WI instead of creating an entirely new religion, Mohammed ties his religious theories into Judaism. Thus Islam develops as a form of Judaism, albeit a more Arab form. How does this change Middle Eastern history?
Islam is and Arab form of Judaism.
No, Mizrahi Judaism is the Arab form of Judaism.
Islam is a completely different religion sharing a bit of history and laws with Judaism.
Even if Mohammed did make Islam officially a sect of Judaism, I doubt it would have changed anything: it still would have been different enough that the existing Jewish communities would largely have not accepted it, and the Muslims in OTL treated the Jews okay, so I doubt much would change there. Maybe if you elaborated on what "more Arab form of Judaism" means. Is Mohammed still the 5th big prophet? Do we still have 5 pillars? Do we rock the hajj? Do we follow halal (as opposed to the somewhat more strenuous kashrut)? Also note that Judaism isn't even remotely a proselytizing religion; if we keep that, you might as well say, "What would the effect be if the Muslims never conquered significant portions of the world?"
I think you know what I meant. If this "Arab Judaism" were more strictly Jewish, it would just be Judaism. Islam is Judaic monotheism through an Arab lens. I'm not really sure what the OP is asking, to be honest. I'm not sure how much closer you could get to Judaism in the 7th c than Islam and still be a different religion.
From a layman's perspective, Islam is essentially a proselyte version of Judaism. It's certainly much closer to it than Christianity.I'm not sure how much closer you could get to Judaism in the 7th c than Islam and still be a different religion.
Bernard Lewis spoke to this very issue, and while I don't agree with much of what he says, I think it's worth reproducing what he said here.From a layman's perspective, Islam is essentially a proselyte version of Judaism. It's certainly much closer to it than Christianity.
WI instead of creating an entirely new religion, Mohammed ties his religious theories into Judaism. Thus Islam develops as a form of Judaism, albeit a more Arab form. How does this change Middle Eastern history?
Islam is and Arab form of Judaism.
There is considerable evidence that early islam was primarily a heretical strain of Judiasm.
Care to elaborate? I have to say, I'm not sure where you're going with this. Muslims observe extremely high standards of ritual purity and praxis is essential to the faith. It shares that much with Judaism. I've studied both the Talmud and the Sunna, and whenever I turn to one or the other, I can't shake the feeling that I've seen this all before.I say that because Islam gets some important big ideas right (one god, mostly), but misses the details: the last two books of the Torah are essentially a laundry list of how Jews should live their lives. Histories suggest that Jews did in fact live their lives in this way until relatively recently (early modern period at the earliest), whereas Muslims don't. Not even a little.
You're right about the proselytism, but Islam is extremely decentralized. The Hajj is a ritual, nothing more, which only recently became affordable or even attainable for the majority of Muslims (historically only those who could afford to go on Hajj did so) and I'm not sure what relevance it bears to the question of whether Islam is "centralized" or not any more than the phrase "Next year in Jerusalem" uttered during the Yom Kippur service or the Passover Seder bear upon the centralization of Judaism.Islam lacks the emphasis of scholarship (yes, I know that Muslim scholars were among the best, but Judaism mandates universal literacy), the emphasis on cleanliness (halal << kashrute in terms of difficulty), and adds some ideas of centraliation (notably the hajj) that had completely vanished from Judaism 700 years after the Temple was destroyed. Islam is also intensely proselytizing, which isthe opposite of Judaism: if anything, traditional Judaism discourages conversion.
Care to elaborate? I have to say, I'm not sure where you're going with this. Muslims observe extremely high standards of ritual purity and praxis is essential to the faith. It shares that much with Judaism. I've studied both the Talmud and the Sunna, and whenever I turn to one or the other, I can't shake the feeling that I've seen this all before.
Note, for example, that all Muslims are required to perform ablutions at a minimum before every prayer, rinsing their eyes, ears, nose mouth, hands and feet thoroughly.
Also, Islam too mandates universal literacy, although obviously the Muslim world as a whole is far from achieving this mandate. It's worth noting, however, that the least literate Muslims in the world are Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries, like Bhutan, Nepal, and Cambodia; all Muslim countries are pointedly pursuing universal literacy for both men and women.
From a layman's perspective, Islam is essentially a proselyte version of Judaism. It's certainly much closer to it than Christianity.
Abdul Hadi Pasha
Islam is and Arab form of Judaism.
Abdul Hadi Pasha
I think you know what I meant. If this "Arab Judaism" were more strictly Jewish, it would just be Judaism. Islam is Judaic monotheism through an Arab lens. I'm not really sure what the OP is asking, to be honest. I'm not sure how much closer you could get to Judaism in the 7th c than Islam and still be a different religion.
Atreus
There is considerable evidence that early islam was primarily a heretical strain of Judiasm.
So where are we regarding the comming of the Messiah in this new Arab Judaism?
Well, actually the Qur'an said that He merely made it appear as if Jesus had been crucified. The claim that it was Judas who was crucified in Jesus' stead appears first in al-Tabari alongside a number of other theories, none of which al-Tabari privileges.In all fairness to the Christians, it's understandable that they mistakenly believe he was executed because God tricked the Romans into crucifying Judas in his place.