Similarities Between Jesus and Muhammad

How were Jesus and Muhammad similar to each other?

Jack D.: Jesus and Muhammad were both gaining lots of power, so political leaders in those two periods of time wanted to plot against them and kill them.

Tabitha: Jesus and Muhammad were both not welcomed to the earth, because people were afraid of their power.

Tyler: They were both hunted down by government leaders because of the miracles that they/god performed.

Ally: They were both sought after by people working in the government.  In Muhammad’s case, Muhammad began to have a large number of disciples, and the political leaders got frightened that he could gain too much power, resulting in more people following Muhammad than following the political leaders.  In Jesus’s case, Jews believed that Jesus was being disrespectful to God in his speech.

(This is a superb answer by Jack, Tabitha, Tyler, and Ally. They are correct that both men were perceived as threats by the political leaders of their times -- even though their messages were primarily about religion, not politics. Great job of reading closely by Jack, Tabitha, Tyler and Ally!)

Teddy: Jesus and Muhammad were both raised in an environment where the main religion was different than the one each of them started. Jesus was raised in a world where everybody was Jewish, and Muhammad grew up around people who were polytheistic. In both of their lives, they were persecuted and fought because of their different religious ideas.

Josh: Jesus and Muhammad both grew up without really knowing their real fathers.

Choose one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and explain how it is similar to a belief or practice from another religion we have studied.

Maya M.: In Islam, zakah says that you should give to those in need.  I feel like almost all the religions we’ve studied have an aspect of kindness towards other people.

Sarah: The fourth pillar of Islam, sawm, is similar to Judaism because sawm talks about fasting during the ninth month of the Islamic year. In Judaism, on Yom Kippur anyone that has had a bat or bar mitzvah is supposed to fast for one day. Sawm also says fasting helps you be more aware of Allah, and in Judaism you are supposed to fast to get rid of your sins. They are similar because both religions are fasting for a reason.    

Sylvie: In Chapel, we always say the Lord’s Prayer. This is similar to the Muslims' salah because it is repeated over and over again.

Katherine: The Shahadah is a mantra. If you are Muslim, every day you repeat “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammed is his messenger.” In Buddhism, there are lots of mantras, like the monks saying “om mane padme um” over and over again before the statue of The Buddha.