Transcript Section B
What have we learned?
• We have an understanding of the historical
situation that existed at the time of the
foundation of Judaism and Islam.
Judaism
Islam
When was this
religion founded?
4000 years ago
1500 years ago
Where was it founded?
The Fertile Crescent in the
Middle East
Saudi Arabia in the Middle
East
What was the lifestyle
of the people?
Nomadic hunters and herders Tribal people who led a
nomadic lifestyle
What was the
land like?
Very fertile
Rock covered by large deserts
What was the
climate like?
Hot and dry, with seasonal
flooding
Hot and dry
Where were the
The states of Assyria and
The cities of Mecca and
What have we learned?
• We know that the primary sources of information about Judaism
and Islam are found in their sacred texts.
Judaism
The Tanakh
Islam
The Qur’an
• We can differentiate between faith documents and historical
documents.
Judaism:
Islam:
The Tanakh is the primary document of
faith. The Mishnah and the Talmud are also
documents of faith.
The Qur’an is the primary document of
faith. The Sunna and the Hadith are
documents of history.
We have traced the development of Judaism and Islam from
oral to written tradition.
Judaism
The Jewish people passed on the
story of their faith by word of
mouth from generation to
generation. Eventually, they
began to write down the stories
from their oral tradition. The
Hebrew Bible took over a
thousand years be recorded in
its present form. There were
hundreds of writers involved in
this great task.
Islam
The sacred text of Islam also
began with an oral tradition.
Muhammad learned by heart
all the revelations that he
received from Allah, then he
taught these to other Muslims,
who in turn learned them off and
recited them. When Muhammad
died, all that was revealed by
Allah was brought together and
written down to form the written
text known as the Qur’an.
What have we learned?
• We have identified essential elements of the beliefs and
symbols of Judaism and Islam.
What are they?
• We can recognise these beliefs and symbols in the words
and actions of the followers of Judaism and Islam, past and
present.
How?
Name:
Founders:
Date:
Earliest Followers:
A follower of this
major world
religion is called:
Beliefs:
Judaism
Abraham and Moses
4000 years ago
The descendants of
Abraham and the
Israelite or Hebrew
people.
A Jew.
The Jewish people
believe in one God who
is the creator of
everything. They believe that God has a
unique relationship with the Jewish
people because God established a
covenant with them through Abraham
and Moses. The Jewish people await the
arrival of the Messiah.
Sacred Text:
The Hebrew
Scriptures
Location/
Place of Origin:
Holy Day:
Israel
Saturday. The Sabbath
begins at sunset on
Friday and continues until after sunset on
Saturday. The traditional Sabbath candles
are lit and special prayers are said, usually
by the mother of the family. The men and
the boys attend the synagogue to
welcome in the Sabbath. At the end of the
day, there is a special celebratory meal,
with prayers and singing.
Prayer:
The Jewish people pray daily. The
formal language for prayer is Hebrew,
though of course Jewish people can pray
in any language. Devout Jewish people
pray five times a day: before going to bed,
after rising in the morning and at
the three meal times. (The Jewish day
begins in the evening.) In the evening and
in the morning, the Shema is recited.
Place of Worship:
The synagogue
Sacred Times /Festivals: Autumn
festivals Rosh Hashanah/Yom
Kippur/ Sukkoth/Simchat Torah
Winter festivals –
Hanukah/Purim
Spring festival – Pesach
Summer festivals –
Shavuot/Tishah b’Av
Place of Pilgrimage: The Western Wall in
Jerusalem is a
sacred place of
pilgrimage for the
Jewish people.
Leadership:
Chief Rabbi/Rabbi.
Rites of Passage:
The Jewish people
celebrate all the
important events of life, from
birth
to death. The Bar Mitzvah
(Coming of Age) for a boy, and the Bat
Mitzvah for a girl are major
celebrations within the Jewish
family community.
Way of life:
Jews live their lives
in accordance with
then Ten
Commandments.
They observe the Hebrew
Scriptures quite literally and take
instruction on many daily events,
including dietary laws. Jewish
people observe their Sabbath day
strictly and take that time to rest
and pray. When in the synagogue at
prayer, Jewish men wear the
kippah, the tallit and tefillin.
Symbol of this religion: The symbol
of Judaism
is called the Magen of David, also
known as the Star of David. It is
often worn as an ornament around
the neck by young Jews.
Name:
Founder:
Date:
Earliest Followers:
Islam
Muhammad
1500 years ago
The family of
Muhammad and the
people of Mecca.
A follower of this
major world religion
Is called:
A Muslim.
Beliefs:
The Islamic people
believe in one God,
Allah, and in the Prophet Muhammad.
The key beliefs are summed up by the
Shahada: ‘There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is his messenger.’ Muslims
submit their lives to Allah and everything
in their life is under the control of Allah.
Sacred Text:
The Qu’ran
Location/
Place of Origin:
Saudi Arabia
Holy Day:
Friday. All male Muslims
are expected to attend
the mosque at midday on Fridays for
prayers. They turn to an arched alcove or
a decorated panel in the wall to show
them the direction of Mecca. Men and
women sit in different parts of the
mosque. A leader, called the imam, leads
the prayers.
Prayer:
Muslims are called to
pray five times a day.
This is the second pillar of Islam, Salat.
When Muslims pray, they turn towards
Mecca. For a Muslim, life revolves around
these prayer times. They have specific
ritual actions that are carried out before
prayer. Each action has a specific meaning.
Place of Worship:
The mosque
Sacred Times /Festivals: Eid ul-Fitr
takes place at
the end of Ramadan in the ninth
month of the Islamic calendar. Eid ulAdha takes place during the twelfth
month of the Islamic calendar.
Rites of Passage: As with Judaism, the
Islamic faith tradition
celebrates all the major events of life,
from birth to death. At birth, words
from the Qur’an are whispered into
the ear of the newborn baby. There is
also a Naming Ceremony.
Way of life:
Place of Pilgrimage:
The holy city
of Mecca,
home of the Ka’ba, is the sacred place
of pilgrimage for the Islamic people.
Every Muslim tries to make the Hajj
pilgrimage to Mecca once in their
lifetime.
Leadership:
The imam
leads the prayer in the mosque on
Fridays.
The people of the Islamic
faith observe their religion
as their way of life. Muslims live their lives
in accordance with the Five Pillars of Islam.
Like Jews, they have strict dietary laws and a
sense of ritual around their prayer times.
Pilgrimage is one of the Five Pillars of Islam
and is to be observed at least once in the
life of a Muslim.
Symbol of this religion: The crescent moon
and star is a symbol of
Islam. The five points of the star
symbolise the Five Pillars of Islam. The
moon and the stars remind Muslims of
God, the creator of everything.
What have we learned?
• We can recognise important moments in the
stories of Judaism and Islam.
Key Moments in the development of Islam
AD 570
Birth of Muhammad.
AD 595
Muhammad met and married Khadija.
AD 610
The Night of Power and Excellence.
AD 620
Muhammad preached to people from Yathrib, a city north of Mecca.
AD 622
The Hijra.
AD 630
Muhammad returned to Mecca and initiated a jihad (a holy war).
AD 632
Muhammad made his final pilgrimage to the Ka’ba shrine.
AD 650
After the death of Muhammad, Islamic armies converted many provinces
of the eastern Roman Empire and also the Persian Empire to Islam.
AD 700
The conquest of the North African coast began. Roman Africa was taken,
and in AD 711 the Islamic armies crossed over into Spain and the south of
France.
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, there was much conflict between Islam and the
(8th to 12th Century) Christian states of Europe.
Fifteenth
century
The Islamic Turks overran what was left of the old eastern Roman Empire,
took Constantinople (now Istanbul), and gained control of Greece and
specific neighbouring territories in eastern Europe.
The Worldwide
Community of Judaism
The Worldwide
Community of Islam
There are approximately
thirteen million Jews
worldwide: six million in
the USA, three million in
Israel and the rest divided
throughout the world,
including communities in
Russia and Eastern
Europe. Members of the
Jewish community who
live outside of Israel are
known as the Diaspora.
The majority of Muslims
today live in countries of
North Africa (e.g. Algeria,
Libya and Egypt) and in
the Middle East. Muslims
are also present in
significant numbers in
countries as varied as
Russia, China, India,
England and the United
States of America. The
worldwide community of
Muslims is known as the
Umma.
What have we learned?
• We are able to compare and contrast the faith and practice of early Jewish
and Muslim communities with the faith and practice of the modern
communities.
For example:
Early Jewish Community – Orthodox Jews
• Follow the laws of the Torah and the Jewish tradition strictly
• Accept male rabbis only
• Use only Hebrew in their synagogues
• Men and women sit apart in the synagogue
• Keep strict dietary laws
Modern Jewish Community – Reform Jews
• Adapt the laws of the Torah and the Jewish traditions to modern life
• Allow synagogue services to be led by rabbis and by others
• Accept both male and female rabbis
• Celebrate services in the local language
• Men and women sit together in the synagogue
• Do not keep strict dietary laws
Christianity and Judaism:
Similarities and Differences
Christians and Jews believe in
Christians and Jews disagree on
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• God as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit
• Jesus as the Son of God
• Jesus’ death and resurrection
• Jesus as saviour (The Jewish
people are still waiting for the
Messiah)
• The New Testament and the
Old
• Testament being God’s final
word
One God
Life after death
God’s final judgement of us
Prayer, fasting and almsgiving
Mary, the mother of Jesus
The books of the Old Testament
The existence of evil
Christianity and Islam:
Similarities and Differences
Christians and Muslims believe
in
Christians and Muslims
disagree on
• One God
• Life after death
• God’s final judgement of
us
• Prayer, fasting and
almsgiving
• Mary, the mother of Jesus
• Angels
• The existence of evil
• God as Father, Son and
Holy Spirit
• Jesus as the Son of God
• Jesus’ death and
resurrection
• Jesus as saviour
• The Bible as God’s final
word