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Islam and Judaism

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Islam and Judaism have similarities and differences. While Judaism is one of the oldest religions, dating back to the days of Abraham, Islam is one of the newest religions. It is believed to have been founded in 622A.D. Muslims must follow the Koran, while Jews must follow the Torah. Both sets of laws are very strict, and they believe there are consequences for those who do not keep them. Islam's five chief obligations, testimony of faith, prayer, giving zakat, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to the Mecca, are similar to Jewish commandments and traditions.
Faith is the foundation of many religions, Islam and Judaism included. The first of the Five Pillars of Islam, testimony of faith, requires Muslims to say with conviction, "There is no true god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." The first half of this testimony states that only Allah is to be worshiped. Muslims take this very seriously and do not consider Muhammad to be Allah or even divine. They simply believe he was the last in a series of prophets. Besides Muhammad, Muslims believe in many of the same prophets as the Jews. (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus) Similarly, the first commandment states that, "You shall put no other gods before me." Judaism is a monotheistic religion, as is Islam, and they do not believe in the Trinity. To both Jews and Muslims, Jesus was simply another prophet. Unlike Christians, whose faith is based in Jesus Christ, both Jews and Muslims do not believe that God had a Son.
Prayer is a way to speak with and learn from God for both Muslims and Jews. Muslims erroneously believe that the very first mosque, the Kaaba, was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. Bowing toward the Kaaba of Mecca five prayers a day dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night, the Muslims are devoted to speaking with God. Unlike Jews, who had priests offer

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