam. Abraham's first born Isaac, was blessed through the covenant and became the father of the Hebrew peoples and Judaism was born through his lineage. As the centuries passed, the promise of a Messiah to bring about salvation and an ever-lasting kingdom of God through the line of David was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was born in David's royal family (through Joseph).
Upon crucifixion of Jesus, much of the prophesies were completed and the reformed Judaism, known first in Antioch as the “Christians” or followers of Christ, was born. Although Judaism and Christianity share a close tie, Christianity is seen as a continuation or what is the “post-messiah” era, where the promise of God's salvation for mankind is being fulfilled. Islam came about 600 years after Christianity was born, and borrowed heavily from Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. Today, Christianity and Islam has the largest followers in the world and is among the fastest growing religions in the world, yet both religions have developed fundamental differences in their theological statements, treatment of individuals and their interactions with each other.
Much of what Christianity and Islam shares are considered heretical by both sides, but there are truths that must be considered. For example, in Islam, the Qur'an states that Isaac and his progeny are blessed as long as they uphold their covenant with God. Christians believed that God gave a covenant to Abraham and through the covenant; Abraham and his sons are blessed - the present day Jewish/Israeli population. Even though Qur'an does not specifically say Israel or Jews, Isaac's children are the Jewish and Israeli population. And Judaism shares the same belief that they are a blessed people from God. Yet, as cultural and political differences began to grow after the death of Mohammad, beliefs changed. Some early Muslims believed that Isaac was the son who was supposed to be sacrificed by Abraham. However, after a few centuries, this view was not supported by Islamic Scholars.
Just like the view of Islam and Isaac, Islam has the same view of Jesus Christ. Early Muslims, even Mohammad the prophet, viewed and respected Jesus Christ as one of the holiest, if not the holiest, of God's prophets send to mankind to bring people back to God. On the flip side, Christians, from the very beginning, have viewed Jesus Christ as the “son of God,” who was born to a virgin in the family of King David, to save mankind from their destruction and establish closer ties to God. However, as time went on, Islamic scholars and the Caliphate dynasties moved away from Jesus as the holiest prophet to Mohammad being the holiest prophet and Jesus following Mohammad's footsteps… when in reality Jesus did his ministry 600 years before Mohammad was even born. Christians also believe that Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins, to bring salvation onto mankind and then raised from the dead. This view was first used by early Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula but that also soon changed as Muslims began to view Jesus as a prophet who was sentenced to be crucified, but someone else died for him while Jesus was miraculously saved. Thus, Muslims deny Jesus was dead and then rose from the dead, but Muslims do accept that Jesus did spend a little time with his disciples and then was taken up into heaven. This interpretation may be a simple theological misinterpretation by the Islamic scholars, because in the Qur'an, Surat Maryam (Mary) 19:33, it says “Peace me on that day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive,” a statement made by Jesus during his life when he was taking about his death. It clearly means that Jesus died through crucifixion and then rose from the dead, a fact that Qur'an acknowledges as well as some of the early Muslims but denied by the current religious authorities. This is further reinforced in Surat al-Baqarah (Cow) 2:87, where it clearly says that the son of Mary, Jesus, was slain. There is no way to misinterpret “slain” for another definition, meaning slain means Jesus was killed. How was he killed? The Gospels is the only authentic source that provides that answer through many of its scriptural passages, that Jesus was crucified.
Yet the problem arises in the fact that many modern Muslims believe that the Christian and Jewish texts are not the same as they were before. This means that none of the present-day teachings of Christianity and Judaism are valid in the eyes of Muslims worldwide, but Christians and Jews are still considered the “people of the book” since they were the first ones to receive the word of God. Muslims believe that Moses got the books of the Law (Taurat or the Pentateuch books) while David for the songs (Zabur or Psalms) and Jesus was given the Evangels (Injil or the Gospels). This is seen throughout Suras such as 17:55, 19:30, 40:53 and many others. Now modern day Muslims believe that after Mohammed declared that the Koran was made to verify the Christian and Jewish texts (Bibles), they were altered to include Jesus Christ as the savior son of God. In the bible, Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life.
