The Shahada is a very minimalist profession of belief, and the differences between major Islamic groups like the Sunni and Shiite are not based on theological differences. Islam might have a borrowed a few elements from Christianity, but it is clearly far more shifted toward Judaism than Christianity, as they adherence to dietary laws and practices like circumcision shows.. I would not call Islam intermediate, that implies Islam is more equal distant between the 2 religiojs than it is. Islam is very clearly biased toward Judaism, their practices show it.
There are many essential beliefs in Islam, deviation from which is largely seen as heresy, in Judaism there is arguably only one, and even that is subject to a wide range of abstract and mutually exclusive interpretations. [/Quote]
Such Christians groups that practiced Mosaic law did so because it seems because they regarded themselves as Jews as well as Christians. Early Christianity arose direftly from Judaism, all the.dirst Christians were Jews. Such groups that practiced Jewish laws, and they were very much in a very small minority if they still existed by the 7th century, did so as a carryover legacy from the times when Christianity was just a Jewish sect. Islam was never a Jewish sect, nor did it ever claim to be, so the situation is different.Practices such as circumcision, opposition to iconography, and the prohibition on eating pork aren’t necessarily evidence of Rabbinic influence since they are derived from texts venerated by both Christians and other Jewish movements. There were also Christians who followed Mosaic law. One common theme in early Islamic texts, is polemics against Jews and Christians for not following their own texts. Though not universally the case throughout history, Islam, and particularly early Islam, preferred more straightforward readings.
As for your claim for Islam's claim for straight forward interpretation, that is highly debatable. The Koran is never specific as to what text of theirs the Jews and Christians are not followings and how they are specifically ciolating. In a manner all to typical odnthr Koran, if makes accusations without giving specifics. The Koran off makes claims.that are not supported by the facts, the New Testament does not speakmof Muhammad as Islam.says. The Muslims.attempt.to use the Gospel of John's to support its claims that the Gospels speakmof Muhammad is certainly not straight forward interpretation, pulling the verses they want to use out of a clear context and changing the meaning of true Greek word Comforter to suit their argument.
The same thing is seen is seen when they use the Old Testament verses of Moses' prophecy of another prophet being sent after Moses. The Muslim interpretation of those Old Testament verses is not straight forward. Nor are the Muslim interpretation od Koranic passages always straight forward either.
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UAn example is the story about Muhammad having two Jewish adulterers stoned to death in accordance with a straightforward reading of biblical law, despite the local Jewish community claiming this was not their custom. The closest Rabbinic parallels are those stories you mentioned, although those stories may well have had an independent life circulating as folktales in addition to ending up in the Talmud.
Yes, but non Rabbic Judaism was more significant increase the past as much as 10% of Jews rejected the core of Rabbinic Judaism, rhhe Oral Torah. And Indonr find the Muslim teachings of Hell and ressurection of the dead as different from Rabbinic Judaism teaching and the the Talmud as you make out. The idea of the 7 Heavens comes more from the Talmud tha the New Testament. A few elements of Islam do have a little more in common with Christianity than Judaism, but they are outnumbered by the ones where Islam has more in common with Judaism.Something not touched on in your post, is the concepts in Islam of Heaven, Hell, Satan, and the nature of good and evil as a dichotomy, all of which appear to derive from Christian influence, as they are somewhat foreign to Rabbinic Judaism, especially the Rabbinic Judaism of the time.
Which supports my point that Islam has more in common with Judaism than Christianity, but I will acknowledge that Islam.also has some.elements in common with Christianity over Judaism.In contrast, the Muslim approach to law is quite similar to Rabbinic Judaism, though such an approach has its roots largely in pre-Christian, pre-Rabbinic Hellenistic Period Judah.
I agree, that Islam was its own religion, notnjust a repackaged Judaism or Christianity, however much it may have borrowed from each. Innthr 7th century, the Ebionites, if they still existed by then, were just a fringe group. Islam using the views of groups.like the Ebionites to represent Christianity is like using a group like the Alawites to represent Islam and nor know anything directly from the Koran.I think it’s safe to say, that a great deal of what differs in Islam from Christianity or Rabbinic Judaism, is a product of cultural filters, and the predilections and needs of the early Muslim leadership. Islam in the days of its expansion seems to have sold itself as a return to the true monotheism that Jews and Christians had each deviated from in different ways. That said, I’ll throw something else on the table. Check out the Wikipedia article on Ebionite Christianity. Whether one wants to characterize their religion as more Christian or more Jewish is of no interest to me, but with regard to potential influence on Islam, it’s notable that the latest evidence of their existence is communities in the Hejaz.