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Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world, with approximately 2.3 billion and 2 billion adherents, respectively.[1][2] Both areAbrahamic religions andmonotheistic, originating in theMiddle East.
Christianitydeveloped out ofSecond Temple Judaism in the 1st century CE. It is founded on the life, teachings,death, andresurrection ofJesus Christ, and those who follow it are calledChristians.[3]Islam developed in the 7th century CE. It is founded on the teachings ofMuhammad, as an expression of surrendering to thewill of God. Those who follow it are calledMuslims (meaning "submitters toGod").[4][5]
Muslims view Christians to bePeople of the Book, but may also regard them as committingshirk because of the doctrines of theTrinity and theIncarnation. Christians are traditionally classified asdhimmis payingjizya underSharia law.Christians similarly possess a wide range of views about Islam. The majority of Christians view Islam as afalse religion because its adherents reject the Trinity, thedivinity of Christ,the Crucifixion andResurrection of Christ.
Like Christianity, Islam considers Jesus to beal-Masih (Arabic for theMessiah) who was sent to guide theBanī Isrā'īl (Arabic for Children of Israel) with a new revelation:al-Injīl (Arabic for "theGospel").[6][7][8] But while belief in Jesus is a fundamental tenet of both, a critical distinction far more central to most Christian faiths is that Jesus is the incarnated God, specifically, one of thehypostases of theTriune God,God the Son.
While Christianity and Islam hold their recollections of Jesus's teachings as gospel and share narratives from the first five books of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible), the sacred text of Christianity also includes the later additions to theBible while the primary sacred text of Islam instead is theQuran. Muslims believe thatal-Injīl was distorted or altered to form the Christian New Testament. Christians, on the contrary, do not have a univocal understanding of the Quran, though most believe that it is fabricated orapocryphal work. There are similarities in both texts, such as accounts of the life and works of Jesus and thevirgin birth of Jesus throughMary; yet still, some Biblical and Quranic accounts of these events differ.
In the Islamic tradition, Christians and Jews are believed to worship the same God that Muslims worship.[9] However, to some, there are many different opinions in the discussion of whetherMuslims andChristians worship the same God.[10][11]
The Christian Bible is made up of theOld Testament and theNew Testament. The Old Testament was written over a period of two millennia prior to the birth of Christ. The New Testament was written in the decades following the death of Christ. Historically, Christians universally believed that the entire Bible was the divinely inspired Word of God. However, the rise of harsher criticism duringthe Enlightenment has led to a diversity of views concerning the authority and inerrancy of the Bible in different denominations. Christians consider the Quran to be anon-divine set of texts.
The Quran dates from the early 7th century or decades thereafter. Muslims believe it was revealed to Muhammad, gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609,[12] when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death.[13][14][15] The Quran is written mostly inparable and not in form of a linear process of history. However, the stories often involve Biblical figures.[16] By that, the Quran assumes that the audience is familiar with their associated narratives. Sometimes, stories featuring in the Bible are summarized, dwelled at length, and sometimes entirely different.[17][18] Another difference in style is that the Bible offers a linear set of time, from the beginning of the narrative to its end, while the Quran implies a cyclical pattern, in which the main narrative of the Quran unfolds repeatedly at the time of each prophet.[19]
Muslims believe that Jesus was given theInjil (Greekevangel, orGospel) by God, however that parts or the entirety of these teachings were lost or distorted (tahrif) to produce theHebrew Bible and the ChristianNew Testament. The majority of Muslims consider the Quran to be the onlyrevealed book that has been protected by God fromdistortion or corruption.[20]
Muslims and Christians both believe that Jesus was born toMary, avirgin.[21] They both also believe that Jesus is theMessiah.[21] However, they differ on other key issues regarding Jesus. Almost all Christians believe that Jesus was the incarnated Son of God, divine, and sinless. Islam teaches that Jesus was the penultimate and one of the most importantprophets of God, but not the Son of God, not divine, and not part of theTrinity. Rather, Muslims believe the creation of Jesus was similar to the creation ofAdam.
Christianity and Islam also differ in their fundamental views related to thecrucifixion andresurrection of Jesus. Christianity teaches that Jesus was condemned to death by theSanhedrin and theRomanprefectPontius Pilate,crucified, and after three days, resurrected. Islam teaches that Jesus was a human prophet who, like the other prophets, tried to bring his people to worship the one true God, termedTawhid. Muslims also believe that Jesus was condemned to crucifixion and then miraculouslysaved from execution, and was raised to the heavens.[22] In Islam, instead of Jesus being crucified, his lookalike was crucified.[23]
Both Christians and Muslims believe in the Second Coming of Jesus. Christianity does not state where will Jesus return, while the Hadith in Islam states that Jesus will return at a white minaret at the east ofDamascus (believed to be theMinaret of Isa in theUmayyad Mosque), and willpray behindMahdi.[24] Christians believe that Jesus will return to kill the Antichrist and similarly Muslims believe that Jesus will return to killDajjal. Many Christians believe that Jesus would then rule for 1,000 years, while Muslims believe Jesus will rule for forty years, marry, have children and will be buried at theGreen Dome.[24]
Muslims believe that Muhammad was a prophet who received revelations (Quran) by God through the angelGabriel (Jibril),[25][26] gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609,[27] when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death.[28][14][15] Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of Muhammad, a proof of his prophethood.[29]
Muslims revere Muhammad as the embodiment of the perfect believer and take his actions and sayings as a model of ideal conduct. Unlike Jesus, who Christians believe was God's son, Muhammad was a mortal, albeit with extraordinary qualities. Today many Muslims believe that it is wrong to represent Muhammad, but this was not always the case. At various times and places pious Muslims represented Muhammad although they never worshiped these images.[30]
During the lifetime of Muhammad, he had manyinteractions with Christians. One of the first Christians who met Muhammad wasWaraqah ibn Nawfal, a Christian priest of ancient Arabia. He was one of the firsthanifs to believe in the prophecy of Muhammad.[31] Muhammad also met theNajrani Christians andmade peace with them.[32][33] One of the earliest recorded comments of a Christian reaction to Muhammad can be dated to only a few years after Muhammad's death. As stories of the Arab prophet spread toChristian Syria, an old man who was asked about the "prophet who has appeared with theSaracens" responded: "He is false, for the prophets do not come armed with a sword."[34]
In Christianity, the most common name of God isYahweh. In Islam, the most common name of God isAllah, similar toEloah in the Old Testament. The vast majority of the world's Christians adhere to the doctrine of the Trinity, which in creedal formulations states that God is threehypostases (the Father, theSon and theSpirit) in oneousia (substance). In Islam, this concept is deemed to be a denial ofmonotheism, and thus asin ofshirk,[35] which is considered to be a major (al-Kaba'ir) sin.[36][37] The Quran itself refers to Trinity inAl-Ma'ida 5:73 which says "They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allah is the third of three." And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment."[38] Islam has the concept ofTawhid which is the concept of a single, indivisible God, who has no partners.[39]
Christians and Muslims have differing views about the Holy Spirit. Most Christians believe that theHoly Spirit is God, and the third member of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit is generally believed to be the angelGabriel.[citation needed] Most Christians believe that theParaclete referred to in theGospel of John, who was manifested on the day ofPentecost, is the Holy Spirit.[40][41] On the other hand, some Islamic scholars believe that the reference to theParaclete is a prophecy of the coming of Muhammad.[42]
One of the key verses concerning the Paraclete is John 16:7:
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter[Paraclete] will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you."
TheCatechism of the Catholic Church, the official doctrine document released by the RomanCatholic Church, has this to say regarding Muslims:
The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
— Catechism of the Catholic Church[43]
Protestant theology mostly emphasizes the necessity of faith in Jesus as a savior forsalvation. Muslims may receive salvation in theologies relating toUniversal reconciliation, but will not according to most Protestant theologies based onjustification through faith:
"The first and chief article is this: Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification (Romans 3:24–25). He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), and God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works and merits, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood (Romans 3:23–25). This is necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us ... Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls (Mark 13:31)."
Some modern Muslim scholars critique the doctrinal aspects of Christianity. For example, Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi, in his work Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas, argues that Christianity has incorporated various influences that diverge from Jesus' original teachings. He emphasizes the need for what he considers a rational and coherent ethical framework, contrasting Christian concepts likepeccatism (inherent human sinfulness) and saviorism (belief in Jesus as the redeemer) with Islamic views. This perspective includes a critique of Christian theological paradoxes and advocates for a rational and coherent ethical framework.[45][46][47]
The Quran explicitly promisessalvation for all those righteous Christians who were there before the arrival of Muhammad:
Indeed, the believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabians—whoever ˹truly˺ believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good will have their reward with their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve.
The Quran also makes it clear that Christians will be nearest in love to those who follow the Quran and praises Christians for being humble and wise:
You will surely find the most bitter towards the believers to be the Jews and polytheists and the most gracious to be those who call themselves Christian. That is because there are priests and monks among them and because they are not arrogant. When they listen to what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears for recognizing the truth. They say, “Our Lord! We believe, so count us among the witnesses. Why should we not believe in Allah and the truth that has come to us? And we long for our Lord to include us in the company of the righteous.” So Allah will reward them for what they said with Gardens under which rivers flow, to stay there forever. And that is the reward of the good-doers.
In 746,John of Damascus (sometimes St. John of Damascus) wrote theFount of Knowledge part two of which is entitledHeresies in Epitome: How They Began and Whence They Drew Their Origin.[48] In this work, John makes extensive reference to the Quran and, in John's opinion, its failure to live up to even the most basic scrutiny. The work is not exclusively concerned with theIsmaelites (a name for the Muslims as they claimed to have descended from Ismael) but all heresy. TheFount of Knowledge references several suras directly often with apparent incredulity.
From that time to the present a false prophet named Mohammed has appeared in their midst. This man, after having chanced upon the Old and New Testaments and likewise, it seems, having conversed with anArian monk, devised his ownheresy. Then, having insinuated himself into the good graces of the people by a show of seeming piety, he gave out that a certain book had been sent down to him from heaven. He had set down some ridiculous compositions in this book of his and he gave it to them as an object of veneration. ... There are many other extraordinary and quite ridiculous things in this book which he boasts was sent down to him from God. But when we ask: 'And who is there to testify that God gave him the book? And which of the prophets foretold that such a prophet would rise up?' – they are at a loss. And we remark that Moses received the Law onMount Sinai, with God appearing in the sight of all the people in cloud, and fire, and darkness, and storm. And we say that all the Prophets from Moses on down foretold the coming of Christ and how Christ God (and incarnate Son of God) was to come and to be crucified and die and rise again, and how He was to be the judge of the living and dead. Then, when we say: 'How is it that this prophet of yours did not come in the same way, with others bearing witness to him? And how is it that God did not in your presence present this man with the book to which you refer, even as He gave the Law to Moses, with the people looking on and the mountain smoking, so that you, too, might have certainty?' – they answer that God does as He pleases. 'This,' we say, 'We know, but we are asking how the book came down to your prophet.' Then they reply that the book came down to him while he was asleep.[48]
Theophanes the Confessor (died c. 822) wrote a series of chronicles (284 onwards and 602–813 AD)[49][50][51] based initially on those of the better knownGeorge Syncellus. Theophanes reports about Muhammad thus:
At the beginning of his advent the misguided Jews thought he was the Messiah. ... But when they saw him eating camel meat, they realized that he was not the one they thought him to be, ... those wretched men taught him illicit things directed against us, Christians, and remained with him.
Whenever he came toPalestine he consorted with Jews and Christians and sought from them certain scriptural matters. He was also afflicted with epilepsy. Whenhis wife became aware of this, she was greatly distressed, inasmuch as she, a noblewoman, had married a man such as he, who was not only poor, but also an epileptic. He tried deceitfully to placate her by saying, 'I keep seeing a vision of a certain angel calledGabriel, and being unable to bear his sight, I faint and fall down.'
In the workA History of Christian-Muslim Relations,[52] Hugh Goddard mentions both John of Damascus and Theophanes and goes on to consider the relevance ofNiketas Byzantios[clarification needed] who formulated replies to letters on behalf of EmperorMichael III (r. 842–867). Goddard sums up Niketas' view:
In short, Muhammad was an ignorant charlatan who succeeded by imposture in seducing the ignorant barbarianArabs into accepting a gross, blaspheming, idolatrous, demoniac religion, which is full of futile errors, intellectual enormities, doctrinal errors and moral aberrations.
Goddard further argues that Niketas demonstrates in his work a knowledge of the entire Quran, including an extensive knowledge ofSuras 2–18. Niketas' account from behind theByzantine frontier apparently set a strong precedent for later writing both in tone and points of argument.
Knowledge and depictions of Islam continued to be varied within the Christian West during the 11th century. For instance, the author(s) of the 11th centurySong of Roland evidently had little actual knowledge of Islam. As depicted in this epic poem, Muslims erect statues of Mohammed and worship them, and Mohammed is part of an "Unholy Trinity" together with the Classical GreekApollyon andTermagant, a completely fictional deity. This view, evidently confusing Islam with the pre-Christian Graeco-Roman Religion, appears to reflect misconceptions prevalent in Western Christian society at the time.
On the other hand, ecclesiastic writers such asAmatus of Montecassino orGeoffrey Malaterra inNorman Southern Italy, who occasionally lived among Muslims themselves, would depict at times Muslims in a negative way but would depict equally any other (ethnic) group that was opposed to the Norman rule such asByzantine Greeks orItalian Lombards. Often the depictions would depend on context: when writing about neutral events, Muslims would be called according to geographical terms such as "Saracens" or "Sicilians, when reporting events where Muslims came into conflict with Normans, Muslims would be called "pagans" or "infidels".[53]
Similarities were occasionally acknowledged such as byPope Gregory VII wrote in a letter to theHammadid emiran-Nasir that both Christians and Muslims "worship and confess the same God though in diverse forms and daily praise".[54]
InDante Alighieri'sDivine Comedy, Muhammad is in the ninth ditch ofMalebolge, the eighth realm, designed for those who have caused schism; specifically, he was placed among the Sowers of Religious Discord. Muhammad is portrayed as split in half, with his entrails hanging out, representing his status as aheresiarch (Canto 28).
This scene is frequently shown in illustrations of theDivine Comedy. Muhammad is represented in a 15th-centuryfrescoLast Judgment by Giovanni da Modena and drawing on Dante, in theSan Petronio Basilica inBologna,[55] as well as in artwork bySalvador Dalí,Auguste Rodin,William Blake, andGustave Doré.[56]
The question of Islam was not on the agenda whenNostra aetate was first drafted, or even at the opening of theSecond Vatican Council. However, as in the case of the question of Judaism, several events came together again to prompt a consideration of Islam. By the time of the Second Session of the Council in 1963, reservations began to be raised by bishops of the Middle East about the inclusion of this question. The position was taken that either the question will not be raised at all, or if it were raised, some mention of the Muslims should be made.MelkitepatriarchMaximos IV was among those pushing for this latter position.
Early in 1964,Cardinal Bea notifiedCardinal Cicognani, President of the Council's Coordinating Commission, that the Council fathers wanted the Council to say something about the great monotheistic religions, and in particular about Islam. The subject, however, was deemed to be outside the competence of Bea'sSecretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Bea expressed willingness to "select some competent people and with them to draw up a draft" to be presented to the Coordinating Commission. At a meeting of the Coordinating Commission on 16–17 April Cicognani acknowledged that it would be necessary to speak of the Muslims.[57]
The period between the first and second sessions saw the change ofpontiff fromPope John XXIII toPope Paul VI, who had been a member of the circle (theBadaliya) of theIslamologistLouis Massignon. Pope Paul VI chose to follow the path recommended by Maximos IV and he therefore established commissions to introduce what would become paragraphs on the Muslims in two different documents, one of them beingNostra aetate, paragraph three, the other beingLumen gentium, paragraph 16.[58]
The text of the final draft bore traces of Massignon's influence. The reference toMary, for example, resulted from the intervention of Monsignor Descuffi, the Latin archbishop ofSmyrna with whom Massignon collaborated in reviving the cult of Mary at Smyrna. The commendation of Muslim prayer may reflect the influence of the Badaliya.[58]
InLumen gentium, the Second Vatican Council declares that the plan ofsalvation also includes Muslims, due to their professed monotheism.[59]
Protestantism and Islam entered into contact during the 16th century, at a time whenProtestant movements innorthern Europe coincided with the expansion of theOttoman Empire insouthern Europe. As both were in conflict with theCatholicHoly Roman Empire, numerous exchanges occurred, exploring religious similarities and the possibility of trade and military alliances.[60] Relations became more conflictual in the early modern and modern periods, although recent attempts have been made atrapprochement.[61]
Mormonism and Islam have been compared to one another ever since the earliest origins of the former in the nineteenth century, often by detractors of one religion or the other—or both.[62] For instance,Joseph Smith, the foundingprophet of Mormonism, was referred to as "the modernMahomet" by theNew York Herald,[63] shortly after hismurder in June 1844. This epithet repeated a comparison that had been made from Smith's earliest career,[64] one that was not intended at the time to be complimentary. Comparison of the Mormon and Muslim prophets still occurs today, sometimes for derogatory or polemical reasons[65] but also for more scholarly and neutral purposes.[66] While Mormonism and Islam certainly have many similarities, there are also significant, fundamental differences between the two religions. Mormon-Muslim relations have historically been cordial;[67] recent years have seen increasingdialogue between adherents of the two faiths, and cooperation incharitable endeavors, especially in theMiddle andFar East.[68]
Scholars and intellectuals agreeChristians have made significant contributions to Arab and Islamic civilization since the introduction ofIslam,[69][70] and they have had a significant impact contributing the culture of theMiddle East and North Africa and other areas.[71][72][73]Eastern Christian scientists and scholars of the medieval Islamic world (particularlyNestorianChristians) contributed to the ArabIslamic civilization during theUmmayads and theAbbasids periods by translating works ofGreek philosophers toSyriac and afterwards toArabic.[74][75][76] They also excelled inphilosophy,science,theology andmedicine.[77][78]Byzantine science played an important and crucial role in thetransmission of classical knowledge to theIslamic world.[79]
During theHigh Middle Ages, theIslamic world was at its cultural peak,supplying information and ideas toEurope, viaAl-Andalus,Sicily and theCrusader kingdoms in theLevant. These includedLatin translations ofthe Greek Classics and of Arabic texts inastronomy,mathematics,science, andmedicine. Translation of Arabic philosophical texts into Latin "led to the transformation of almost all philosophical disciplines in the medieval Latin world", with a particularly strong influence of Muslim philosophers being felt in natural philosophy, psychology and metaphysics.[80] The Islamic world also influenced other aspects of medieval European culture, partly byoriginal innovations made during theIslamic Golden Age, including various fields such as thearts,agriculture,alchemy,music,pottery, etc.
Islamic art andculture have both influenced and been influenced byChristian art andculture. Some arts have received such influence strongly, particularly religious architecture in theByzantine andmedieval eras.[81][82]
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)(subscription required)Christian contributions to art, culture, and literature in the Arab-Islamic world; Christian contributions education and social advancement in the region.
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