History of Islam

The important capitals are:

1. Medina (in presently Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
2. Al-Koufa (in presently Iraq)
3. Damascus (in presently Syria)
4. Baghdad (in presently Iraq)
5. Al-Qahira (or Cairo in English, Egypt)

Answer 1

First of all, saying Jews and Muslims are enemies is like saying that all Americans and Mexicans are enemies. What about Mexican-Americans? Who is their enemy? The same thing goes for Jewish Arabs and Israeli Muslims. Who are they supposed to hate? Themselves? Sure a Jewish woman once tried to poison Muhammad. The poison didn't affect him. However, when Muhammad went to Yathrib (Medinah) the Jews praised him. They believed he was the last prophet. The reason the Jews stopped accepting him was because he wasn't an Israelite. That's when a rivalry began. But that has a small link to the Israel thing.

Answer 2

Mohammed originally described himself as a 'Jewish prophet'. The religion he was developing, which today we know as Islam, incorporated many aspects of Judaism within it. Some of the dietary laws are the same, for instance. Religious Jews pray three times a day - religious Muslims pray five times daily. There are many other similarities. But then Mohammed demanded that the Jews abandon their own faith and instead convert to Islam. Naturally, the Jews declined. At this point, Mohammed turned on them and this is the starting point of the enmity.

Judaism teaches that all religions are to be respected, and that all humans are equally God's children. And indeed, there are many instances of Jews and Muslims living and working together perfectly well. In fact, in general, Jews fared far better in Islamic countries than they did in Christian nations.

The dispute over land is more complex; bear in mind that Jerusalem is the holiest Jewish city. But for Muslims, it is the THIRD most holy city, because Mecca and Medina are their first two. Jews have always prayed facing Jerusalem, wherever they are in the world. Muslims pray facing Mecca and Jerusalem is not mentioned ONCE in the Quran, the Islamic holy text!

Answer 3

A lot of things contributed to the problem, but the central disagreement between them is over ownership of land. Religious people on each side believe that God gave them the land where they live. It is important to remember though, that in general, Jews and Moslems don't ALL believe that they are at war, or even have bad feelings toward the other religion. Most of the conflict is among people who are very different trying to live in close proximity in the Middle East. Some of them don't even believe in their religions... they just can't get along next to each other. Hatred like that exists whenever people don't try to understand each other, or start hating people just because they belong to a certain group even though they don't know them.

Answer 4

The answer to the question lies in the beginning of Islam and the original Jewish tribes that defied Muhammad's demand to convert to Islam. Because the Jewish tribes refused to convert and tried to assassinate Muhammad, the Jews became the object of Islamic hate.

Sura (5:59-60) - This verse begets the infamous belief on the part of some Muslims that Jews are descended from swine and apes, since it says that wicked Jews (at least) were transformed by Allah in the past.

The Qur'an also contains dozens of verses that specifically describe Jews in the ugliest, most hateful terms. These parts of the Qur'an are indistinguishable from hate literature.

There is nothing in Jewish literature or in the religion that promotes or directs hate towards any other religion. The Qur'an is believed by Muslims to be the word of God so as the Qur'an directs the Muslims to hate the Jews, the faithful follow the Qur'an's teaching.

General Answer

It happens with Islam as it happens with most religions of the world. Strong personalities and differing cultural needs led to various kinds of divisions. These divisions are sometimes interpreted as breaks with orthodox teaching, and so various sects take root. The divisions can form around issues of scriptural interpretation, the application of various teachings, or the nature of authority in the religion and how that is going to be passed down.

Specific to Islam

There are numerous splits in Islam, these are probably the most historically important.

The Sunni-Shiite Split

The main reason for the split here was: Disagreements over Succession after Muhammad's death.

The Muslim community was united while Muhammad was the leader of this community. Most Muslims hold, however, that he never specifically chose a successor to his leadership. There was a minority in the community that supported the candidacy of 'Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law, this political faction became known as the "Supporters of 'Ali" which in Arabic is Shiat 'Ali (where the modern term "Shiite" comes from). They derived their support from specific hadiths and events that they claimed showed that God had revealed to Muhammad that 'Ali would succeed him. The majority of Muslims held that these hadiths and events showed nothing more than that 'Ali was very pious, something they did not deny. Therefore they gave power to the man who was Muhammad's second-in-command and father-in-law Abu Bakr. This majority were called the People of the Customs [of the Prophet] which in Arabic is Ahl Sunna (from where the modern term "Sunni" comes from.)

The Sunni & Shiite-Kharijite/Ibadi Split

The main reason for the split here was: Impurity of Leadership.

The Kharijites were dominant in Egypt at the same time that the Shiites and Sunnis saw their first major confrontation: the Fitna Al-Kubra. At this point, the Kharijites fought along with the Shiites against the Sunnis and were able to press the Sunni leader, Mu'awiya, to the precipice of defeat. However, Mu'awiya asked to treat with 'Ali, the Fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph and leader of the Shiites. 'Ali's accepting of this invitation and the trickery that Mu'awiya played on him during the meeting deeply angered the Kharijites who believed that 'Ali was too easily deceived to be a true leader of God. They abandoned the Shiites and became a third party to the conflict. This made it possible for Mu'awiya to emerge victorious and conquer the Shiites. He then turned his attention to Kharijites and routed them. Kharijites disappeared completely a few centuries later, but they were succeeded by a less puritanical subgroup called the Ibadis who form the majority in Oman.

The Sunni-Mu'tazilite Split

The main reason for the split here was: Whether Islamic Law should be viewed through the lens of rational thought or purely Divine Edict.

The Mu'tazilites developed as a school in Baghdad that taught that a rational outlook on the Qur'anic traditions and the discussion of God, postulating a creation of the Qur'an, actual time-bound actions of God, and momentary attributes. In contrast, mainstream Sunni Islam at the time endorsed the idea that everything about God was co-eternal with Him (including any speech he made or books he revealed). While Mu'tazilites had power in Baghdad for roughly 200 years, they slowly waned and were "outvoted" by traditional Sunni theology.

The Sunni & Shiite-"Modern Prophets Islam" Split

The main reason for the split here was: Whether a Prophet could arise after the Death of Mohammed.

There have been a number of different Islamic Sects (like the Druze, the Baha'i, and the Ahmadiyya) who disavow the Muslim claim that Mohammed was the final prophet and the seal of the prophet. This betrays one of the fundamental claims of Islam. In order to avoid scrutiny and persecution about this, the Druze and Baha'i now self-advocate as different non-Islamic religions. The Ahmadiyya, however, still claim to be Muslim and are subject to violence due to their "apparent heresy".

The word Islam means "submission to God". The Holy Quran describes Islam as an Arabic word Deen (way of life). The followers of Islam are called Muslims. The literal meaning of Muslim is "one who surrenders" or "submits" to the will of God. In order to understand Islam, the basic portrayal of belief in Quran must be considered. According to Quran, those who submit to one God are Muslims. Aisha Y. Musa writes in his article, Jews in the Quran: An Introduction that, "Islam is the religion of all the prophets from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. (10:71-72, 84; 2:128-133; 5:110-112)." Quran also declares that all the prophets who came before Mohammad and their followers were all Muslims.

The origin of Islam dates back to the creation of the world. All the prophets who came to this world preached the same message of believing in one God and to accept them as His messenger. The prophets were also blessed with a manifestation of divine will or truth. Likewise, Prophet Mohammad was also a messenger of God. He revealed the truth and the way of life through the Holy Quran.

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The first Man, Hazrat Adam (AS) was the first Prophet of Islam and first Muslims. All the Prophets (May peace be upon them ) preached Islam. Islam was neither FOUNDED nor DEVELOPED by some person. Islam is the religion given to mankind by the Creator, Almighty God. All the holy Prophets (May peace be upon them all) preached Islam. The last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (SAW) started preaching Islam at the age of 40, in 570 AD in Makka, Arabia. Islam is based on human nature and preaches universal human brotherhood.The basic belief of Islam is ONENESS of Almighty God Who is the Sole Creator, Sustainer, Provider and Ruler of all the worlds. He has no Son, no Parents, No Partner. He is Unique, Nothing is like Him. He is the CREATOR, all others are His CREATURES.

The great and scholarly Sultan of Egypt and Syria!

Saladin, pronounced Salah al-Din in Arabic, was a Kurd born in Tikrit, Iraq in 1137. In 1174 he became Sultan of both Egypt and Syria after the death of Nur ad-Din, who was once Saladin's political rival and once-mentor.

During the time he spent gaining power in Egypt and Syria, Saladin tried to avoid open conflict with the Crusaders, who the Muslims referred to collectively as Franks. But after Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin know had a large enough army to pursue his goal of recapturing the Holy Land.

Following a year long truce with the Crusaders, on July 4, 1178 Saladin defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. During this battle Saladin captured the King of Jerusalem Guy de Lusignan. Next he marched on the city itself but found it defended by a knight, Balian of Ibelin. Balian and only a handful of other knights successfully defended the city from Saladin's attack until an agreement was made between the two, Balian would surrender the city to Saladin, as long as Saladin allowed the Christians to leave safely with the payment of a ransom.

The fall of Jerusalem led to the calling of the Third Crusade, and soon Saladin's famous rival Richard I of England was on his way to the Holy Land along with the King of France and the Hly Roman Emperor. The armies of Richard and Saladin soon fought several times and the two leaders had a great respect for each other. Before Richard surrounded the city, Saladin burnt all the crops in the fields outside of the city walls so Richard and his army would have no food. Eventually Richard realized that even if he did capture Jerusalem, he would not be able to defend it against Saladin, so in 1192 the two kings agreed to a truce. Saladin would remian in control of Jerusalem, so long as he allowed safe passage to and from the city for Christian pilgrims.

The following year, in the city of Damascas in Syria, Saladin passed away on March 4. When his advisors opened his treasury there was not enough money to even bury the great Sultan, he had long since given nearly everything away to charity.