What's the Difference?

(My essay for English 111 about Islam and Christianity)

We were quite a pair. I sat in my chair, probably wearing capris and one of my usual short sleeve shirts, facts that I mention only because it was the other girl’s appearance that first struck me. She was wearing a loose, long sleeve shirt, although it was warm, with a skirt and a headscarf. However, it was not our different appearances that drew the sharpest line of demarcation between us, for members of both of our faiths vary in the style of clothing they choose – it was what sat on each of our laps. Hers held an Arabic Qur’an, mine, an English Bible. But is there truly as much a dichotomy between Christianity* and Islam as there seems, or are the striking differences simply matters of surface appearance? The differences are indeed profound, for despite basic similarities, the basic premises of Islam and Christianity are different in almost every possible way.
There are certain similarities between Islam and Christianity. Both believe in a single God, who is characterized as merciful, gracious, and holy, the supreme ruler and Creator of the world, and a punisher of evil. Both have large worldwide followings: about thirty percent of the world is Christian, about twenty percent is Muslim. Both have single holy books that claim supremacy over all other holy books. Both groups claim sincere, undivided loyalty to their faiths. Both began with one founder then splintered into multiple groups after his death. However, when the roots of each faith are examined, the vast discrepancy between the two religions appears.
The core value of Islam is submission; Islam even means “submission” when directly translated into English. In the Qur’an, Muslims are repeatedly enjoined to submit themselves to Allah, their God, because doing so is the essence of their religion (Surah 3.19), the mark of true or full belief (Surah 2.208) - anything else will lead to the loss of everything good (Surah 3.85). Submission means “yielding-agreeing to someone’s demands or requests, surrender.” It means acquiescing, placing one’s resources and even one’s life at another’s disposal. Even so, it is an act of volition on the part of the human involved, one which begins with the person and is directed toward Allah, implying goodness in human nature. Otherwise, why would man submit himself to Allah? Why would he seek to do good works to please him? In Islam, as in many other religions, humans are characterized as innately good, but with bad tendencies. As a result, the central need of humanity according to Muslims is good works, acts of kindness toward one another and submission to Allah that make them pleasing in his sight. It is those good works that outweigh the bad ones done by any individual, earning him access to paradise.
On the other hand, Christianity’s core value is love. God is love (1 John 4:8); the two greatest commandments instruct followers to love God and one another (Matthew 2:36-39), and love motivated Jesus’ gift of his life, the greatest gift ever, which is celebrated at Easter (Ephesians 5:25). A loveless life indicates a godless life (1 John 4:8) and therefore leads to the loss of everything good (Matt. 7:23). Love means “the devoted affection of one to another irregardless of the merit of the recipient and/or potential benefit to the lover.” Since God is the lover involved, he is the initiator, and his act of volition begins with himself and is directed towards humanity, implying goodness not in humanity but in him. Unlike Islam, Christianity characterizes humans as innately bad, with good tendencies. Therefore, the central need of humanity according to Christians is a Savior who, by his perfection, can atone for our badness. The foundation of the Christian religion is built on that Savior, Jesus Christ, who because of his love, did atone for the sins of mankind, earning them access to paradise.
As the Muslim girl and I sat next to each other, the obvious differences in our clothing and books reflected the profound gulf between our religious beliefs. While Islam identifies duties to be done by the people, submission and good works, Christianity relies on God and his love and salvation. While Islam teaches man’s goodness, Christianity teaches man’s badness-but only to point out the goodness of God. Although the two religions share some common features, such as large constituencies, monotheism, and single founders, the differences between the two faiths vastly outweigh the superficial similarities.

*I am using my own standards, typical of more orthodox or fundamentalist strains, to describe Christianity.

Sources: http://www.islamicity.com/ and the Norton Anthology of Western Literature for Qur’an samples, The Compact Guide to World Religions by Dean Halverson for general information on Islam, http://www.biblegateway.com/ for Bible verses, and the Encarta Dictionary for the definition of submission.