Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Origins and Relationships

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 27 February 2023 Judeo-Christian Perspective Posits The Following Step-Wise Evolution Of Judaism, Christianity, And Islam. Primitive Or Proto-Judaism Can Be Traced To The Primitive Covenant Between Allah And Noah ----- The following is from the Book “The Cross and the Crescent” by Jerald Dirks M.Div., Psy.D. The Judeo-Christian Perspective The Judeo-Christian perspective is one that is systematically taught throughout Western academic institutions, as, "Judaism was the first monotheistic religion", a statement which is vehemently rejected by the Islamic perspective, which will be presented later. Ur-Judaism and the Covenant with Noah The Judeo-Christian perspective begins with Adam, peace be upon him, and traces the descent of man down through the various Old Testament patriarchs, until arriving at Noah, peace be upon him. The actual lineage proposed by Genesis is Adam to Seth to Enos to Cainan to Mahalaleel to Jared to Enoch to Methuselah to Lamech to Noah. It is with the arrival of Noah that something new enters the framework of the Judeo-Christian perspective. Reportedly, Noah was the first person with whom Allah entered into a covenant.' Now, this covenant was reportedly quite primitive and limited, and very few details regarding the covenant are reported in Genesis. In fact, the only details listed in Genesis regarding this covenant are that Noah was to build the ark, and stock it with the animals of the earth; It is of note that there is next to nothing in this report of Genesis about a monotheistic commitment of worship, etc. Nonetheless, this covenant of Noah can serve as the first possible point of origin for Judaism, or what might be better-termed proto-Judaism or ur-Judaism. Judaism and the Covenant with Abraham More often, the Judeo-Christian tradition traces the origin of Judaism to Abraham, who lived approximately eleven generations after Noah. Here, one encounters the second. covenant between Allah and man, as Allah reportedly established a new covenant with Abraham. Once again, Genesis only sparsely reports the details of this covenant. In short, this covenant can is summarized to mean that: Abraham and his descendants were to keep the covenant, and were to practice circumcision; Allah promised He would be the god of Abraham and his descendants through Isaac, peace be upon him; and that Abraham and his descendants would be multitudinous. Further, Abraham and his descendants through Isaac would inherit the land of Palestine, and the covenant. The whole of history then pivoted on this covenant, the relationship between Allah and man was forever changed, and a special relationship had been established between Allah and the descendants of Isaac. It is important to note that the Judeo-Christian tradition sees this covenant between Allah and Abraham as being one of exclusive inheritance. Only Isaac and his descendants, of all of Abraham's many children, could inherit the covenant with Allah. The exclusivity of inheritance was further refined, when it was maintained that the inheritance of the covenant passed over Isaac's elder son, Esau, in favour of Isaac's younger son, Jacob, peace be upon him. As Jacob's name was later changed to Israel , making him the eponymous ancestor of the 12 tribes of Israel, the exclusivity of the covenant was seen to reside thereafter with Israel, and with Israel alone. Judaism Refined and the Mosaic Covenant Several centuries after Jacob, Allah reportedly refined his covenant with the 12 tribes of Israel. This refinement, which for the first time left a recording of specified and explicit details regarding the worship of Allah and the laws of Judaism, was given to Moses, peace be upon him. The various stipulations of the Mosaic covenant are much too detailed and voluminous to go into at this point. However, it does need to be noted that, according to the Judeo-Christian perspective, this is the second point in time, in which history pivoted, and in which the relationship between man and Allah is seen as having been irrevocably changed. For those in the Judeo-Christian tradition, who resist seeing the covenant with Abraham as being the origin of Judaism, this Mosaic covenant is seen as constituting the beginning of Judaism as an organized religion. The Role of the Prophets A fully evolved religious structure having been decreed by the Mosaic covenant, it was inevitable that the Israelites, or at least some significant portion of them, would stray from fulfilling the obligations of the covenant. As such, Allah periodically sent prophets, i.e., those authorized to speak for Allah, to call the wayward and backsliding Israelites back to the true fulfilment of the Mosaic covenant. From the contemporary Judeo-Christian perspective, these prophets are seen as admonishing the Israelites to return to Judaism. Christianity With the advent of Jesus Christ, the Judeo-Christian perspective now divides into a Jewish and a Christian perspective. In what follows, the "Christian perspective" is traced. "Christian perspective" refers here to that traditional corpus of beliefs, which today is held by the majority of Christian churches. In defining the "Christian perspective" in this manner, it ought to be pointed out that there was no single, monolithic Christian church, which evolved immediately following the time of Jesus. Rather; there were a multitude of independent churches, each having its own set of recognized scriptures, each under its own independent bishop or leader, and each having its own viewpoint on such issues as: whether or not it was Jesus Christ, who was crucified; the nature of Jesus Christ, i.e., whether he was God, man, or some combination thereof; and the nature of God, i.e., trinitarian of one formulation or another or one and indivisible. It was not until several centuries later that these issues began to be sorted out, and the traditional consensus of Christian belief began to emerge. With the above in mind, it can be stated that, from the Christian perspective, the birth of Jesus ushered in yet a third time in which history pivoted, and in which the fundamental relationship between Allah and mankind was forever altered. Although allegedly pre-existing his physical birth, Jesus was seen as the begotten son of God via a virgin birth, who opened up the covenant of Allah to all mankind, whose ministry was to both Jew and gentile, and who allegedly was crucified in atonement for the sins of mankind, before allegedly being resurrected. Although precise formulations of the concept of the trinity differ, Jesus was seen as one person among three (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), who shared the same divine substance. The Christian perspective typically sees the ministry of Jesus as having evolved out of Judaism, primarily the Judaism of the Pharisaic and Essenic movements, and as having ushered in a new covenant of faith, repentance, and atonement in the "blood of Christ", which totally replaced the prior Mosaic covenant. In short, Christianity replaced Judaism, which was no longer relevant or spiritually operative after the new covenant of Christ. The age of the Old Testament prophets was now over, and the age of the Holy Spirit had begun. As noted previously, it took some several centuries for the above consensus to emerge within Christianity. However, even then, the consensus was shaky. Disagreements as to the independence of and/or hierarchical ranking of the various bishops, and over the exact wording of the definition of the trinity, finally led to the great schism between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Catholic Churches. The latter quickly fragmented, largely along nationalistic or ethnic lines. Some centuries later, the Roman Catholic Church underwent its own schism during the Protestant Reformation, giving rise to myriad and differing Protestant denominations. Islam According to the Judeo-Christian perspective, Islam did not exist until the ministry and preaching of Muhammad in the seventh century CEo Originally portrayed as the anti-Christ by many Christians, the image of Muhammad later began to be portrayed somewhat more favourably among certain elements of the Christian clergy and scholars. However, the Judeo-Christian perspective still perceives that Islam originated with Muhammad, and that Muhammad created Islam by borrowing heavily from both rabbinical Judaism and from Christianity. Concerning the alleged borrowing from Christianity, it is traditionally held that Muhammad most frequently took from the teachings of the Eastern churches and from a variety of apocryphal Christian writings. Thus, from the Judeo-Christian perspective, Islam originated in the seventh century CE as an amalgamation of Judaism and Christianity. Summary To summarize, the Judeo-Christian perspective posits the following step-wise evolution of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Primitive or proto-Judaism can be traced to the primitive covenant between Allah and Noah. However, Judaism really has its origin with the covenant between Allah and Abraham, a covenant, which was exclusively inherited by Isaac, then by Jacob, and then by the Israelites. The covenant was then reformulated with Moses, and Judaism as a full-blown religion began. Central to the maintenance of Judaism as a distinct religious practice was the temple cult, with its focus on the act of sacrifice at the Solomonic Temple in Jerusalem. Thereafter, various Israelites strayed from observance of the covenant, resulting in Allah sending prophets, who reaffirmed the Mosaic covenant, but neither added to nor modified it. This state of affairs continued until the new covenant of Christ, from which Christianity emerged. Almost 600 years later, Muhammad, borrowing heavily from both rabbinical Judaism and from Christianity, created the religion of Islam. The Islamic Perspective Most Western non-Muslims do not even realize that there is an Islamic perspective, which is substantially different from that of the Judeo-Christian perspective, particularly with regard to the understanding of the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As a matter of course, it is the Judeo-Christian perspective, which is systematically taught throughout Western school systems. As such, Muslim children in Western school systems are routinely indoctrinated with the Judeo-Christian perspective, often without their parents realizing it, and in direct violation, albeit unknowingly, of the American principle of separation of church and state. Ironically, even in Islamic schools in North America, classes in world history, etc. are often forced to use Western textbooks, which propagate the Judeo-Christian perspective. Muslims, especially those who were educated in a Western-oriented institution of learning, have come to accept the Judeo-Christian perspective, without being fully aware of the Islamic perspective. Given the above background, the Islamic perspective is presented below. As will be seen, it sometimes parallels and at times deviates from the Judeo-Christian perspective. This is most apparent when considering terms such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, covenant, and revelation. Like the Judeo-Christian tradition, Islam traces the origin of mankind to Adam. However, unlike any conceptualization within the JudeoChristian tradition, Islam posits its beginning with Adam. Islam means "submission", i.e. submission to Allah, and a Muslim is "one who submits" to Allah. Thus, the religion of Adam was Islam, as was the religion of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc. (42:13) The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah-that which We have sent by inspiration to thee-and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other things than Allah, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. Allah chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him). This is not, however, to say that the Islamic religion of Adam was the same in every detail as that of Noah, or of Abraham, or of Moses, or of Jesus, or of Muhammad. In fact, it was not. However, to understand that difference, one has to understand the Islamic concepts of covenant and of progressive revelation. Covenant and Revelation As noted above, the Judeo-Christian tradition perceives the concept of covenant to represent a fundamental re-ordering of the cosmos, in which the relationship between mankind and Allah is completely redefined, and in which an entirely new concept of religion is introduced. Covenants are thus seen as being few and far between, represented only by: 1) the primitive or proto-covenant with Noah; 2) the defining covenant with Abraham, which was exclusively inherited by Isaac, by Jacob, and then by the Israelites; 3) the revision and elaboration of the Abrahamic covenant with Moses, with inheritance of the covenant limited to Israelites and Jews; and 4) the new covenant with Jesus, which for the first time was open to participation by non-Jews. In marked contrast, Islam affirms a multiplicity of covenants between Allah and mankind. Every prophet of Allah, most of whose names are not even known to contemporary man, has had his own covenant, which was inherited by that prophet's people, The following quotations from the Qur'an serve to illustrate this latter point. (2:125) Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and We covenanted with Abraham and Isma'il, that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or use it as a retreat, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer)" (3:81) Behold! Allah took the covenant of the prophets, saying: "I give you a book and wisdom; then comes to you a messenger, confirming what is with you; do you believe in him and render him help." Allah said: "Do ye agree, and take this my covenant as binding on you?" They said: "We agree." He said: "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses." (33:7) And remember We took from the prophets their covenant: as (We did) from thee: From Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary: We took from them a solemn covenant. Further, a prophet of Allah was sent to every people, not just to the Israelites. There are many passages in the Qur'an referring to the fact that a prophet was sent to every people. The following represents a brief sample of those passages. (6:42) Before thee We sent (messengers) to many nations, and We afflicted the nations with suffering and adversity, that they might learn humility (10:47) To every people (was sent) a messenger: when their messenger comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged. (16:36) For We assuredly sent amongst every people a messenger, (with the command), "Serve Allah, and eschew evil": of the people were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the truth) (35:24) For We assuredly sent amongst every people, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner: and there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past). Thus, between the time of Adam and Muhammad, covenants were plentiful, and were non-exclusive. Every person, regardless of ethnic, national, or racial descent, had the potential opportunity to inherit a covenant with Allah, and to enter into a proper, worshipful relationship with Allah. This concept of a multiplicity of covenants is linked with the Islamic concept of progressive revelation. Since each prophet received his own covenant with Allah, the revelation of Allah as to how. best to worship Him was progressively revealed over an evolutionary period. Unlike the cosmic re-orderings followed by long periods of revelatory stagnation posited by the Judeo-Christian tradition, Islam affirms a gradual evolution in the relationship between man and Allah and in man's worship of Allah. Prior revelations could and were modified, elaborated, and abrogated. In fact, such evolution and progressive revelation occurred not only between prophets, but also within a given prophet's own message and revelation. With regard to this, one needs only look to the progressive revelation within the lifetime of Muhammad, which led from no prohibition against alcohol, to prohibition against alcoholic consumption interfering with the performance of mandatory prayers, to total prohibition of alcohol. This concept of progressive revelation is summarized in the following passages from the Qur'an. (2:106) None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: knowest thou not that Allah hath power over all things? (13:38) We did send messengers before thee, and appointed for them wives and children: and it was never the part of a messenger to bring a sign except as Allah permitted (or commanded). For each period is a book (revealed). Allah doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth: with Him is the mother of the book. (10:37) This Qur'an is not such as can be produced by other than Allah; on the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it, and a fuller explanation of the book wherein there is no doubt-from the Lord of the worlds. (16:101) When We substitute one revelation for another-and Allah knows best what He reveals (in stages)-they say, "Thou art but a forger": but most of them understand not, Given the above, it can be seen that Islam began with Adam, gradually evolved through the different covenants and progressive revelations given to the various prophets, and finally culminated in the final revelation given to Prophet Muhammad. In this regard, the contrasts between the Judeo-Christian and Islamic perspectives are dramatic. The Judeo-Christian perspective posits a few stages of religious evolution, each of which is markedly different than the one before it. Metaphorically, one can compare the Judeo-Christian perspective to the drastic revolutions involved in the developmental stages of the caterpillar, cocoon, and butterfly. Each stage is fundamentally different in appearance than the stage before it. In contrast, the metaphor for the Islamic perspective would be that of the budding and opening of a flower, in which the message of Adam represents the first budding'", and in which the final message of Muhammad represents the flower in full bloom. However, even within that first bud of Adam's message, there were two fundamental truths, which have never been abrogated or modified, and which continued to be the centrepiece of the message of every later prophet: I) there is no god but Allah, Who has no partners, and Allah is to be worshipped and served'"; and 2) avoid evil and wickedness, for there will be a day of final judgment. The Role of the Prophets In order to affect a proper comparison between the Judeo-Christian and Islamic perspectives, this discussion of the role of the prophets is limited to those prophets, who are recognized in some capacity by both the Judeo-Christian tradition and by Islam. As noted previously, the Judaeo-Christian tradition posits that these prophets were sent by Allah to call the backsliding Israelites and Jews back to Judaism. In contrast, the Islamic perspective affirms that these prophets represented the progressive revelation of Islam, and were sent by Allah to bring the people back to Islam. However, many did not listen to the prophets, did not repent of their ways, and did not return to proper submission to Allah. Apostasy and deviation existed, and eventually certain of these deviations came to be codified and ritualized. Such codification and ritualizing of deviation from Islam were the origin of Judaism, i.e. of one of the two branches of the People of the Book. This is illustrated by the Qur'anic emphasis on the Jews having distorted and perverted their revealed scriptures. In short, Judaism arose much after Islam, and was the codified remains of deviation from Islam. As such, the prophets were not sent to call the people back to Judaism, but were sent to call the people back to Islam from Judaism, from other forms of deviation, and from frank unbelief. (3:19) The religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His will): nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account. (42:13) The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah-that which We have sent by inspiration to thee-and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other things than Allah, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. Allah chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who tum (to Him). (42:14) And they became divided only after knowledge reached them-through selfish envy as between themselves. Had it not been for a word that went forth before from thy Lord, (tending) to a term appointed, the matter would have been settled between them: but truly those who have inherited the book after them are in suspicious (disquieting) doubt concerning it. One other point of difference between the Judeo-Christian and Islamic perspectives on the role of the prophets needs to be stated. As noted previously, the Judeo-Christian perspective frequently portrays the prophets of Allah as being backsliding sinners, who engaged in all manner of reprehensible behaviour. In marked contrast, the Islamic perspective is that these prophets were men of virtue, piety, and high moral character. (3:161) No prophet could (ever) be false to his trust. Jesus And The Origin Of Christianity Islam affirms the virgin birth of Jesus, but sees this not as an act of begetting, but as an act of miraculous creation, caused by Allah's verbal command. The following represents but one of several passages from the Qur'an that testifies to the virgin birth of Jesus. (3:45) Behold! The angels said: "0 Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah; (46) He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous. (47) " She said: "0 my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?" He said: "Even so: Allah createth what He willeth: when He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it, 'Be,' and it is!" However, in regard to the virgin birth, the miraculous origin of Jesus is seen as being akin to the creation of Adam. Just as Jesus was without a father, so Adam, having been created from the earth'", was without a father and a mother. (3:59) The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be": and he was." Islam affirms that Jesus was a prophet of Allah", and that Jesus was the Messiah or Christ. However, Islam denies the crucifixion of Jesus'", and denies the divinity of Jesus. Like those prophets of Israel before him, Jesus' message and ministry were confined to the remnants of Israel and to the Jews, and were a call to return to Islam and to proper submission to and worship of the Oneness of Allah. It's worth noting that one part of the message of Jesus was the prophecy of an additional prophet yet to come, who would be called Ahmad, which is a variation of the name Muhammad. (61:6) And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "0 children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the law (which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he came to them with clear signs, they said, "This is evident sorcery!" Jesus was not the founder or originator of a new religion, or even of a new religious movement within the Judaism of his times, but was one in a succession of prophets of Allah to the people of Israel. Likewise, attempts to link Jesus with this or that particular school of Judaic thought, whether Pharisaic, Essenic, or other, are rejected, as they distort the fundamental truth that Jesus was a prophet of Allah, who was bringing a portion of the progressive revelation of Islam. All of which is not to say that there was no new component to the message that Jesus brought. The Islamic concept of progressive revelation allows for the possibility that the revelation to Jesus may have partially altered, added to, or abrogated some parts of the revelations of earlier prophets. So, then how does one account for the origin of Christianity? The Islamic answer is that others, e.g., Paul of Tarsus, quickly distorted the message, ministry, and gospel of Jesus. Probably, none of those who distorted Jesus' message had been an eyewitness to Jesus' life and ministry, and none were actual disciples of Jesus. The actual and complete gospel of Jesus is nowhere to be found in the contemporary New Testament. However, bits and pieces of that gospel probably have been preserved by subsequent "Christian" authors of the various books of the New Testament, all of which were written two decades to one century after the completion of Jesus' ministry, and none of which were likely authored by anyone who had first hand contact with Jesus' actual ministry. Additional fragments about the ministry of Jesus were probably preserved in parts of the so-called apocrypha of the Christian era. In short, just as distortions of earlier revelations from Allah to the prophets had resulted in the formation of Judaism, so distortions of the message of Jesus resulted in the formation of Christianity. (43:63) When Jesus came with clear signs, he said: "Now have I come to you with wisdom, and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) on which ye dispute: therefore fear Allah and obey me. For Allah, He is my Lord and your Lord: so worship ye Him: this is a straight way." But sects from among themselves fell into disagreement: then woe to the wrongdoers, from the penalty of a grievous day! (5:14) From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We did take a covenant, but they forgot a good part of the message that was sent them: so We estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the one and the other, to the Day of Judgement. And soon will Allah show them what it is they have done, (57:27) Then, in their wake, We followed them up with (others of) Our messengers: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy, but the monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them: (We commanded) only the seeking for the good pleasure of Allah; but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet We bestowed, on those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are rebellious transgressors. (As a brief digression, it is interesting to note how the second passage above, with its emphasis on the "enmity and hatred between the one and the other" Christian groups appears to predict so accurately the abuses and barbarities perpetrated by Christians upon Christians during the Protestant Reformation, the origins of the Anabaptist movement, and the infamous Inquisition.) Muhammad and the Final Revelation of Islam Muhammad did not originate or create Islam, nor was Islam originated based on the revelations given to Muhammad by Allah. Rather, Muhammad was the Seal of the Prophets, i.e. the last in the line of Allah's prophets, just as a seal at the end of a document is the last thing affixed to that document. It may be noted that Westerners and adherents to the Judeo-Christian perspective frequently attribute hierarchical significance to the title "Seal of the Prophets", as though Muslims claim that Muhammad was the greatest or best of the prophets of Allah. This type of thinking is contrary to Islam, and is specifically prohibited by the Qur'an, which states that Muslims are to make no hierarchical distinctions among the prophets of Allah. Like all the prophets before him, Muhammad was not divine, but was only a man endowed with the message of Allah. However, it was through the progressive revelation given to Muhammad that Islam was perfected and completed. This revelation abrogated, elaborated, and altered parts of the revelations given to earlier prophets, was memorized and written down by the early companions of Muhammad, and became known as the Qur'an. Thus, Islam finds its final evolution in the message of Muhammad, not its genesis. Further, as the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad was the "international" prophet, bringing Allah's message not only to the people of Muhammad, whether defined as Makkans, the members of the Quraish tribe, or Arabs, but to the people of the world at large. (25:57) Say: "No reward do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor am I a pretender. This is no less than a message to (all) the worlds. Summary The Islamic perspective affirms the following evolution of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Islam began with Adam, and has evolved in accordance with the progressive revelations given by Allah to His various prophets. This evolution of Islam finds its perfect culmination in the final revelations of Allah, which were bestowed upon Prophet Muhammad. Early on, among the descendants of Prophet Jacob, distortions of the basic message of Islam were codified and ritualized, giving rise to the religion of Judaism. Subsequent prophets to the house of Israel continually warned the Israelites and Jews to return to Islam, and to forsake their deviations, which included Judaism, and their unbelief. Among those prophets, whose ministry was limited to the Israelites and Jews, was Jesus (the Messiah or Christ, and the son of the virgin Mary). However, Jesus' message and ministry were also distorted, giving rise to such concepts as the begotten son of God, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the trinitarian concept of God. This distortion of the message of Jesus by Paul of Tarsus and others became codified as Christianity. Conclusions Words are sometimes deceiving in their ability to mislead others. This is especially the case when words are used to represent abstract concepts or complex systems or thoughts. As has been shown in the above discussion, words such as "revelation", "covenant", "Judaism", "Christianity", and "Islam" have radically different meanings for Muslims, than they do for adherents to the traditional Judeo-Christian perspective, which typically is the only viewpoint expressed in Western academia. Likewise, names such as Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, etc., convey different images and associated concepts, depending upon the religious orientation of the individual. By contrasting the Judaeo-Christian and Islamic perspectives on the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, some of these differences have been identified and discussed. Allah willing, this endeavour may contribute to better and heightened communication among the adherents of these three religious traditions. ----- A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/judaism-christianity-origins/d/129206 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism