Transcript Re-using Common Pillars

This study comes with a need to develop an approach
to Muslim people that allows for communication and
not conflict.
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A shift in attitudes is necessary in the following areas:
1. From our Greco Roman theological and missiological
positions to one that is more Semitic.
2. To move from the apologetic to the pastoral.
3. From individualism to Community based approaches.
4. From exclusive to inclusive.
5. From a Political approach to a Biblical one.
6. From an ecclesiastic approach to a Kingdom approach (see
Peter Phan).
7. Understanding Kwame Bediako’s “Theology of Identity”
• From time to time the church rediscovers
truths in the word of God.
– Baptism-Church government-the Holy Spirit- Gifts
etc
– Maybe we need to rediscover God’s plan for
Ishmael and the Ishmaelites!
Increasing insights into Biblical
themes
• The Bible has become richer for the insights that
translation work has given, anthropology has
helped, sociology contributes and now I believe we
need to listen to Kwame Badiako’s work on the
Theology of Identity
John Wansbrough pioneered a
new way.
• The significant thing that he picked out was
that the Koran seems to assume that the
readers know these stories, it doesn’t tell
these stories as if it’s talking to people who
are ignorant of them, it’s using these stories to
make moral and religious points, and
assuming that the people already know the
details of the stories. Prior to 800 AD it is a
Jewish Arab sect.
Robin Hood Syndrome
• We don’t really have any Islamic literature
that you can really date much before about
800 AD. OK, those sources are drawing on
earlier reports and earlier traditions, they are:
• Qur’an
• Hadis
• Sira literature-Ishaq and Hisham.
• Robin was created by the poets of his day
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Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasr or simply Ibn Ishaq, meaning
"the son of Isaac") (died 767, or 761 (Robinson 2003, p. xv))
was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer. He
collected oral traditions that formed the basis of the first
biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
• • Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik bin Hisham, or Ibn Hisham
(died 833) edited the biography of Muhammad written by
Ibn Ishaq. Ibn Ishaq's work is lost and is now only known in
the recensions of Ibn Hisham and al-Tabari.
• Orientalists used these inaccurate sources to reconstruct M.
life, eg Watt, Sale, Sell, etc
• The term "Arab" here is a translation of the Hebrew Arvim
referring to the Nabateans and not a reference to the
modern Arab nation that arose in southern Arabia. Some
commentators have understood the accounts to mean that
the term "Ishmaelite" included descendants of Keturah's
sons or was interchangeable with the terms "Midianite" and
"Medanite", names of two of the tribes descended from
Keturah.
• Were the wise men that came to Jesus Nabatean Arabs?
Genesis 12-25 Ishmael and Isaac
• Ishmael marries Egyptian and has 12 sons- Northern
Arabia (Gen 25 v 16). Arabs work closely with Jews
through being cousins. Arabs copy Jews. In
Damascus they meet John of Damascus and invent
stories of Mohammed.
• No early record of Mohammed, but there is
shahada (schema). On coins and rocks. Poetry from
Sassanian, Syrian, Arabian sources create a body of
literature in ME. From this the Hadis is created and
from this the Qur’an.
Genesis 12 – 25 accounts
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The term “Submit” in 16 v 9
Hagar tells Ishmael,
Ishmael tell his 12 children
They understand that Submission pleases
God and so Islam, Salaam, and Tasleem are
all connected.
Wansbrough shows
• Northern Arabs invade a political vacuum
after Romans leave.
• These are “Arab Jews” who have
contextualised Judaism into a secular or Arab
form
• Islam forms over a period until 800AD then
• clerics take over, ibn Hanbal, Shafi, Maliki,
Hanafi Madhabs.
• Question: To develop a confessional
community takes years if not centuries,
Christianity took some 33+ years, and was
still chaotic until Constantine in 325
summoned the Council of Nicaea. How did
Islam come to a rapid confessional and
ritualist position so soon after the death of
its supposed founder? Was there a short cut?
• Response; It invaded Palestine and
conquered Damascus as an Arab cousin of
Judaism and as they interacted with John of
Damascus and other Christians developed an
Arab interpretation of Judaism over a period
of 150 years.(800AD)
Common Monotheistic
Religious Traits
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Names and terms for various parts of Islam.
Emblems; initiations rites, acts, rituals
Creeds; membership rules,
Catechisms, dogmatic formulae
Identity, polemic visa sis other communities
Consolidation, conversion
Orthodoxy- instruction
Islam had a simple desert creed, one God, one rasulthis is an apologetic versus other confessions
• Subsequent codification took place developing the
Arkan al Islam.
• The original kerygma was only sent as guidance
within Jahili mythology it was not adopted and then
codified until much later.
• The earliest formulation of Islamic identity is
contained in sira – maghazi (not Qur’an or
• Hadis ) literature. Islam developed in an
atmosphere of polemic with Christians and Jews.
Qur’anic complaint
• Jews could not be trusted as they had killed the
Prophets.
• Christians had turned to worshipping three gods.
• (Orientalists produced a story that was based upon
erroneous texts. Hadis (Schacht-none true, Moh. Only 73
true out of 600,000) or Qur’an. Thus the story is inherently
false. Like taking the stories of Terminator and deducing a
real figure. Hadis used to controlling and influencing people
in the absence of codified law and traditions.)
Arab Corrective
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The Qur’an seeks to defend Isa al Masih
As Kalimatullah –Word of God
Ruh Allah- Spirit of God
Al Masih- the Messiah
Ibn Mariam- son of Mary
Re-using Common Pillars
• Most of Islamic practices are closely related to Jewish theology
and traditions that has its roots to Mosaic writings (Taurat,
Mishna) and other writings of the prophets (Woodberry 1989)
• The creed (shahada) I bear witness that there is “no god but
Allah” is based on verses: Q37: 35/34(“There is no god but
God”) and Q112: 1-2” Say, He [is] God, one [ahad]. God Alone’”)
– This creedal formula according to Hartwig Herschfeld (New
researches into the Composition and Exegesis of the Qur’an,
London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1902: 35) indicates that it is
apparently based on the Jewish Shema as found in
Deuteronomy 6: 4 (‘Hear O Israel, the lord our god is one
[ahad] Lord”)
– Both Shema and shahada creedal formulas emphasize the
same word ahad meaning ONE.
– Islam’s most celebrated theologian Abu Hamid alGhazali(d.1111) twice states that Muslims as well as
Christians should be able to accept the shahada with
appropriate alternatives e.g. ; “There is no god but God and
Isa/Muhammad is the apostle of God” (John 17: 3)
• The Ritual Prayer (Salat) Although the OT mentions morning
and evening prayers (Ex. 29: 39; Num. 28: 4) Judaism
developed three daily prayers according to the pattern of Ps
55: 17 (also Dan. 6: 10) See the Talmud of Jerusalem, Berakoth
4: 1 (p. 37)
– However Christian monks prayed seven times a day on the
pattern of Psalm 119: 162.
• Almsgiving (zakat) There is considerable concern that alms be
given to the poor (9: 60). This concern is also shared in the
O.T. (Deut. 15: 11; Prov. 19: 17 as well as in the NT (Mt. 6: 1-4;
25: 35-46)
• Fasting (sawm) Moses, Elijah & Jesus had all fasted forty days
& nights (Deut. 9: 9; 18; 1Kg 19: 8; Lk. 4:1-2)
– Jesus expected his followers to fast (Mt. 6: 16-18.
– Paul fasted frequently (Acts 13: 2; 2 Cor. 6: 5; 11: 27)
– Early church fathers observed forty-day fast during the
annual Lent for self denial
– Judaism follows the same pattern (Judg. 20: 26; 2Sam. 1:
12; 3: 35)
• Pilgrimage (Hajj) The word hajj is from the Hebrew word hag
used in Ps. 8: 14 (v. 3 in English) for a sacrifice when the
Israelites were gathered in Jerusalem.
– For example circumambulation (dawaf) of Ka’aba is similar
to going round the sanctuary (Ps. 26: 6).
– Muslims also go round the Ka’aba and standing before God
is an act of worship.
– Mosque of Mecca is called haram a sacred place (9: 28) so
also the court of gentiles for the gentiles who could not
enter the Temple.
– Mecca or Becca (Ps. 84:6 see also Qur’an 3: 96) is seen by
Muslims as the place of the Last judgment as Jerusalem is
seen by the Jews.
• Holy War (Jihad ) “For those Christians who may stumble at
certain aspects of Muhammad’s lifestyle, I urge them to study
more objectively the lives of the Old Testament prophets
where both holy war in a form more violent than Islam calls
for genocide in the book of Joshua, and polygamy was quite
common”.
Encouraging Insider Paradigm
• Identity crisis is a typical experience of every
• people movement.
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The Gentile Church after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, seeks for its
cultural identity.
Jewish Messianic Church (the Judaisers)
Gentile Church Sec.Believers.
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Necodemus
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Islam seeks identity and contextualizes the “kibla” (direction of prayer) from
Jerusalem (foreign) to “Macca” or “Bacca” local (Ps. 84: 6)
Judaism
Islam Sec. Bel.
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Necodemus
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Messianic Muslims just like Messianic Jews seek their cultural identity &
retrace their history
Traditional
Indigenous
MBB
IM
Sec. Bel.
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Necodemus
Judaism and Islam
• The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam
started in the 7th century AD with the origin and
spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. Because
Islam has its foundation in Judaism and share a
common origin in the Middle East through
Abraham, both are considered Abrahamic religions.
There are many shared aspects between Judaism
and Islam: Islam is similar to Judaism in its
fundamental religious outlook, structure,
jurisprudence and practice
Abraham
• Judaism and Islam are known as "Abrahamic religions
• The first Abrahamic religion was Judaism as practiced in the
wilderness of the Sinai peninsula subsequent to the Exodus
of the Hebrews from Egypt and continuing as the Hebrews
entered the land of Canaan to conquer and settle it.. The
firstborn son of Abraham, Ishmael, is considered by Muslims
to be the Father of the Arabs. Abraham's second son Isaac is
called Father of the Hebrews. In Islamic tradition Isaac is
viewed as the grandfather of all Israelites and the promised
son of Abraham from his barren wife Sarah.
• There are many common aspects between Islam and
Judaism. As Islam developed in close contact with Judaism it
gradually became the major religion closest to Judaism, both
of them being strictly Monotheist religious traditions
originating in a Semitic Middle Eastern culture. As opposed
to Christianity, which originated from interaction between
ancient Greek and Hebrew cultures, Islam is similar to
Judaism in its fundamental religious outlook, structure,
jurisprudence and practice. There are many traditions within
Islam originating from traditions within the Hebrew Bible or
from postbiblical Jewish traditions. These practices are
known collectively as the Isra'iliyat
Adam
Noah
Shem
Ham
Japheth
TIMELINE OF WORLD RELIGION
Abraham
Hagar
Sarah
Ishmael
(Arab)
Isaac
12
Princes
Esau
Jacob/Israel
12 Tribes
Keturah
Zimran,
Jokshan,
Medan,
Ishbak,
Shuah
Moses
David
All the
Prophets
Jesus, the Christ
Mohammed
The Seed of Abraham,
the last Adam
Palestine
(non-Arab)
Chinese
and
Africans
Gentiles
Europeans
Shared concepts
1. Holy scriptures
• Islam and Judaism share the idea of a
revealed Scripture. Even though they differ
over the precise text and its interpretations,
the Hebrew Torah and the Muslim Qur'an
share a lot of narrative as well as injunctions.
From this, they share many other
fundamental religious concepts such as the
belief in a day of Divine Judgment.
• Muslims commonly refer to Jews (and Christians) as
fellow "People of the Book": people who follow the
same general teachings in relation to the worship of
the one God worshipped by [Abraham], Allah. The
Qur'an distinguishes between "People of the Book"
(Jews and Christians), who should be tolerated even
if they hold to their faiths, and idolaters
(polytheists) who are not given that same degree of
tolerance (See Al-Baqara, 256).
2. Religious law
• Judaism and Islam are unique in having
systems of religious law based on oral
tradition that can override the written laws
and that does not distinguish between holy
and secular spheres. In Islam the laws are
called ‘Sharia’, In Judaism they are known as
‘Halakha’. Both Judaism and Islam consider
the study of religious law to be a form of
worship and an end in itself. (Sunni)
3. Rules of conduct
• The most obvious common practice is the
statement of the absolute unity of God, which
Muslims observe in their five times daily prayers
(Salah), and Jews state at least twice (Shema
Yisrael), along with praying 3 times daily. The two
faiths also share the central practices of fasting and
almsgiving, as well as dietary laws and other
aspects of ritual purity. Under the strict dietary
laws, lawful food is called Kosher in Judaism and
Halal in Islam.
• Both religions prohibit the consumption of pork,
which is different in Christianity because even that
the bible prohibits the pork meat, Christians still eat
it. Halal restrictions are similar to a subset of the
Kashrut dietary laws, so many kosher foods are
considered halal.
• Both Islam and traditional Judaism ban
homosexuality and forbid human sexual relations
outside of marriage and necessitate abstinence
during the wife's menstruation. Both practice
circumcision for males.
• Islam and Judaism both consider the Christian doctrine of
the trinity and the belief of Jesus being God as explicitly
against the tenets of monotheism. Idolatry, worshiping
graven images, is likewise forbidden in both religions. Both
believe in angels and demons (Sahtahn in Hebrew/Judaism
and Al-Shai'tan in Arabic/Islam) (However, many Jews do not
consider angels nor demons to be literal beings as stated by
Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon) and many angels possess similar
names and roles in both religions. Neither religion
subscribes to the concept of original sin. Both view
homosexuality as sinful.
• There are narrative similarities between Jewish
texts and the Hadith have also been noted. Both
state Potiphar's wife was named Zuleika (In Islam's
case, this is a result of Isra'iliyat influence).There is a
small bone in the body at the base of the spinal
column called the Luz bone (known by differing
traditions as either the coccyx or the seventh
cervical vertebra) from which the body will be
rebuilt at the time of resurrection, according to
• Muslims and Jews who share the belief that
this bone does not decay. Muslims books
refer to this bone as “Ajbu al-Thanab”. Rabbi
Joshua Ben Hananiah replied to Hadrian, as
to how man revived in the world to come,
"From Luz, in the back-bone."
Luke 12:3
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and
what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be
proclaimed from the roofs. Jewish culture lives on!
Some thoughts on Judaism and
Islam.
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Colin Chapman sees three reasons to dis-qualify an
association with these two religions.
Mohammed was too creative in adding his own
interpretation to the Joseph story Surah 12.
His teaching was influenced by the negative response from
the Jews. The change of the Qiblah and the linking of
Abraham with Mecca are given as examples.
The Jewish people had special privileges from God.
All these can be countered by taking on board the idea of a
theology of identity.
Maxime Rodinson.
• The name ‘Ishmaelite’ is synonymous to Arabs amongst
Christians and Jews: Book of Jubelees 150 BC. Flavius
Josephus 100AD. Also called Hagarenes, Agarenians. Jewish
text the Sapiencial Poem 2nd part of the book of Baruch
called sons of Agar (Baruch 3 v 33)
• European Christians thought that the word Saracen came
from Sara. ( this they had that association)
• Simeon, son of Kamitos, high priest is predecessor of
Caiaphas the high Priest is also called Ishmael in the Talmud.
• Paul Kruger welcomed Indian merchants in South Africa
called them Ishmaelites.
• Massignon, using Lammens work, said that Islam “was an
Arabic adaption of Biblical monotheism”
• Ishmael is circumcised, before Isaac, into the Abrahamic
covenant. And becomes the champion of the Arab
genealogical claim.
• The Ishmaelites originate from the NW of Arabia
(Nabateans) NOT all Arabs.
• NW Arabs used ‘El’ for God, Central and Southern used
Allah. Later changed to make a distinction for Arabs.
• Snouck Hurgronje shows that it is when Mohammed is in
Medina that he discovers the link with Abraham. THERFORE
anything Jewish is by way of inheritance and osmosis from
visiting traders.
Jewish SECTS
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The plethora of Jewish sects and their interpretation of the
OT. Denominations of Judaism: Jewish movements, often
referred to as denominations, branches or sects of Judaism,
differ from each other in some beliefs and thus in the way
they observe Judaism. Differences between Jewish
movements, in contrast to differences between Christian
denominations, derive from interpreting Jewish scriptures in
more progressive/liberal or more traditional/conservative
ways rather then from theological differences.
Jewish sects
• 1. Orthodox Judaism:
Orthodox Jews believe that God gave Moses the whole Torah
(Written and Oral) at Mount Sinai. Orthodox Jews believe that
the Torah contains 613 mitzvot (commandments)
• 2. Conservative Judaism:
Conservative Judaism maintains that the ideas in the Torah
come from God, but were transmitted by humans and contain
a human component.
• 3. Reform Judaism:
Reform Judaism believes that the Torah was written by
different human sources, rather than by God, and then later
combined.
• 4. Reconstructionist Judaism:
Reconstructionists believe that Judaism is an
"evolving religious civilization." In one way it is
more liberal than Reform Judaism.
• 5. Humanistic Judaism:
Humanistic Judaism, founded in 1963 in
Detroit, Michigan by Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine,
offers a nontheistic alternative in
contemporary Jewish life.
• More research needed to ascertain the kind of
Judaism in Arabia in 6th- 7th C.
SHIA GENEOLOGY FROM ADAM