RESEARCH PROJECT



OUTCOMEDavid Graeme: Good morning Adelaide, and welcome to Free FM, 105.8, and David Graeme’s 9:30 segment “What’s really around us?” Last week, keen listener Christine Duncan asked the question “To what extent are the Abrahamic Religions; Christianity, Islam and Judaism, similar in their beliefs and practices?” While I personally don’t know a lot about religion, I quickly researched before the show, discovering that all three of these religions are considered Abrahamic because they all claim to be descendants of Abraham, recognising him as their first prophet.,, Anyway, without further ado, it’s been my privilege this past week to get into contact with three religious leaders, and it gives me an even greater pleasure to have them here in the studio this morning to help us answer this question. Welcome, Stephen Jones, Pastor of a local church in the Barossa Valley, Alim Haidar, an Imam of a mosque right here in the heart of Adelaide, and also to Rabbi Joanna Miller, who drove here all the way from Port Lincoln!‘Alim’ Haidar: Thankyou David. I hope you don't mind, but my first name, however, is actually Aalim, which means religious scholar. I guess Allah wasn’t the only one who knew I was destined to be an Imam.David Graeme: Ahh! Forgive me for not knowing, but please, start us off! Who or what is this Allah that you speak of?Aalim Haidar: Well, Allah is my God who is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. ‘God’ literally translates to ‘Allah’ in Arabic,, and it’s because of this we are a strict monotheistic religion.Joanna Miller: I hope you don’t mind if I just interrupt here and say that’s interesting, because Judaism is a strict monotheistic religion too! Also, thanks for having me on the show, Dave.David Graeme: You’re welcome, thanks Rabbi Miller, and wow! There’s a similarity right there folks! Pastor Jones, what’s Christianity’s view on this? Stephen Jones: Yes, well, thanks for having me on the show Dave. Christianity is a little different; it’s more of a Trinitarian Monotheism, being that they believe in one God that is divided into three parts; God the Father, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit.David Graeme: Oh! So Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah?Pastor Jones: Yes. We believe he was our Saviour.Rabbi Miller: The Jewish faith contradicts that, believing that Jesus was a false prophet. We are still waiting for the Messiah.Imam Haidar: As a follower of Islam, I believe that Jesus was a prophet, nothing more. David Graeme: Woah! That’s very insightful! So despite being linked together as Abrahamic religions, recognising Abraham as your first prophet, all three religions differ opinions on other prophets, such as Jesus? That’s very thought-provoking. Let’s continue on to talk about prayer. Rabbi Miller, what does prayer mean to you and the Jewish religion?Rabbi Miller: Well, for me, prayer is used to communicate with my God, asking for things I may need and thanking God for things I already have. I try to pray at my synagogue as often as I can to feel closer with God. I pray three times a day at specific times, and as a Rabbi, I often lead in prayer for others in worship services on the Sabbath Day, which is every Saturday. Imam Haidar, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Islam’s perspective of prayer is similar to Judaism’s?Imam Haidar: Yes, that’s correct in the communication aspect, except as a Muslim, I pray at my Mosque as often as I can to Allah, particularly every Friday. Prayer must be done strictly five times a day each at specific times. This prayer, salat, is what’s known as one of the five pillars of Islam, which are the five fundamental actions that must be fulfilled in order to be considered a true follower of Allah. We also have what’s known as the ‘Six Articles of Faith’, which are six fundamental beliefs associated with Islam.Rabbi Miller: Oh, okay. Thank you. In comparison to that, Judaism has what’s known as the ’13 Principles of Faith’, which are thirteen beliefs that essentially, must be whole-heartedly alleged in order to be considered Jewish.Pastor Jones: It’s interesting, because Christianity is different in this aspect. I mean, the only real evident requirements are my belief in my Triune God, that Jesus was the Son of God who walked this land, and following the 10 commandments. Also, yes, to me, prayer is used to communicate with God, but it’s much more relaxed; as a Christian, I can pray wherever I am, at whatever time of the day. Sure, I can and do pray at my church during my Sunday services, (particularly as a Pastor) but the impression I’m receiving here is that Christianity has a lot more freedom in that regard.Rabbi Miller: Yes. We also follow the 10 commandments; they are just 10 of the 613 Jewish commandments; 248 which are positive and should be committed, while 365 are negative and shouldn’t be committed.,Imam Haidar: Islam also believes in the 10 commandments, except our sacred text, the Qur’an, is translated in Arabic, hence they are slightly different and related more towards Allah.,David Graeme: Contradiction AND a similarity! Wow! Just what I’m sure the keen listeners such as Christine are searching for! How abou-Rabbi Miller: -Sorry to interrupt Dave, but do you mind if I ask a question?David Graeme: Oh my, yes, please! Be my guest.Rabbi Miller: Thank you. Well, I hate to darken the mood, but as I was driving here from Port Lincoln yesterday afternoon, a car in front of me, a P-plater would you believe, was hooning and overtook me, nearly smashing into a tree. He or she nearly died. I know from a Jewish point of view, I believe in life after death,, and that there is a good and bad place. In addition to this, Judaism believes in what’s referred to today as ‘Kingdom come’,, a time when the Messiah will be revealed and everyone will be resurrected and judged, the living and the dead. It is one of the 13 Principles I mentioned earlier. I was just wondering, Pastor Jones and Imam Haidar, what’s your take on this?Pastor Jones: Wow, that’s tough. I know that we Christians believe in eternal life, life after death too,, and we will either be ascending into Heaven or descending into Hell, which is purely justified by our faith in God. Christianity, too, believes in Kingdom come,, where Jesus, our Messiah, will return and judge us.Imam Haidar: I, too. As a Muslim, I call it hereafter., It’s one of the main reasons why I do my best to live my life as Allah and the holy texts encourages me too, so that when I leave this Earth I will be in a good place…But yes, we believe in the Day of Judgment,, dictating whether we go to heaven or hell. This is actually one of the six articles of faith that I mentioned earlier.David Graeme: Wow…well, on a lighter note, Imam Haidar, you previously mentioned that Islam has holy texts. Could you elaborate on this for our listeners?Imam Haidar: Yes, well, the main sacred Islamic text is known as the Qur’an, which has 114 chapters and was originally written in Arabic.,, Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the word of Allah and a guide on how you should live your life. After reaching puberty, Muslims are required to memorise the Qur’an.Rabbi Miller: That’s interesting, seeing as the Jewish holy text is the Tanakh, which is subdivided into three separate parts; the Torah, (also known as the first five books of the Christian Bible’s Old Testament), The Prophets (Nevi’im) and the Writings (Ketuvim),,, and it is a requirement for Jewish boys and girls around the age of puberty study the Tanakh and memorise the Torah as a part of their Bar/Bat mitzvah! ,,Pastor Jones: Yes, well...as you briefly mentioned Rabbi Miller, the Christian Bible has an Old Testament, which was written in the time before Jesus came to Earth, and also a New Testament, written after Jesus came., We don’t specifically have to remember the word of God, but it is in some of our interests, such as my own, to do so. It’s interesting though, Bar/Bat mitzvah is the formal initiation for someone to further their faith isn’t it?Rabbi Miller: That’s right, enabling teenage Jews to enter their adulthood as a Jew on their own terms.,Pastor Jones: It’s quite extraordinary, but we have something similar to that for preteens too, called confirmation, where they also study the Bible., Prior to this, however, to be technically part of the church, someone must be baptised, which is generally done as a baby.,,Imam Haidar: To me, this is all quite abstract. I mean, for Islam, following the previously mentioned 5 Pillars of Islam signifies your faith and classifies you as a Muslim.,,David Graeme: Okay, well, we’ve currently got Robert Gray from Norwood here on the phone. What’s your question, Rob?Robert: Hey guys. I’m just curious as to if there are any dietary practises associated with your religion?David Graeme: Well, how about we start with you, Pastor Jones?Pastor Jones: Thanks for that question Rob, but Christianity doesn’t have any dietary practises. I’m pretty certain that Islam does though..?Imam Haidar: I’ll take that as my cue and say that yes, Islam does have dietary practises. As a Muslim, I have some of my meat prepared in specific ways, such as Halal., Muslims are also forbidden to consume alcohol, with the term used being haram., Correct me if I’m wrong Rabbi Miller, but are we in agreement with forbidding pork and certain types of animals and birds?Rabbi Miller: That’s right. Judaism permits only kosher foods, while food that is not permitted is known as treyfe., The foods mentioned above are treyfe food, while mixing meat and milk together is also forbidden to be consumed. ,,Robert: Thanks for that, have a good day.David Graeme: Thanks for that Rob. Just quickly, we’re running out of time, but I was wondering, since religion is such an ethical topic, what’s your religion’s perspective is on various ethics, such as homosexuality, pre-marital sex, contraception, abortion and gender equality?Pastor Jones: If the others are okay with it, I can represent all three religions with my answer, being that homosexuality and pre-marital sex is generally forbidden, while contraception and abortion are allowed with a good reason, such as medical requirements.,,,,, As for gender equality, I know it’s widely debated. Traditionally, Christians would have seen men as superior but it’s ever-changing over time.,Imam Haidar: Yes I would agree with Pastor Jones’ summary, except for Islam, women are regarded as equal with men, as it mentions in the Qur’an.,Rabbi Miller: It’s difficult with Judaism, as there are two types; traditional Orthodox Judaism, which limits women with their ritual life, and Progressive Judaism, which is a more modern Judaism, open to new ideas, which favours men and women as equal. I’m a Progressive Rabbi; otherwise I wouldn’t be able to be one, since I am a woman.,David Graeme: Well, that’s all we’ve got time for this morning. Thanks Pastor Stephen Jones, Imam-let’s hope I get it right this time-Aalim Haidar and Rabbi Joanna Miller, for giving up your personal time to be here with us this morning and educating us with your religious beliefs and practices. Christine, wherever you are, I hope we answered your question as we delved deeper into the broad topic of Religion this morning, discovering that there are common similarities as well as significant differences between these three Abrahamic religions.Have any more questions? Check out our website at .au for your chance to have online conversations with these three religious leaders at noon today, and to also be in the running to win prizes. Stay tuned for next week’s topic, “What is the Bermuda Triangle, and does it really exist?” Bye for now.Word Count: 2000BIBLIOGRAPHYINTERNET WEBSITE/ONLINE ARTICLESApple, R n.d. 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