2. Compare Judaism and Islam

The main similiarities between Islam and Judaism is that they both are Monotheistic.
According to Jewish Law, an Observant Jew could possibly pray in a mosque, but not in a church.
There is a question in both Islam and Judaism whether or not Chrisitianity is monotheistic.

The antagonism today between Islam and Judaism is because Jews have managed to create a country in what was once an Islamic territory.
This was never a problem before in the entire history of Islam.
Therefore Judaism has been elevated to the same antagonistic status as Christianity enjoys in Islam, except that as the State of Israel is newer, the hatred is more raw and intense.
Once a territory falls under the sway of Islam, by Islamic Law, it remains forever the "property" of Islam. This includes all of the Balkans; southern Russia; Turkey; Greece; southern Italy and Spain. All of these territories were formerly part of the House of Islam and, in Muslim eyes, should always be so....

Moishe, I would like to keep this from turning political as much as possible and rather regard the religions themselves. Thank you for your input though. Wouldn't you say that other issues, such as modesty and dietary laws are also similar?

Yes, absolutely.
Both Jews and Moslems were once far more comfortable with each other's religious practices than with Christianity.

(I won't mention it again, but it is difficult to discuss Islam without reference to politics, as both the State and the Religion are supposed to be one and the same. The only State in Judaism is the Land of Israel, while ostensibly it would be good for the Church if the State were Christian, it is not a requirement as it is in Islam - Sorry.)

It is interesting to me that the "West" has severe problems with the Chador and the Veil that Muslim women are "required" to wear. It is, to the West, a symbol of Muslim repression and intolerance.
And the Veil is one of the few things that I completely understand about Islam and have no problems with whatsoever.
Of course I am against coercion, but the idea of "modesty" is an extremely important one in Judaism and quite frankly, Orthodox Jewish women dress much the same as religious Muslim women. The main difference is that Jewish women do not cover their face. But they do cover their hair. (For those of you that do not believe this, the Orthodox Jewish women you see are wearing wigs.)
They are also not supposed to show their body below the neck and above the wrists and calves.
The idea of modesty in both religions is that it is unseemly for married women and slightly less so for unmarried women (they do not have to cover their hair in Judaism) to show off their bodies to other men.
It makes perfect sense.
Everyone reading this on the internet has seen pictures of Britney or whomever is the current half naked entertainment figure of the day or has seen much more and, for men, it is a sexual attraction that makes one think. Men still oogle girls who, in today's world are in the majority, dress very immodestly. We like looking at female flesh.
The idea that a woman should not expose herself like that except to her husband is a fairly sound, religiously moral concept.

In addition, I would venture a guess that during the initial phase of Islamic Conquest, many Jews converted to Islam, seeing little difference between it and Judaism, but being attracted to its new power, easier rituals, and extreme devotion.
This is probably why Islam is the fastest growing religion today.

I hope some of the Muslim board members will join in. I did also see in another thread that the method for attaining forgiveness is similar. For those who are not Jewish or Muslim, this is the Jewish model.

A sin against God is forgiven by God when one has fully repented. A sin against man is forgiven when man seeks forgiveness from the one he wronged and makes is up to him however the situation calls for. He is required to seek forgiveness 3 times, after which time he is cleared and the one who would not forgive is now guilty of the sin of stone-heartedness ( I think this is the name. ) That's a simple overview.


One of the things that I would really like to explore is Muslim and Jewish views of God because I don't know how they differ or if they differ at all. I'm pretty sure there are more supernatural beings in Islam, but I do not know how this effects views on God.

Also, I'd like to look at the ways Jews and Muslims approach God. What is the relationship between a Jew and God? What is the relationship between a Muslim and God?

How many times per day, does an observant Muslim have to pray?

Five times a day. And mosque on fridays.

its better to pray IN MOSQUE..but there is no problem if u pray at home or another place..

Does that not differ among the different denominations? Is it all the same among Sunnis, Shiites, Sufis, Alevites, Druzes etc.?

I believe that Alawites and Druze are not considered Muslim by most Muslims.
I am not clear as to whether they actually consider themselves Muslim in the same sense that the Sunni and Shia mainstream sects do.

My easy reference guide to this is Islam

Thanks for the link Moishe, that one was really helpful! Now, I have heard stuff about the Druze that they are not considered Muslim by some, but I wasn't familiar with the fact that that also accounts for Alevites. I once spoke to an Alevite from Turkey who was setting up an Alevite centre in Slovenia, and he never spoke a word about people questioning whether they are real Muslims. For what I know, the Alevite-Turkish minority in the Netherlands is quite large (I thought around 40% of all Dutch Turks), and I knew from them that they ban things like headscarves, and are in favor of equal rights for women.