Reply to Do Muslims, Jews and Christians worship the same God?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why don't Muslims make more of the fact that their religion comes from Judaism? Christians often say that Jesus was Jewish.[/quote]
Because their religion doesn't come from Judaism. [/quote]

Abraham was not Jewish. More like pre-Jewish. [/quote]

Interesting. I always thought Abraham was Jewish. I know that Jews did not convert to being Muslims (the way Jews converted to Christianity), so what were the Muslims from Abraham to the 7th century? [/quote]

They weren't Muslims! Arabs were largely Monotheists who believed in the desert God of Abraham or Polytheists.[/quote]

I should add that a significant number of what would become Muslims in a North Africa were Christians.[/quote]

There were many Christians and Jews throughout the Middle East, but in Arabia the majority were Semitic pagans.  Because of Persian influence, there also were Zoroastrians in Arabia, and the Quran considers them people of the book, along with Christians and Jews. The Christians in Arabia were largely Monophysites or Nestorians and Mohammed, who was a trader, was said to be influenced from his early years by a Nestorian monk named Bahira.

Mecca, where Muhammed grew up, was literally a Mecca of paganism: it hosted an annual pilgrimage with the Ka'aba and various statues of gods at its center, most likely with roots as a fertility/rain ritual during which a large trade fair took place.  There were also poetry contests, and the poems recited there live on until this day as classic works of literature. The Meccans were not terribly receptive to Muhammed's message as they were quick to see that the monotheism he preached would undermine the pagan pilgrimage that was at the heart of their wealth.

There is no evidence that Muhammed had early contact with Judaism until the Hijra to Medina, where there was a community of Jews. However, many consider the influence of Judaism, particularly Rabbinical Judaism, upon Islam to be substantial.  After a lot of back and forth and various battles in which Muhammed and his followers gained territory, he set out to conquer Mecca.  There, he performed the pilgrimage, eliminating in the rituals some of the most pagan elements and commanded his followers to make the pilgrimage if they could.  At this point, the Meccans, weakened by Muhammed's forays but knowing their pilgrimage was saved, capitulated to the the Muslims.[/quote]

Thanks PP. I learned this in a college history class on the Middle East, but would never have had the time to type it out here.[/quote]

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