http://daily/tempo?page=content&id=1...=0001_article# Hisham Mahmoud spoke at Tressider on Saturday about the importance of Jesus
in the Islamic faith.
By Li Tao
Stanford Daily
Monday, October 17, 2005
Lecturer Hisham Mahmoud, a doctoral candidate of Islamic Studies at UCLA,spoke last Saturday afternoon about the role of Jesus in Islam to an
audience of approximately 50 Stanford students and members of the
surrounding community.
The event, titled “Jesus in Islam: The Gospel of Jesus According to Prophet
Muhammad,” was sponsored by the Islamic Society of Stanford University and the Muslim Students Awareness Network.
Stanford junior Shelley Cheung, one of the coordinators, explained that the
event was intended to highlight the similarities between Islam and other
faiths and show students how much they have in common.
Beginning his lecture with a prayer of Moses, Mahmoud emphasized this
similarity throughout his talk.
Both Muslims and Christians “believe in Jesus as the Messiah and accept that he was born of a virgin, that he never sinned,” he said. “There is more in common than there are differences between us.”
Mahmoud also spoke about an early event in the history of Islam, when a
group of Muslims pursued by enemies sought refuge with a Christian
Ethiopian king. After hearing an account in the Quran about the birth of
Jesus, the king drew a line in the sand and said “the difference between
you and me is no thicker than this line” and proceeded to guarantee
protection to the Muslims.
“Such was the first interfaith dialogue between Islam and Christianity,”
Mahmoud said.Jesus’ teachings are revered in Islam as the “word of God,” and are quoted by the Prophet Mohammed in various books, Mahmoud added.
“The Muslims of old used to advise each other by the statements of Jesus’
teachings,” he said.
Mahmoud explained that several of Jesus’ sayings present themes common to both religions — “Blessed is he who sees with his heart, but his heart is
not the one he sees; forgive those who will not forgive you, visit the sick
who will not visit you, lend money to those who you know will not pay you
back; Cross this bridge [of life] but do not build anything on it.”
The lecture was followed by a question and answer session, which partly
dealt with differences between the Christian and Islamic view of Jesus.
One important difference between the two religions was the Christian idea of Jesus being crucified for the sins of mankind. Mahmoud explained that
Islamic doctrine states that “each soul bears its own burden” and “no human can be accountable for the actions of another.”
Another difference Mahmoud explained was the idea of the Holy Trinity.
Although Muslims accept Jesus as the Messiah, they do not believe Jesus is the son of God.
“It is not fitting for the majesty of God to have the same physical needs as
a human,” he explained. “God is not a father other than in the metaphorical
sense that he is the father to all of us.”
After the event, junior Nasser Khan said that the material presented was
“not too different” from what he had learned previously, but the speech was clear and easy to follow, especially for those with no background knowledge on the subject.
For senior Mohammed Subeh, the event awakened an interest in the subject.
“It left me wanting to learn more,” he said.
Jesus in Islam -
17th October 2005
