[ JESUS AND MUHAMMAD PARALLEL TRACKS, PARALLEL LIVES BY PETERS, FRANCIS E.](AUTHOR)HARDBACK

by F.E. Peters

Jesus and Muhammad are two of the best known and revered figures in history, each with a billion or more global followers. Now, in this intriguing volume, F.E. Peters offers a clear and compelling analysis of the parallel lives of Jesus and Muhammad, the first such in-depth comparison in print. Like a detective, Peters compiles "dossiers" of what we do and do not know about the lives and portraits of these towering figures, drawing on the views of modern historians and the evidence of the Gospels and the Quran. With erudition and wit, the author nimbly leads the reader through drama and dogma to reveal surprising similarities between the two leaders and their messages. Each had a public career as a semi-successful preacher. Both encountered opposition that threatened their lives and those of their followers. Each left a body of teaching purported to be their very words, with an urgent imperative that all must become believers in the face of the approaching apocalypse. Both are symbols of hope on the one hand and of God's terrible judgment on the other. They are bringers of peace--and the sword. There is, however, a fundamental difference. Muslims revere Muhammad ibn Abdullah of Mecca as a mortal prophet. Although known as a prophet in his day, the Galilean Jew Jesus was and is believed by his followers to have been the promised Messiah, indeed the son of God. The Quran records revelations received by Muhammad as the messenger of God, whereas the revelations of the Gospels focus on Jesus and the events of his life and death. A lasting contribution to interfaith understanding, Jesus and Muhammad offers lucid, intelligent answers to questions that underlie some of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, History

Hardcover

First published October 13, 2010

Reviews

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Afterthoughts: The New Testament and the Quran
There are two different epistemic systems at work in the New Testament and the Quran. With the Quran the secular historian starts with the investigative premise that it is the voice of Muhammad he is hearing through the received text. The Muslims who were responsible for transmitting that received text, and perhaps the very earliest believers who created the Quran as a text, believed no such thing. They heard the all but immediate voice of God. The sounds may have come forth from the lips of Muhammad but he was merely enunciating and not creating them.

In the case of Jesus, the historian, whether Christian or not, recognizes from the outset that he is dealing with texts that had human authors, whose very names stand in fact at the heads of the texts that constitute the New Testament as certainly as no one's does at the head of the Quran. The investigative premise is that the texts, particularly the Gospels, report the teachings (and describe the acts) of another human personage, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. The Christian immediately adds that this same Jesus was also the Son of God and so what was proceeding from his lips was the reported speech of God. It was not, however, The words of Yahweh heard and reported by Moses from Sinai or the words of Allah pronounced by Muhammad in Mecca and Medina were God's reported words; what proceeded from Jesus' lips was a revolutionary new discourse, the words of a man-God, a human voice with the gravity of the Divine.

I received this book just about a year ago and, what with one thing and another, it took me a long time to read it. However, I always came back to it because the premise was so interesting and the facts so engrossing.

F. E. Peters examines and compares the historical profiles of Jesus and Muhammed to show us, from a historian's viewpoint, what we do and do not know about them. I actually am not exactly sure why the author wrote the book because he does not really draw any conclusions. However, I'm ok with that, as will be revealed at the end of this review.

What Peters does is directly compare pieces of Jesus' and Muhammad's lives and ministries. The reader learns what historical context Jesus was born into and then the context for Muhammad, the infancy narratives for Jesus and then Muhammad, the words of Jesus and then Muhammad, and so forth. In each case, Peters considered sources, the historian's point of view, and the believer's point of view.

The book jacket says that Peters finds surprising similarities between Jesus and Muhammad. I was disinterested in "surprising similarities" and more interested in learning facts. Specifically, I was interested in learning about Muhammad from an unbiased source, if such a thing exists.

I already am familiar, of course, with Jesus' life and identity from both a secular and Catholic point of view. Part of the test for Peters, naturally, was to see how his presentation of Jesus matched my own expectations. Since I knew next to nothing about Muhammad, I couldn't judge the truth of what I was being told other than to judge the truth of what Peters said about Christ. If he proved trustworthy there, then I felt he'd be equally trustworthy on Muhammad's behalf.

I was impressed because the author was dispassionate in delineating history versus belief, while always being quite respectful of believers. This is not a quality we often see in historians speaking about religion. Usually they are rooting for one side or another. I commend Peters for doing such a clear job of research and writing.

The painstakingly objective way he wrote about what Christians believe about Christ,  led me to believe that I was being allowed as unbiased a look as I have ever been shown of Muhammad and how his followers have developed his words into the Quran and the Sira. And that was precisely what I was after. Highly recommended for those who would like similar enlightenment.

[Sydney Sexton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peters writes as a historian looking into Christianity and Islam with a focus on the main person in both religions, Jesus and Muhammad. He is neither a Christian, Jew, or Muslim, so his perspective is one of an outsider treating both religious works as literature.

As someone who is a Christian and has been studying Islam, there are comments and sections of his book that a traditional Christian or Muslim would disagree with his interpretation of their respective holy book and “founder” of their religion. However, despite some obvious religious differences between traditional followers and Peters assertions, he attempts to keep a neutral perspective and stick to the history. However, there are quite of few of his own personal conclusions and bias, more than I would think necessary, which is why I graded it as 3 stars. One for lack of traditional religious views, and another for too many personal reflections that are strictly his opinions and not a “historical fact”.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

F.E Peters does a service to Christians everywhere by unashamedly exploring to historical roots of two of the worlds largest faith traditions. Through thoughtful research and literary comparison, the reader is drawn in ancient stories and helped to understand the context of how these faiths began.

[Farukh]

MY THESIS IS ON THIS BOOK

[Arbaz Fahad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jesus and Muhammad are two of the most profound historical personalities given that their messages were both : radical and foundational.Radical in that it represented a break with the current religious tradition and foundational in that it marked the beginning of a new “way” that was, on God’s own authority, necessary for salvation. While Jesus was born and bred in a civilization, which, though ruled by the Romans, was pretty protective of its religious traditions and revered figures, Muhammad opened his eyes, in a desert, far from the cradle of human civilization, preaching to a nation, who had long forgotten the monotheistic message of Abraham and Ishmael. Undoubtedly, Allah was still the supreme God in the Arabian pantheon, but he was also followed by a line of lesser gods.

Professor Francis Peters traces the life of both these men, side by side, weighing the nature and circumstances which shaped their prophetic career. Ranging from how the scriptures (The Gospels for Jesus and the Sira literature for Muhammad) portrays the infancy narratives of these personalities, right to the ultimate culmination of their mission, Peters builds up an engaging narrative. He has no qualms in contending the humane nature of the Gospels adding that the editions made in the Gospels are apparent for all to see, and yet within these narratives written by eye witnesses, there exists the sayings of Jesus himself, which, Peters maintains, are the revealed words of a superior deity. He also casts doubt about the age of Lady Khadija when she married the Prophet.

All in all, Peters builds up a gripping storyline of two enigmatic personalities who within a short space of time, changed the course of human history. While Muhammad lived to see the ultimate triumph of his divine message, Jesus was not so fortunate. One can contend that his message was never meant for the Non Jews (Go not into the way of the Gentiles, into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel: Matthew : 10/5-6). Regardless, his followers carried own their missionary impulse, when finally in a huge twist of fate, the Roman emperor Constantine, accepted Christianity, bring the religion of a few downtrodden to the fore of human history.

[Lujane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about either Islam or Christianity. But I mostly recommend this book to people who might be blissfully ignorant in Islam. Peters takes you along the journey of the Prophet Muhammad and Jesus's lives and points out not only the similarities between the two but the historical proof of each event. Some people enjoy pointing fingers at Muslims, but I believe books like this are crucial in bridging that hate and strengthing our religious tolerance. Whether your Catholic, Muslim, or even Atheist it's important to learn how to understand each other better. This book is a masterpiece in the art of compassion.

[Rick Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to F.E. Peters's comparative study of the lives of Jesus and Muhammad from prior exposure to another of his books: The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I had found it very helpful in comparing and contrasting the three Abrahamic faith traditions. At my suggestions, an interfaith organization of which I was part used the book as a starting point for dialogue among the three traditions. At the time, I found Peters personally to be forthcoming and ready to provide encouragement and direction.

The present volume served me personally very well as I read, seeking a better take on Muhammad, knowing that his life and work followed a very different trajectory from that of Jesus. Peters shows himself well-read in contemporary scholarship on the Jesus of history as well as the development of the Christ of Christian theology and doctrine. Not primarily a student of the New Testament and early Christianity, however, he sometimes hews a bit more closely than others might to the narrative line of the canonical gospels in his historical summaries. On the other hand, he is respectful of the wide range of understandings of the career of Jesus of Nazareth among Christian scholars.

If Peters is equally knowledgeable regarding the sources and interpretations of the life of Muhammad as of that of Jesus, his work is probably sufficiently reliable for most readers who are not specialists. His notes and bibliography show that he has reached far and wide in his quest. I recommend the book very highly.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comparing the lives and impact of Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC/BCE to 30–36 AD/CE) and of Muhammad of Mecca (570 to 632) is a daunting prospect, given the emotional impact those men have had on humanity worldwide, and given the lack of pure historical detail available for each man, but the author of this book has done a very good job of comparing the two men, given the resources available. I very much enjoyed this book; as a somewhat devout but well-read Roman Catholic, I am very familiar with Jesus of Nazareth, and nowhere near as familiar with Muhammad of Mecca, and I felt this book filled a void in my knowledge.

After an introduction, the author sets each man in his setting (first-century Palestine vs. seventh-century Arabia), determines which source documents on each man’s life and teachings are to be relied on and how much reliance a historian can place on each source, then considers each man’s early life biography (Jesus in Galilee, Muhammad in Mecca), his words and teachings, his later life biography (Jesus in Jerusalem, Muhammad in Medina), and the legacy of each man (how each man’s followers did, or did not, stay with their leader’s message).

The book ends rather abruptly, which I found disconcerting; surely an Epilogue summing everything up would not have been out of place. Otherwise, I found this book to be a fascinating window on how a historian, using historical method, treats these two men who have had arguably the greatest effect on mankind in the last 2,000 years.

[Simmons51 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, but I probably would have appreciated it more if I had first become more familiar with the basic beliefs of Muhammad and the Islam religion. My fault in not starting with a "beginner" overview of Muhammad before tackling this comparative analysis between Jesus and Muhammad.

[Igor Pastor]

A MUST read!