Religions of Christians and Muslims

¶ … Religions of Christians and Muslims around 700 a.C.E.

Islam vs. Christianity around 700 a.D.

Christianity and Islam generated much controversy in seventh century's world, as savages in particular had not been acquainted with the concept of religion and thus had difficulty understanding the benefits and the disadvantages they would gain from following a certain religion. Christianity had experienced a steady progress in the last centuries, spreading rapidly over territories in Asia and in Europe. In spite of the fact that it was a newly founded religion, Islam was also influential and quickly spread over the Arabian Peninsula, actually threatening communities where Christianity dominated.

The first millennium was an essential chapter in Christian history, as it was the period during which the religion progressed greatly, coming to have numerous followers over three continents. However, Christianity was directly threatened by Islam during the last three centuries of the millennium, given that more and more individuals, and even Christians, left their previous convictions in favor of embracing Islam. Society was profoundly impacted as the two religions claimed more and more followers across time and some people became determined to impose their religious convictions with every chance they had. It was surprising for the whole world to see that a religion of such a magnitude (Christianity) was threatened by the Arabs, who were apparently fighting for a newly emerged religion (Wilken). In contrast to Christians however, Muslims appeared to be less interested in converting as many subjects as they possibly could and they actually tolerated Christians to express themselves without restraint in Muslim-controlled territories (Jenkins).

Christians typically look at things from the perspective of a Westerner and attempt to describe their beliefs through putting across concepts that are highly regarded in the Western World. Individuals who have not yet interacted with religion might feel uncomfortable upon learning more about Christianity or Islam. The seventh century emphasized the fact that Christianity would no longer be the same in the East, as Eastern Christians slowly but gradually came to be influenced by Eastern cultures and even by Muslims. One of the reasons for which Christians in the East did not hesitate to take on Muslim convictions was the fact that Islam was virtually a combination of Christian and Judaic concepts strongly influenced by the teachings of Muhammad (Jenkins).

Christianity was usually forcefully preached to whoever Christians came across, thus being too much for some cultures. In contrast, Islam was taught with preachers having no interest in converting their interlocutor, but by only being interested in expressing their convictions and in hope that the person they are speaking with will gain a better understanding of life as a whole.

Christianity was not only threatened by Islam, as it had also had troubles as a result of the Great Schism between the East and West. Tribal chieftains are normally influenced as a consequence of hearing information they consider to be beneficial and likely to assist them in a particular activity. Upon hearing that Christianity is actually divided between the East and the West because the two areas have differences in opinion (even though they are basically governed by similar concepts), a tribal chieftain would be predisposed to think lesser of the religion. This reaction would be usual from a person who is not acquainted with either of the two religions.

The tribal chieftain is essentially an impartial individual who is influenced by the information he receives from the two religious people. Although one can believe that Christianity has not actually lost ground as a result of the Great Schism because all Christians have similar convictions, this can actually be a detriment. Seeing that people disrespect each-other even though they are governed by similar principles can make someone believe that Christianity is actually the reason for which people start fights. Christianity would thus appear to be unattractive when being presented as a religion divided between the East and the West.

Uneducated people are likely to be influenced by symbols of power, given that one usually pays great importance to material values. Christianity was very strong in the seventh century. However, it had been severely weakened because of barbarian invasions in Europe and Arab conquests in the Arab Peninsula. Such information can be detrimental for an unbiased individual, since he or she might get the feeling that Christianity is a weak religion and that it is likely to become history in the future. The spread of Islam can however be surprising for an objective tribal chieftain, as it might induce a feeling of greatness in him, making him feel as if following Islam is likely to make him victorious.

Islam is also less privileged when considering its chances of convincing an individual to join the religion because of the fact that Christianity had also developed in the Arab Peninsula. Whole cities of Arabs converted to Christianity during the last centuries, making it even more difficult for Arabs to fight under Islam.

A Christian would probably have more chances of getting an individual to convert because of his experience in doing this. Christians around the year 700 a.D. were accustomed to preaching Christianity to whoever they encountered. Even with that, because Christians were better prepared to influence large urbanized areas, it would have been difficult for a Christian preacher to influence a savage into converting to the religion. This is obvious through the fact that tribes were typically reluctant to join religions that seemed to be too demanding of them. Moreover, because of the harsh character Christians from the time employed in describing their religion, non-religious individuals are likely to have been against Christianity (or, at least, against Christians).

In trying to convince a tribal chieftain in regard to what religion is better, a Christian and a Muslim would most probably end up fighting each-other by referencing history and all the events that they consider will better themselves and their religions in front of the savage individual. Observing how religion influences people in passionately fighting each-other, the tribal chieftain might also believe that it is pointless to convert or even to follow a particular religion, since such an act would simply influence an individual in fighting for no actual purpose. At the time when the tribal chieftain came across the two religious people the Christian had obviously been disadvantaged because Christianity was fragmented at the time while the Muslim was privileged because his religion was flourishing at the time and it had been supported by the unity Muslims put across.

Even though African tribes were renowned for their savage behavior, one might consider that the tribal chieftain was somewhat dedicated to ethical thinking. As a result of this, he would have most certainly been disturbed to find that Arabs spread Islam through violence and by invading other nations. It is difficult to determine if Islam or Christianity brought detriments or benefits to the people they interacted with around the year 700 a.D.

While Christians were accustomed to captivating the attention of whole nations through the concepts they put across, Islam was less experienced in manipulating individuals. This is thus likely to influence the tribal chieftain in believing that it would actually be better for him to follow Christianity, since Christians had presumably been less interested in conquering and more interesting in converting.

In contrast, Arabs were accustomed to invading other nations, even with the fact that they did not impose their religious thinking on the people they conquered. With tribal chieftains being expected to highlight the importance of material possessions, the sub-Saharan individual would be likely to follow teachings put across by the Christian, as Christianity presents him with the guarantee that the things he owns will not be taken from him.

It is of little importance that Christianity had experienced a slower progress in comparison to Islam, as the former already dominated the landscape.

By the year 300, churches were found in all the cities of the Roman Empire, from Spain and North Africa in the west to Egypt and Syria in the east, as well as in Asia Minor and the Balkans. In the fourth century the Armenians embraced the new religion, and on the eastern shore of the Black Sea the preaching of St. Nino led to the conversion of the Iberian royal house and the adoption of the Christian faith by the Georgians. To the south, Christianity reached Ethiopia in the fourth century and Nubia a century later. And there were Christian communities in Roman Gaul already in the second century and in Britain by the third century (Wilken).

Judging from the speed with which each of the two religions spread during the last centuries before 700 a.D., one might be inclined to believe that an impartial tribal chieftain who is primarily interested in material values would be more willing to adopt Islam, since this religion would present him with the chance of conquering vast territories and taking in numerous followers.

Judging from the previous experiences of the two religions, it only seems natural for the tribal chieftain to become a Christian, given that Christianity was already widespread in some parts of Africa at the time. Even with the fact that the tribesman was not acquainted with the religion, it is very possible that Africans in general felt that Christianity contained a series of concepts that were also present in their cultures." Though the peoples of this vast area spoke many languages and had different customs, through Christianity they were linked together in the confession of the creed of Nicaea" (Wilken).

Islam had nonetheless experienced a rapid spread over the Arab Peninsula, but this can be attributed to the fact that most people in the territory had been Arab and because they saw the opportunity of adopting a religion that also had the function of uniting all the Arab people. Moreover, one can understand how Christianity had more success in converting individuals because it had mainly been directed at getting the people it came across to think spiritually and to appreciate God as a spiritual concept. Islamic individuals basically did the same thing. However, Arabs were also interested in exploiting the territories they conquered and thus made foreigners feel as if they were threatened by Islam (Yeor 44). Muhammad generally saw conquering as a form of illustrating the power of Islam, whereas Christians were not actually interested in demonstrating their power and the power of God, as they merely wanted to influence others through religion.