Although Islam and Judaism share many similarities, they are still two distinct religions with major theological differences. Both emphasize one God, prophecy, religious law, and moral obedience, but they disagree about covenant, scripture, Muhammad, and the final meaning of God’s revelation.
20.2 Differences Between Islam and Judaism Read More »
Islam and Judaism are often closer to each other in religious structure than many people realize. Both are Abrahamic religions. Both strongly emphasize the absolute oneness of God. Both connect faith with daily obedience, community life, religious law, and moral responsibility.
20.1 Similarities Between Islam and Judaism Read More »
Module 20 compares Islam, Judaism, and Christianity by showing that they share important roots but also differ in major theological ways. It explains that Islam has strong similarities with Judaism in areas such as strict monotheism, law-centered religious life, prophecy, and rejection of idolatry. It also shows that Islam shares important similarities with Christianity, including belief in one Creator God, revelation, judgment, moral accountability, and reverence for figures such as Abraham, Mary, and Jesus.
20.0 Islam Module 20: Islam vs Judaism vs Christianity Read More »
Islam is a major force in the modern world. Muslim-majority countries are shaped by population growth, migration, technology, modernization, and global politics. At the same time, Islam is also being shaped by these modern changes.
19.3 Modern Trends and Global Influence Read More »
Muslim-majority countries vary widely in how they handle rights, freedoms, and religious expression. Some are relatively open and pluralistic, allowing different religions to practice publicly, women to participate broadly in education and work, and citizens to debate political and religious ideas. Others are much more restrictive, limiting religious minorities, punishing criticism of Islam, controlling women’s public lives, or treating religious identity as part of state loyalty.
19.2 Religious Freedom, Blasphemy Laws, and Women’s Roles Read More »
Islam is a global religion, but it is not lived out in exactly the same way everywhere. A Muslim in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan, or Morocco may share core beliefs with other Muslims, such as belief in one God, reverence for the Qur’an, and the importance of prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. But the way Islam appears in public life, family life, clothing, holidays, politics, education, and social customs can vary greatly from region to region.
19.1 Regional Expressions of Islam Read More »
Module 19 explains that Islam in Muslim-majority countries is both unified and diverse. Muslims around the world share core beliefs and practices, but Islam is expressed differently across regions because it is shaped by local culture, language, history, politics, and social customs. The module emphasizes that Muslim-majority societies are not all the same: some are more secular, some are more religiously conservative, and some blend Islam with national, cultural, and legal traditions in very different ways.
19.0 Islam Module 19: Islam in Muslim-Majority Countries Read More »
Islamic extremism is not one single phenomenon. The Muslim Brotherhood helped lay ideological foundations for modern Islamism. Hamas (Gaza) and Hezbollah (Lebanon) show how Islamist movements can combine religion, politics, social services, and armed struggle.
18.15 Islamic Extremism Overview Read More »
ISIS emerged in its modern form in 2013, but its roots go back to the Iraq War (2003-2011) and the earlier group Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi built a brutal Sunni militant network that later aligned with Al-Qaeda. After Zarqawi’s death in 2006, the group evolved into the Islamic State of Iraq, and by 2013 it had expanded into Syria and became known as the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS.
The Taliban emerged in 1994 in southern Afghanistan during the chaos that followed the Soviet withdrawal from the Soviet-Afghan war (1979-1989), the collapse of Afghanistan’s communist government, and the civil war among rival mujahideen factions.
18.13 Taliban (1994) Read More »
