1. Major Religions of the Middle East
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity

2. Origins of Judaism Judaism began in Israel around 2,000 B.C.E
Abraham, the patriarch of the Jews, was the founder

3. Followers of Judaism Believers in Judaism are called Jews
Jews are also an ethnic group because they trace their ancestry back to Abraham

4. Beliefs Jews are monotheistic which means they believe in one God
10 Commandments
Various ritualisitic practices
Holidays – Hannukah, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hoshanah
The Torah and Tanakh are their holy books.

5. Sects of Judaism There are three Sects
Orthodox – wear traditional clothes, have long beards and have traditional hairstyle
Reform-believe that the laws of the Old Testament were symbolic.
Conservative-less traditional, but dedicated to the teachings of the Torah and Tanakh.

6. Secular – wear modern clothes
There is a new, fourth sect that is not officially recognized by all Jews, but it is growing rapidly. The Messianic Jews believe in Jesus as the Messianic Son of God, but hold the traditions and culture of Judaism.
Secular Jews are nominally or not religious at all.
Secular – wear modern clothes
Messianic – believe Jesus was the Messiah

7. Christianity Christianity has its roots in Judaism
Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was a Jew and claimed to be the messiah or savior written about in the Old Testament of the Bible (Torah)

8. Beliefs of Christianity
Christians believe in one God and Jesus was his Son (Express image).
Jesus was the Messiah or Savior
Celebrations – Christmas (Jesus’ birth) Easter (death and resurrection) Lent (40 days leading up to Easter)

9. Sects of Christianity There are three main sects of Christianity
Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox
Catholics recognize the authority of the Pope while Protestants do not

10. Origins of Islam
Islam has its origins 600 years after Christianity (600 C.E.) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad, a merchant and proclaimed prophet, started telling people the message that the angel Gabriel gave him. His words are written in the Koran (Quran)

11. Beliefs of Islam
The main belief for Muslims is “there is one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”
The other primary beliefs are summarized in the 5 Pillars of Islam
Ramadan – 40 days of fasting
Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca

12. Sects of Islam
Islam broke into two sects when the prophet Muhammad died
Shia – believed that religious leadership should have stayed within the prophet’s own family or an Imam appointed by Allah
Sunni – means “way of the prophet”. Sunnis do not recognize the shia leadership.
85% of Muslims are sunni

13. Jerusalem: The Holy City