Monotheism in the Mediterranean

The peoples living in the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea adore one and the same God. But three different religions are practised. The supreme Being, Creator of heaven and earth, is the one true God hailed by Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Yet the Mediterranean has been torn by war between religions since the 11th century. The Crusades were fought by Christians who wanted to capture Jerusalem from the Muslims.

It is the saddest story of the world when one realises that the adherents of the three religions between them make up over half the world's population. The Crusades were disastrous economically and led to great loss of life on both sides. Yet they widened the geographical horizons which made Europe discover the New World. Still, it is a matter of history that progress was achieved in banking, taxation, architecture, trade and urban culture particularly in Italy and France. Strangely enough, all this was stimulated by the Crusades. In its turn Islam was responsible for progress in science, philosophy and medicine - all of which influenced intellectual life in Europe.

Islam

Al-Islam is a commitment in faith, obedience and trust to the one and only God. These elements are described faithfully in the Koran, the sacred book of Islam, as "the religion of Abraham, the patriarch who came to his Lord with undivided heart". This Abraham did to the extent that he was ready to offer his only son, Isaac, as sacrifice in obedience to God. The patriarch served God completely and without compromise upon the promise by God's angel that he will be the father of the chosen people of the Lord.

Following in the footsteps of the religion of Abraham, Muslims believe wholeheartedly in the emphatic declaration that no one but God is to be adored. There is no god but Allah the great, the all-merciful.

Muhammad is the Prophet of God. In the seventh century the Prophet wrote about the revelations he had from Allah. This was not in effect the original date of the Islamic religion but the restoration of the original religion of Abraham.

The vast majority of Arabs in Africa, Asia and Indonesians are Moslems. They are emphatic that Islam is a timeless religion because of the eternal truth it proclaims Allah. They stress that it is every person's religion as it is the natural religion in which every person is born.

Judaism

The religion of the Hebrews, from which Christianity and Islam branched out, is based on the Torah, the first five books of the Bible - the Pentateuch. Moses is reputed to be the author of these books. It is traditionally believed that Moses received the revelation from Yahweh on Mount Sinai. This mountain is held to be sacred by all three monotheistic religions.

Judaism was the first to declare in the words of God Himself in the first of the Ten Commandments: "I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no strange gods before Me." These are words echoed from Deuteronomy: "Hear, o Israel, the Lord our God..is one." These are the opening words of the Shema, which is recited daily by Jews.

The objective of Judaism is a just and peaceful world order. It is recollected that these very words were proclaimed by the angelic choir to the shepherds on the hills of Bethlehem on the night of the birth of the Messiah. Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Christ or Messiah. The coming of the Messiah for the Jews is still a source of optimism.

The building in which Jews pray and are instructed is the synagogue. It is effectively the model for the Christian church and the Muslim mosque. The Talmud is the Jewish Bible which is the Old Testament of Christians who consider the Old and New Testament as Holy Scripture. The Bible is also the basis of the Koran.

Similarities and opposites in the three religions who believe in the one and same Godhead headed by the very name of God: Yahweh for the Jews, Allah for Muslims, Alla in Maltese. Male Jews cover their heads in the synagogue, male Christians uncover their heads in church, Muslims take off their footwear before entering their mosques. Days of the week that are held to be holy and for prayer are Fridays for Muslims; Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath and Sunday is the holy day for Christians. The Kaddish prayer is related in thought and language to the Lord's Prayer of Christians.

Christianity

A billion people profess Christianity Their belief is based on the person and teachings of the Christ Jesus, Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Christians hold that the Christ is the Messiah promised by God through the prophets inspired by the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity. Christians believe in God's salvific grace once they feel freed by their belief in Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection. In the Christian creed belief is declared in the second coming of Jesus to complete God's plan of judgment and salvation.

Holy Scripture consists of both old and new testament. The letter contains the four Gospels of Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Acts of the Apostles, the letters of St Paul proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

The Christian God is the Triune God. The Father is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer and the Paraclete or Advocate the Holy Spirit are the Three Persons forming the Trinity in the essence of one God.

Christians believe in the after life. At the Last Judgment Jesus will call upon the dead to be reincarnated and will sift the righteous from the wicked. To the former he bestows the eternal joy of Heaven and he condemns the latter to punishment in Hell.

What a pity that the three dominant religions in the Mediterranean proclaiming the one true God who hold peace and justice as their cardinal virtues and objectives and still the Mediterranean has been and still is a sea of discontent, strife and war.