Judaism in the Middle East
Various religious groups exist across the world today, among them, Judaism. Judaism is a religion that believed to have originated from the Middle East and Northern Africa. The religion believes in a single God who is a supreme being and who controls nature and humankind’s welfare. The followers of the cult respect God and keenly observe the teachings of the religion. The religion has a long history, with some scholars arguing that religion existed more than 3,000 years ago. Others, however, say that the religion traces back to 2,000 years back, which prompts the author of this paper to explore the history of the faith to determine its history. In addition to exploring the past, the paper also examines the religion’s beliefs and relationships with other faiths.
Judaism; Historical Background
Judaism is one of the religions considered as the oldest in the history of religions all over the world. The religion is a monotheistic one, which means that they trust in a single God who they view as a supreme power. The religion traces its origin in the Middle East, where its followers believe the originators came from. According to history, the denomination emerged in the Middle East more than 3,000 years ago (Beyers, 2017). The history of the religion reflects the fact that most historians concur that Judaism existed during the Bronze Age. Also, there is evidence that the Jewish beliefs and traditions were recorded as early as the 8th century BCE. The above stated facts lead to the view that religion is older than 3,000 years and that it emerged in the Middle East. The founder of the religion is a Hebrew called Abraham – a man whose faith in God resulted in the birth of the Israelites, ‘the chosen generation’ (Miller, 2019). The spread of the religion prompted from migration, rather than missionary conversions like other religions. Importantly to note, while Judaism is a religion, it is characterized by rituals, traditions, and holidays which commemorate the past, present, express the future. In this regard, religion amounts to a culture in some aspects. The spiritual leaders of Judaism are known as rabbis, and the believers worship in synagogues. Torah is the sacred book which explains the origin of the Jewish faith
Current practices/relations with other Religious Communities in the Middle East
Currently, there are two major religions in the globe which are: Christianity and Muslim, which dominate most parts of the world. However, in as much as the stated religions are the most dominant in the globe, other minor religions are worth mentioning. One of the minor religions that are existent in the world is Judaism. Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, but it is still in existent even today (Beyers, 2017). Judaism is the currently dominant religion within the Middle East, which implies that Muslims and Christianity are minor religions in the region. The relationship between the Jews, Christians, and the Muslims are largely shaped by the specific beliefs the religions.
The three religions have varying beliefs and customs which distinguish them from each other. However, the beliefs and the traditions of the three religions sometimes do congruent, which makes them somehow similar. Additionally, the religions’ history does have multiple things in common, which helps to understand the backgrounds of each religion. For instance, the Israelites are highly regarded as a critical concept in both Judaism and Islam. In the middle-east, the race is highly associated with religion. For instance, Muslims are paralleled with Arabs, while the Israelites are assumed to belong to Judaism (Miller, 2019). As such, any relationship between the Israelites and Muslims are painted as Muslim-Jewish relations.
The Jews uphold the Abrahamic faith as a basis to distinguish their beliefs and position regarding other religions in this region (Lewis & Kaleem, 2019). In this regard, Judaism culture has been influenced and primarily shaped by Christian and Islamic faiths. In comparison to other religions, Judaism seeks to elevate daily life by worshipping God through their everyday actions and undertakings. The Jews believe that it is the only way to achieve rewards in the current and afterlife. Most importantly, to note, Judaism is non-creedal, which means it lacks static orthodox beliefs. As such, with intense waves of Islamic and Christian roots in the Middle East, the Jews are primarily attracted to other religions and end up converting. Such is due to the lack of a rigid dogma, which renders the believers weak at defending their faith. Nonetheless, with incredible similarities between Judaism and other religions, the relationship is mutual, and hence religious conflicts are minimal in the Middle East.