Christianity and Islam: ANY similarities?

[Revolutionary]

you know I never heard about that before

I mean I figured as much in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia but didn't really know about Indonesia

 

[Stolen Rutters]

really? can you provide a link that proves there are laws like this in these countries

Here's a description of a Saudi law.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1012.html

Saudi authorities do not permit criticism of Islam or the royal family. The government prohibits the public practice of religions other than Islam. Non-Muslims suspected of violating these restrictions have been jailed.

Edit: this is only the one that would apply to non-muslims and public worship.
---

Here is the mention of apostasy.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18288.htm

The Government prohibited non-Islamic public worship. The Government recognized the right of non-Muslims to worship in private; however, it did not always respect this right in practice. Conversion by a Muslim to another religion was considered apostasy. Public apostasy is a crime under Shari'a and punishable by death. There were no executions for apostasy during the year, and no reports of any such executions for the past several years.

Doesn't look like they are enforcing this one too much.

Qatar goes easy on it too.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61697.htm

Converting from Islam was considered apostasy and was technically a capital offense; however, since 1971 there have been no records of prosecution for such a crime or known citizen converts.

I'm thinking either "don't ask don't tell", or they could be leaving it to the militias to deal with it so the government can keep its hands clean.

 

[azzaman333]

They both are religions, so thats at least 1 similarity.

 

[Katheryn]

really? can you provide a link that proves there are laws like this in these countries

I already did, on page 2.

 

[Katheryn]

you know I never heard about that before

I mean I figured as much in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia but didn't really know about Indonesia

A Muslim cannot convert to Christianity at all. Not in any country that respects Sharia.

If you are already Christian, then it is tolerated in Pakistan and Indonesia, but you cannot convert.

 

[Katheryn]

EGYPT: CHRISTIAN CONVERT FROM ISLAM JAILED

Bahaa el-Din el-Akkad
October 18 (Compass Direct News) – A Muslim sheikh jailed in Egypt for 18 months has declared from his prison cell that he is under arrest for “insulting Islam” by becoming a Christian.

Egypt’s secret police transferred Bahaa el-Din Ahmed Hussein el-Akkad, 57, to the Wadi el-Natroun Prison last month. He was told he would remain there indefinitely unless he agreed to work as a government informer against other converts to Christianity.


According to the prisoner’s Cairo attorney, Athanasius William, his client remains incarcerated in this desert prison “only because he has chosen a different belief, to be a Christian.”


El-Akkad was imprisoned without charges for more than a year after officials of the State Security Investigation (SSI) arrested him in Cairo on April 6, 2005.


Although subjected to repeated interrogations, the former Muslim was never told the specific accusations against him. But several of his cellmates spread rumors that he was converting and baptizing people into Christianity, sparking verbal abuse and at least one severe beating from a fellow prisoner.


===========================

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&length=long&lang=en&idelement=4596

 

[Revolutionary]

I already did, on page 2.

yes I see it now, but really few read very very long posts like that

A Muslim cannot convert to Christianity at all. Not in any country that respects Sharia.

If you are already Christian, then it is tolerated in Pakistan and Indonesia, but you cannot convert.

ah ok, because I've read that Indonesia has several minority religions...

 

[Katheryn]

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=763

10 May, 2004
PAKISTAN
Forced conversion to Islam fatal for Christian boy

New incident reveals frightening trend

Lahore (AsiaNews/Ucan) – Outrage at the death of a Catholic boy forced to convert to Islam at the hands of torturous abductors has prompted the Pakistan Catholic Bishop’s Commission of Justice and Peace, to take up the legal case. The Christian youth died of injuries inflicted by a teacher and students at an Islamic school. The National Commission for Justice and Peace declared May 4th that the incident reflects a worrying trend of forced conversions.

Javed Anjum, an 18-year-old commerce student was seized by a teacher and students of Jamia Hassan bin Almurtaza Madrasa (an Islamic religious school) on April 17th when he stopped for a drink of water at a nearby tap in Toba Tek Singh, 310 kilometres south of Islamabad. For five days he was tortured until his condition became so serious that the abusers took him to a police station, stating that he had been attempting to steal an electric water pump, and filed a charge of robbery against him. The boy was kept in police custody until April 24th, when he was finally taken for medical treatment. By that time, according to the Bishop’s Commission investigation, it was too late to save him. Anjum died May 2nd, in a nearby Faisalabad hospital, of “renal failure”, having also suffered broken ribs and loss of eyesight.

According to the Bishop’s Commission, police refused to investigate the cause of Anjum’s injuries, or the allegation against him. Chairman of the Commission, Peter Jacob said on May 7th that officials at the Islamic school tried to create an impression that Anjum was a drug addict, and now local Muslim political leaders are supporting and protecting the school. “It only shows how desperate and aware the perpetrators are of their crime and what they had done, that they tried through various allegations to cover it up.”

 

[Katheryn]

http://www.sweetness-light.com/archive/islamic-holymen-demand-death-for-christian-convert

Islamic Holymen Demand Death For Christian Convert
More of the same from the Religion Of Peace and Tolerance.

Of course this goes on, day in and day out, in many of the Moslem countries of the Middle East.

Our one party media is only reporting it because they think it makes the US look bad, after the war in Afghanistan.

But we know what to expect from the DNC's Associated Press:


Abdul Rahman holding a translated version of the Bible at a Kabul court.

Afghan Clerics Demand Convert Be Killed

Afghan Clerics Demand Death of Man Who Converted to Christianity, Warn He'd Be Killed if Set Free

By DANIEL COONEY
The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan - Senior Muslim clerics demanded Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity be executed, warning that if the government caves in to Western pressure and frees him, they will incite people to "pull him into pieces."

In an unusual move, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned President Hamid Karzai on Thursday seeking a "favorable resolution" of the case of Abdul Rahman. The 41-year-old former medical aid worker faces the death penalty under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for becoming a Christian.

His trial has fired passions in this conservative Muslim nation and highlighted a conflict of values between Afghanistan and its Western backers.

"Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die," said cleric Abdul Raoulf, who is considered a moderate and was jailed three times for opposing the Taliban before the hard-line regime was ousted in 2001.

The trial, which began last week, has caused an international outcry. President Bush has said he is "deeply troubled" by the case and expects the country to "honor the universal principle of freedom."

Rice spokesman Sean McCormack said she told Karzai it is important for the Afghan people to know that freedom of religion is observed in their country. But in deference to the country's sovereignty, Rice evidently did not demand specifically that the trial be halted and the defendant released.

"This is clearly an Afghan decision," McCormack said. "They are a sovereign country."

Still, Rice's direct appeal to a foreign leader in a judicial proceeding in their own country is an unusual move.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters she had received assurances from Karzai in a telephone call that Rahman would not be sentenced to death.

"I have the impression that he (Karzai) has a firm willingness" to abide by the human rights requirements, Merkel said going into pre-European Union summit talks. "I hope we will be able to resolve this."

Diplomats have said the Afghan government is searching for a way to drop the case. On Wednesday, authorities said Rahman is suspected of being mentally ill and would undergo psychological examinations to see whether he is fit to stand trial.

But three Sunni preachers and a Shiite one interviewed by The Associated Press in four of Kabul's most popular mosques said they do not believe Rahman is insane.

"He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian," said Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque.

"The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed."

Raoulf, who is a member of the country's main Islamic organization, the Afghan Ulama Council

 

[Katheryn]

http://www.gatago.com/talk/politics/european-union/30966060.html

Convert From Islam to Christianity Killed in Somalia
Author: Antimulticulture | Date: 16-09-2006 | Posted in: talk.politics.european-union | Show original

[ed. Some more of the world famous love, tolerance and peace this
Islamic cult have for others in the world...]

Convert From Islam to Christianity Killed in Somalia
http://www.barnabasfund.org/archivenews/article.php?ID_news_items=217
September 15th, 2006

Somali Christian sources report that Ali Mustaf Maka'il, who converted from
Islam to Christianity eleven months ago, was shot and killed in the
Manabolyo quarter of Mogadishu on 7 September 2006. Ali (22) was a cloth
merchant and college student.

According to the source, the gunman was loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts
(ICU), the Islamist organisation that took power in Mogadishu in early June
2006 and now controls much of southern Somalia. The gunman shot Ali in the
back after he refused to join a crowd chanting Qur'an verses in honour of
the lunar eclipse. (Solar and lunar eclipses are significant in Islam and
are accompanied by special congregational prayers.) The ICU confiscated his
body for 24 hours before delivering it to the grieving family.

It seems that under the new Islamist rulers, who include hard-line jihadi
elements, the tragic history of persecution and martyrdom for Somalia's tiny
Christian community is set to continue and most likely to worsen.

In July 2006 there were unconfirmed reports that three Christians had been
shot and killed by Islamists as they returned home from a prayer meeting. In
October 2005 an evangelist and house church leader, Osman Sheik Ahmed, was
shot dead by Islamist radicals. Children of Christian Somali refugees in
Kenya have been kidnapped by Muslim relatives and taken to Islamic
institutions in Somalia for "rehabilitation".

Here is more all in the last couple of months.

 

[Katheryn]

World: Middle East
Christians in Iraq: Boy, 14, crucified
Captors demanded public apologies for Benedict XVI’s Regensburg address and payment of US$ 250-350,000 ransom


Thursday, October 12, 2006
by Asia News | Tags: iraq, orthodox


Fr Paulos Eskandar was laid to rest in Mosul today. The decapitated body of the Syrian-Orthodox priest was found in an eastern district of this Iraqi city yesterday. He was abducted last Monday by an unknown Islamic group which posted a hefty ransom of $350,000, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reported. The group also demanded that signs be posted on his church apologising for the Pope's Regensburg remarks as a pre-condition for negotiations.

AINA also published a letter from an Iraqi priest who fled to Sweden, describing what amounts to a full blown campaign of terror against Christians in Iraq.

Based on accounts from Christians still living in the country, Fr Adris Hanna warns that “Christians are living a terrified life in Mosul and Baghdad. Several priests have been kidnapped, girls are being raped and murdered, and a couple of days ago a fourteen-year-old boy was crucified in the Christian neighbourhood of Albasra.”

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idarticle=6026

=======================================================

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3309104,00.html

Gaza View

Sheikh: All must convert to Islam


Prominent Palestinian preacher says pope's meeting with Islam delegates this week is 'Crusaders conspiracy' to force 'Christian-Zionist' worldviews upon Muslims, calls Benedict XVI 'Bush's puppet'

Aaron Klein, WND Published: 09.28.06, 10:09

Pope Benedict XVI's meeting this week with a delegation of Muslim leaders and his calls for interfaith dialogue following earlier remarks about Islam are really "Crusader conspiracies" to subjugate the Islamic faith and force "Christian-Zionist" worldviews upon Muslims, a prominent Gaza Strip preacher told WorldNetDaily in an interview.


Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of Gaza's Jihadia Salafiya Islamic outreach movement, which seeks to make secular Muslims more religious, called the pope a "puppet" for "that Crusader George Bush."

The Gaza imam said the only Christian-Muslim dialogue that is acceptable is one in which "all religions agree to convert to Islam."

"The call for so-called dialogue by this little racist pope is a Trojan horse with the main goal of reaching a new system in which the ideals (of Christianity) are a new ideology that will rule relations between nations and people. The dialogue he wants is dangerous," said Abu Saqer, speaking to WND from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.



"The pope is the spiritual and religious wing of the Crusader ideology," Abu Saqer said. "He is totally coordinated with Bush. Through this dialogue he hopes to break the lines of unity between Muslims and polarize the Muslim world, which has some partisans who will accept this new dialogue. But true believers know Islam must rule all relations. The only dialogue we will accept is when all other religions agree to convert to Islam."



The pope has been drawing fire from Muslims worldwide for a speech he gave two weeks ago in which he quoted Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus, who wrote, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."



The pontiff last week said he was "deeply sorry" for the reaction to his comments and later explained the emperor's words did not reflect how he himself felt. He said the intent of his remarks was to call for a dialogue on the role of religions in modern life.



Benedict XVI on Monday held an unprecedented meeting with a group of 20 Muslim leaders in a bid to calm anger that has spilled over into international Muslim protests. The envoys invited to the Vatican included leaders from major Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and Iraq, and from the Arab League.



'Retract comments'

But keeping the controversy alive, an organization of 56 Islamic nations yesterday pressed Benedict once again to apologize for his original comments. Foreign ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference approved a statement urging the Vatican to "retract or redress" the pope's citation of Paleologus.




In all his responses to the controversy, the pope has not directly apologized for his original statements quoting a scholar linking Muslims to violence.



Following the comments Muslims worldwide protested, some violently.



An elderly Catholic nun was shot dead in Somalia, with many speculating the attack was in response to the pope's speech. Palestinians wielding guns and firebombs attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including Anglican and Greek Orthodox churches in the north Samaria city of Nablus and a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City. A group calling itself the "Lions of Monotheism" claimed responsibility for the church attacks, saying the violence was carried out to protest the pope's remarks.



Holy war

In an interview with WND last week, Abu Saqer called for holy war against the pope. He declared the "green flag of Muhammad" would soon be raised over the Vatican.




"We did not need the words of the pope in order to understand that this is a Crusader war against Islam and it is our holy duty to fight all those who support the pope, who follow him and who did not condemn what this small racist had to say," said Abu Saqer.



"The day will soon come when the green flag of La Illah Illah Allah (There is no god but Allah) and Muhammad Rasul Allah (Muhammad is the prophet of Allah) will be raised upon the Vatican and all around the world and on the fortresses of those who want to destroy Islam, because they know that this religion obliges them to face the truth that Islam is Allah's favorite religion. And until they join Islam, hell is their last station," Abu Saqer said.



The Gaza preacher said he rejected the pope's stated apologies.



"He did not apologize. He said everything but an apology, which proves these are diplomatic acts and not a feeling of being sorry."



Abu Saqer claimed he did not condone violence. He blamed the pope for recent anti-Christian attacks in the Palestinian territories.



"We are deeply sorry for these acts that we condemn," he said. "But I am sorry that this little racist did not think of the consequences upon the Christians in the Arab world when he insulted our prophet. It is an open war – the Muslims against all the others."

=================================================



I can't imagine you want any more....... there are tons more...

 

[Revolutionary]

oh no need for more, the ones you posted on page 2 was enough, once I got around to reading them

 

[Katheryn]

Yes, well you can see why I so passionately denounce the idea that there is any similarity whatsoever between Islam and Christianity.

There is none at all.

Not in beliefs, not in practices, not in anything.

 

[skadistic]

Yes, well you can see why I so passionately denounce the idea that there is any similarity whatsoever between Islam and Christianity.

There is none at all.

Not in beliefs, not in practices, not in anything.

They both came from the middle east. They share a few tripe and trival points but as far as substance go they don't.

 

[s.c.dude]

vwala http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178819

 

[amadeus]

Both have a clergy, "holy sites," god(s), etc. -- all of the things any regular religion has.

Beyond that, totally different in every way.

 

[Field_Marshal]

Adam is the first prophet of Islam and the first human being. He was created by God but brought to life forty days after being kept as a dry body."He is an important figure in Judaism and Christianity as well and he is best known for the story of Adam and Eve.

Although best known for the Deluge, Nuh was a primary preacher of monotheism at his time. According to Islam, it was this faithfulness to God that led to his selection for building the Ark that would continue life on Earth. In contrast with Christian and Jewish traditions which say the Deluge was a global event, there is some difference in opinion in Islam over whether the flood associated with Nuh was localized or global.

Ibrahim is regarded by Muslims today as one of the significant prophets as he is credited with rebuilding the Kaaba in Makkah. His family, including his son Ismail, is also credited with helping create the civilization around Makkah that would later give birth to the final prophet of Islam, Muhammad. Ibrahim is also noted for almost sacrificing his son Ismail (Ishmael) for God in an event now commemorated annually by Eid ul-Adha. He is also the first prophet to name the believers as "Muslims" meaning "those with full submission to Allah".

Lut (Lot) is most notable in Islam for attempting to preach against homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorra, only to be mocked and ignored by the people who lived there.

Moses (Arabic:Musa), referred to in the Qur'an more than any other prophet, is significant for revealing the Torah (Arabic:Tawrat) to the Ancient Egypt Egyptians. The Qur'an says Moses realized his connection with God (Arabic:Allah) after receiving commands from him during a stop at Mount Sinai. He later went on to free the enslaved Hebrews after failing to convince the Egyptian pharaoh of God's power. Moses subsequently led the freed Hebrews for forty years through the desert on a long attempt to capture Canaan, the Promised Land. During this long journey, Moses received the Torah and the Ten Commandments during another trip to Mount Sinai. At the end of his life, according to Islamic tradition, Moses chose to die to be closer to God instead of taking an offer that would have extended his life. by aneesa and Ahsen

Those are some of the prophets we each believe in for what its worth.

 

[Katheryn]

vwala http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178819

Well in that thread, it seems to me that Quasar knew what he was talking about.

 

[SecretKnowledge]

Islamic practice is a mixture of Christianity, Judaism, some Zoroastrianism, and some unique ideas. It has a strong similarity to Judaism, notably Orthodox Judaism. To deny the similarty of Orthodox Judaism to Islam would be to reject the extremely obvious. Their main differences consist are on the topics of univeralism and specific prophets. Both of these are similar to Christianity in many ways. Christianity and Judaism used the word Allah before Islam did. Khoda and many other words are also used in Islam.

Zoroastrian ideas can be found in the Quran such as the Chivnat Bridge (Sirat in the Quran) and the idea that hell is temporary (the texts of both clearly say this whether or not it is widely accepted). Fasting and meditation was common to Christian Jewish, and Islamic mysticism. All three are Monotheistic, have a concept of prophets, and promote a moral code. Christianity and Islam both have the idea of Heaven and both have similar ideas of a Judgement although the differ on the salvation method. Chrisianity is the only current religion with this type of idea of salvation. Sunnis do not really have priests although Shiites have clerics that are very important in that version of Islam.

This is similar to the way Zoroastrianism and Manicheanism share ideas.

It can be argued that Sufism may have derived many of its ideas from Hinduism and indigenous Arab ideas. The attempt to combine Islam and Hinduism by Akbar was interesting though brief. The Ismailis were also very interesting.

The religions deriving from the Judaic tradition consist one branch of the major world religions while Hinduism and Buddhism constitute another.


In cannot be said that the government of Sri Lanka or the LTTE are favorable to Christianity or Islam. Suicide bombings and ethnic cleansings occur in that ongoing conflict. Not all incidents of religious hatreds involve the same religions.


You can convert to other religions in Bahrain which is governed by Sharia. It also possible to do so in the Palestinian territories (take a look at the 2005 report), Turkey, Syria, and other countries. Evangelical organizations operate in Bahrain.

 

[aneeshm]

They're totally different . A lot of the externalities may be similar , but the fundamentals are totally different .