The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims

by Mustafa Akyol

When Reza Aslan’s bestseller Zealot came out in 2013, there was criticism that he hadn’t addressed his Muslim faith while writing the origin story of Christianity. In fact, Ross Douthat of The New York Times wrote that “if Aslan had actually written in defense of the Islamic view of Jesus, that would have been something provocative and new.”

Mustafa Akyol’s The Islamic Jesus is that book.

The Islamic Jesus reveals startling new truths about Islam in the context of the first Muslims and the early origins of Christianity. Muslims and the first Christians—the Jewish followers of Jesus—saw Jesus as not divine but rather as a prophet and human Messiah and that salvation comes from faith and good works, not merely as faith, as Christians would later emphasize. What Akyol seeks to reveal are how these core beliefs of Jewish Christianity, which got lost in history as a heresy, emerged in a new religion born in 7th Arabia: Islam.

Akyol exposes this extraordinary historical connection between Judaism, Jewish Christianity and Islam—a major mystery unexplored by academia. From Jesus’ Jewish followers to the Nazarenes and Ebionites to the Qu’ran’s stories of Mary and Jesus, The Islamic Jesus will reveal links between religions that seem so contrary today. It will also call on Muslims to discover their own Jesus, at a time when they are troubled by their own Pharisees and Zealots.

Genres: Religion, Islam, Nonfiction, History, Christianity, Theology, Biography

275 pages, Hardcover

First published February 14, 2017

About the author

Mustafa Akyol lives in Istanbul and is a columnist for the Turkish newspapers Hürriyet Daily News and Star. He has written opinion pieces for the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, and Newsweek.

Reviews

[Steve Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akyol closes his book with these words. "As Muslims, who are latecomers to this scene, we have disagreements with both Jews and Christians. But we have major agreements as well. With Jews, we agree a lot on God. With Christians, we agree that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he was the Messiah, and that he is the Word of God. Surely, we do not worship Jesus, like Christians do. Yet sill, we can follow him. In fact, given our grim malaise and his shining wisdom, we need to follow him." (215)

As two examples of how contemporary Muslims can follow Jesus without worshiping him, Akyol says that Jesus' teaching on Kingdom - "The Caliphate is within you" - could help contemporary Muslims embrace a vision of God's reign that is more interior, less tied to nationalism and militarism. The other powerful example of contextualizing Jesus' teaching is, in Akyol's words, "The Shariah is made for man." Jesus could help religious people, as he originally did, embrace a more holistic, less literal approach to law that would be better promote human flourishing.

Akyol gets to this conclusion by way of two points he develops, with clear and accessible prose, supported by considerable scholarship, both Christian and Muslim.

One is that Islam is a closer cousin to Christianity than both traditions have generally acknowledged. In fact, Akyol closely reviews the theory and evidence that Islam - either through direct influence or through divine revelation - could be a further development of a Jewish form of Christianity, in which Jesus is honored as a messianic teacher and prophet, without being worshiped as part of the triune godhead. Muslims, after all, honor Jesus as a word of God, a prophet, a miracle-performer, a son of the virgin Mary, and one who will come again to restore all things.

The second and related point is that Jesus can continue to serve as a guide and teacher and prophet, not just to the world at large, but specifically to the Muslim world. The West generally, and Christendom in particular have ironically made it much more difficult for Muslims to do this. A defining question for Muslims (and indeed, for much of the world) over the past two centuries has been how to relate to an aggressively powerful, colonial West. Understandably, defensiveness and hostility have resulted, rather than dialogue and reflection.

Thankfully, Muslims need not consider Jesus a product of the West. A Palestinian Jew, born to a people group oppressed by a Western empire themselves, Jesus' teaching and legacy and prophetic voice are not the property of the Western world or even of Christendom. Muslims can embrace Jesus as their guide and teacher and prophet as well.

Much more could be said. As a non-Muslim who is deeply committed to the Way of Jesus, I find Akyol's treasure trove of scholarship and perspective fascinating and hopeful. I'll close, though, with one more quotation, this one from a Jesus-oriented, 20th century Egyptian Muslim, Khalid Muhammad Khalid.

"He is the love which knows no hatred, he is the peace that knows no disquiet, and he is the salvation that does not perish. And when all this is realized on earth, then at the same time, the return of Christ is realized. This is the Christ who will return, and whose return the Messenger prophesied: peace, love, truth, the good and beauty. With the truthful Messenger, we declare: 'Christ, not Barabbas, the true not the false, love not hatred, peace not war, life not destruction.'" (215)

I follow and worship Jesus, but anyone who can view Jesus on such terms, regardless of the details of their theology, I will be glad to call friend and brother.

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akyol is fascinated by the early Jewish-Christian community, and the similarities of its teachings with those of Muslims. He also compares the challenges faced by Jews in the first-century Roman empire with those that Muslims face in modern times. For both of these situations, he considers how Jesus has demonstrated a path forward, between religious zealots and legalists, to a more generous, compassionate kind of faith community. I was impressed by Akyol's painstaking comparisons of ancient Jewish, Christian, Jewish-Christian, Gnostic, and Muslim texts, and his attempts to interpret these as compatible. I was less interested in his identifications of Jewish-Christian sources for the Quran's stories about Jesus and Mary, but for Akyol this search was important.

[Isa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What started out as an extremely promising book, unfortunately towards the end, turned into an ideological rambling tool of the author.

I found myself hungrily devouring the first 150 pages, all about the history of early Christianity, comparing Islamic texts with biblical texts and apocryphal texts, and at this point I was eager to rate the book 5 stars.

Even though the authors theme of religious pluralism (basically he holds that Jews & Christian’s need not become Muslims, yet can still enter Heaven by following their own scriptures) appears throughout, it is relatively easy to overlook, as the history itself is what drives this part of the book.

Soon after these 150 pages though, the dial is cranked up and the author decides to heavily push his unorthodox views for far too long, even throwing in Hadith skepticism and his own self-interpretation of the Quran.

Despite this self sabotage of his own book, the author really has done a thorough job for the majority of the book and if any Muslim wanted to learn more about early Christianity then I would advise reading ONLY upto around pg 150-170 and ignore his calls to religious pluralism.

[Chris Coray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

As a LDS student of religion who has lived in Damascus and Jordan this was absolutely fascinating and true to what I learned living among Muslims

[Roger DeBlanck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akyol brings great acumen and intellection to his inspiring study of how Jesus links together the three Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. His research begins with reminding us how the Jews had never wavered in their trust that God would first send Moses to lead them out of bondage, and so the Jews also believed God would again deliver a Messiah from the Davidic order to save them from Roman rule. As a Muslim, Akyol sees the historical Jesus as much more than a zealot aspiring to confront Roman authoritarianism. In fact, he contends that the Jesus of Christianity withstood the test of time precisely because, as the New Testament says, he sought to revive and reform the faith of his people, his first followers, who were the Jews. Jesus’s status also elevated over time, Akyol says, because he had the capability to perform miracles beyond a mere zealot and because he also shared “a message that went beyond its historical context and appealed to the timeless aspirations of humanity.”

Akyol points out that when Jesus healed others, he told them it was their faith, and not him, that made them well. This meant their faith in Abraham and their faith in their Judaic tradition healed them, and it was Jesus who became a prophetic voice within that tradition. Akyol indicates how the Gospels reveal how even Jesus himself did not think he was leading a new religion, but rather he saw himself as coming both to fulfill Jewish law and to reinterpret it with reformist ideas, such as minimizing obsessive rules and details. Jesus’s ideas for reform focused on moral teachings and on one’s personal conduct of motives, actions, and intentions in life. Jesus led a revolution calling for his followers to lead a spiritual life of good deeds, which transcended Jewish law and moved beyond specific religious boundaries so that he could reach people other than only the Jews. This reformist message, Akyol says, is what made Jesus’s appeal so endearing over time.

Akyol explains how the Jewish disciples probably saw Jesus as a redeemer of Israel, but not as a divine Son of God. The Jews believed Jesus came in the name of the Lord, and so he was not a blasphemer against the Jewish God. Therefore, Jesus’s first followers understandably did not abandon his message, but instead worked endlessly to preserve it. After Jesus’s passing, his eldest brother James became the leader of the movement that Jesus left behind. James’s epistle in the New Testament, however, focuses almost exclusively on guiding Jesus’s followers to show their devotion to God and to obey God’s law through their actions, which needed to model the faith of Jesus. In this way, Jesus did not lead a new religion, but rather he sought a revision of Judaism. The followers of Jesus and James, henceforth, saw their Messiah as the last great Jewish prophet, not as a Son of God.

Akyol makes clear that Christianity, as it is known worldwide today, comes more from the efforts of Paul than from the way James sought to preserve Jesus’s legacy. It was after Paul’s miraculous experience of seeing Jesus on the way to Damascus that led to Paul’s relentless work to spread the “Good News” about Jesus. It was, therefore, Paul who founded Christianity as we know it today, and it is Paul who was the first Christian as we would define one’s allegiance to Christianity today. Whereas James emphasized one’s works and deeds instead of only one’s faith in Jesus, Paul focused primarily on one’s need to have faith exclusively in Jesus Christ.

For Akyol, Pauline Christianity began the real movement that divinized Jesus as the Son of God. Paul’s efforts flourished because he had the opportunity to spread the divinization of Jesus within the widespread openness of paganism throughout the Roman world—a time and place where gods and men were understood as having the ability to interact with one another. The more Christianity distanced itself from its Jewish roots and planted its theology in the Roman and Hellenistic world, the more divinized Jesus became. Akyol relates how each of the four Gospels kept increasing the language of divinity to assert and persuade that Jesus was in fact the Son of God, a divine spirit. By the early 4th Century, Christianity had, indeed, conquered Rome with the conversion of Emperor Constantine.

As for the advent of Islam, it began in the early 7th Century when Muhammad received the recitations from God, which he then shared throughout Mecca. Muhammad’s message focused on asking his followers to return to monotheism through their surrender and love of one God. This devotion to a singular God needed to replace the polytheism that had developed throughout Arabia with tribes choosing to worship any number of the hundreds of different idols stored in the Ka’aba. Akyol explains how Muhammad, similarly to Jesus, did not seek to invent a new faith, but rather he shared the truth of wanting his people to return to worshipping the one true and almighty God of mercy and compassion in the Abrahamic tradition of monotheism. In this way, both Christianity and Islam helped spread Abrahamic monotheism.

Akyol recounts how Islam flourished and gained followers because of its intense focus on personal salvation through one’s love of God and one’s devotion to a dutiful life of righteous behavior and action. In short, Islam’s message focused on an individual’s good works and not on an individual’s exclusive reliance on faith alone for salvation. Islam’s message of inclusiveness also allowed it to flourish because it embraced the monotheism of both Judaism and Christianity as kindred faiths and, therefore, allied faiths. The Qur’an accepts Jews and Christians as “People of the Book” and the Qur’an also confirms the Torah and the Gospels. In fact, the Islamic community was open to everyone. Muhammad made pacts, covenants, and treaties with both Christians and Jews. In showing how Muslims and Christians lived peacefully together, Akyol points out how contemporary discord between the two religions is not fueled by Islam’s teachings, but by political grievances against the West, which have led radicals and extremists to read Islamic texts with negligent interpretations. Likewise, anti-Semitism has resulted from the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Israelis’ occupation of Palestine and not from anything advocated in the teachings of Islam.

Akyol keeps his focus on the lineage of monotheism, and he clearly explains how God delivered His Word to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. He calls this a reflection of “the continuity of the same revealed wisdom that comes from the same God.” He shows how the Qur’an is in many ways like the Torah. Both explain how God revealed His Word to mortal men, with God giving the Torah to Moses and the Qur’an to Muhammad, each of whom then shared God’s law and truth with their people about how to lead a righteous life. Similarly, both faiths made no acknowledgement of the Trinity or of saints or of original sin. Instead, both focused on rules of diet, dress, and justice. Moreover, both placed precedence on almsgiving, devotion to God, and the abandonment of worshipping idols and images.

Akyol presents how the Qur’an accepts the Jewish prophets before it then embraces Jesus as a reformer within Judaism, where he offered a message of less austere observance to restrictive laws. The Qur’an honors Jesus with the distinction of the Messiah—meaning he was a messenger and servant on Earth of God’s Word, but not a Son. Therefore, Akyol sees the Qur’an as “middle ground” between the Jews who see Jesus as a legitimate Messiah, but not as a Son, and the Christians who honor him for carrying the Word of God, but also as a divine man. Akyol says that the Qur’an sustains its middle position between Judaism and Christianity by honoring Jesus as a Messiah with a profound message about how we should place faith in God and also place emphasis on how our actions pave the way for our salvation.

Akyol explains how both Islam and Judaism have parallel views of Jesus as a distinguished prophet and as the awaited Messiah, but not as a divine Son of God. Both religions embrace traditions of salvation through an individual’s combined action and faith, and not on faith alone. Both religions also speak of either choosing good or evil. And finally, both religions emphasize the monumental importance of Moses. The Qur’an is, however, profound in expressing its views on religious differences by stating that God intended these differences so that we have to learn to understand and compete with each other in goodwill as different nations and communities because in the end God will explain why he intended these differences among us.

In showing the timeless connections between Islam and Christianity, Akyol explains how Mary is revered over every other woman in Islam. She is the only woman with a Surah named after her, and her name appears 34 times in the Qur’an, compared to 19 in the New Testament. Moreover, the stories of Mary are nearly parallel in how they are told within the Bible and the Qur’an.

Although Islam elevates Jesus as a great prophet, Akyol makes clear how the way Jesus is seen in the Qur’an is as a man strengthened with the Holy Spirit. Because of this strength, Jesus is profoundly revered in Islam. The Qur’an distinguishes him as the Messiah, which means he is someone touched by the blessings of God, someone who is a servant and messenger of God on Earth, and someone who God sent to deliver a divine message to the children of Israel. Moreover, he is someone who God sent not to found or create a new faith, but rather to bring new guidance and some liberality to the truth and the laws of the faiths that had been previously revealed. Therefore, the Qur’an has great respect for the Torah and the Gospels. In short, the Qur’an serves as guidance and as a reminder to humans to have faith in God and to do good deeds.

Furthermore, Akyol shows how the Qur’an’s “Islamic Christology” distinguishes Jesus as possessing the “Word” of God and the “Spirit” of God as a messenger on Earth. In Islam, Jesus is a son of God’s message, not the literal Son of God. He is divinely inspired and breathes divinity, but he still remains mortal. In Islam, Jesus is the son of Mary, not of God. Because God strengthened Jesus with the Holy Spirit, he became a holy agent on Earth. Akyol makes evident that only through the evolution and development of the Trinity over several centuries did the concept of a triune God become defined. This started with the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, but the full doctrine that established and accepted the concept of the Trinity as truth did not occur until 381 CE at the Council of Constantinople.

In focusing on the similarities among the Abrahamic faiths, Akyol points out how the Qur’an and Islamic literature make many references to the Second Coming of Jesus. In addition, the Qur’an calls for Muslims to learn and seek knowledge from the preceding scriptures of the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospels, all of which the Qur’an confirms. Just as the teachings of Jesus gave the Jews guidance, Akyol says that Jesus can offer “reformist guidance” to everyone, including Muslims. Jesus was a reformer who recognized “the negative consequences of blind literalism” to religious law.

With his remarkable research, intellection, and open-mindedness, Akyol’s inspiring study of the lineage of Jesus among Jews, Christians, and Muslims resonates around a reminder for every religion to abstain from proclaiming that their beliefs hold absolutism. Perhaps Jesus’s greatest teaching was to warn us against casting the first stone because how can any of us believe ourselves so righteous, so innocent, so sinless, and so absolutely certain in our beliefs above everyone else. Akyol acknowledges how we can all learn from the teachings of Jesus, regardless whether we commit to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.

[Rick Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akyol gives us an excellent read--a book that's thoroughly researched, thoughtful, and well written. He spells out areas of agreement and disagreement between Christians and Muslims regarding Jesus, and highlights the importance attributed to "Prophet Jesus" in the Qur'an and the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad. He's an Islamic exegete who also is very knowledgeable about the New Testament and the evolution of orthodox Christian doctrine about Jesus--the two natures, the Trinity, and more. He is familiar with the Q document, the sayings gospel source of Jesus' teachings shared by Luke and Matthew. Essential to his perspective is a conviction that Jewish Christianity, which pretty much died away in the century or so following the destruction of Jerusalem in C.E. 70, found a lasting expression in Islam. I highly recommend the book for those seeking better to understand Islam and/or wanting a refresher regarding the divisions among early Christians. Regrettably, Akyol damns Paul as the source of all that Islam considers wrong in trinitarian faith, and asserts that nothing of Jesus' teaching finds its way into the letters of the apostle. In any case, read the book. April 2017.

* * *

I recently re-read this book and recommend it even more emphatically. Akyol is entitled to his opinion of Paul, even though I think he errs.i found especially helpful his last two chapters. The first examines how Islam's eschatology was influenced by that of Christianity, and Jesus' role in it. The second explores how Islam might benefit from re-examining Jesus' emphases, especially with regard to the law. October 2021.

[Yaman Hukan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very rich and extremely thought provoking, even for someone like me who was brought up in a fairly conservative muslim family and was already taught all about the story of Jesus from an Islamic perspective. The book establishes astonishing similarities between the Islamic view of Jesus and that of the community of Jewish Christians, and presents so many examples that support the claim. The last chapter which explores the theme of what muslims can learn from Jesus in specific is in my view a must read for every muslim today, especially the parts that explore the Herodians and Zealots in a modern Islamic context, and the the part on the Islamic Caliphate. Highly recommended

[Mona Haddad · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Muslim I found the book very interesting to read. Although I might not agree with the author on everything, I have learned to love Jesus more and it gave me a better perspective on the similarities between the three religions discussed.
The references used show that the author tried to be as objective as possible, however I found some of the ideas he put forward didn't really come from legitimate sources.
What I liked most about the book was the comparisons drawn by the author between the obstacles facing Muslims today and the obstacles that were facing the Jews when Jesus was sent to them and how the answer to today's problem can be inspired from Jesus's teachings.

[sahand]

I would like to share a excerpt from the book only, had a profound impact on me whilst reading:

Another believer inspired by Jesus to reform his own tradition was the Egyptian Khalid Muhammad Khalid (d. 1996).

Trained at the al-Azhar University of Cairo, Sunni Islam’s most prestigious center of learning, he spent his life as an independent Muslim writer, with seminal books including his 1958 volume, Muhammad and Christ: Together on the Road.

Accordingly, the two great prophets were the two pillars of Islam, with Muhammad emphasizing justice and using the sword, and Jesus emphasizing mercy and upholding peace.

And it was quite meaningful that Muhammad, who opened the way, foretold that it would be closed by Jesus with his Second Coming.

This meant, in Khalid’s beautiful words:

He is the love which knows no hatred, he is the peace that knows no disquiet, and he is the salvation that does not perish. And when all this is realized on earth, then at the same time, the return of Christ is realized. This is the Christ who will return, and whose return the Messenger prophesied: peace, love, truth, the good and beauty. With the truthful Messenger, we declare: “Christ, not Barabbas, the true not the false, love not hatred, peace not war, life not destruction.”

Ameen❤️❤️🙏🏼🙏🏼

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is true muslim believer but he has also gone long way in order to get to know Jewish and Christian Bible. He found great many points where all major abrahamic religions are in agreement. The biggest one is the person of Jesus Christ. The book is great learning opportunity for Jews, Christians and Muslims, as well as the point of agreement in order to start inter religious communication.

So this is my assessment of the book The Islamic Jesus by Mustafa Akyol according to my 8 criteria:
1. Related to practice - 4
2. It prevails important - 4 stars
3. I agree with the read - 3 stars
4. not difficult to read (as for non English native) - 3 stars
5. Too long (more than 500 pages) - short and concise (150-200 pages) - 4 stars
6.Boring - every sentence is interesting - 4 stars
7. Learning opportunity - 5 stars
8. Dry and uninspired style of writing - Smooth style with humouristic and fun parts - 3 stars

Total score 3.75 stars

[Trisha Renae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and easy to read. It ended sooner than I wanted or expected due to the references/notes section at the end.

I thought it would mostly be historical, and it was, but I didn’t expect it to essentially be a call for reform in Islam from a devout Muslim.

[Patrick W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

No major article of faith separates Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. It was Paul who created disagreement between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

That, in a nutshell, is the overriding message of Mustafa Akyol’s insightful and accessible study, The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims. Akyol, a visiting fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley College, outlines the historic consistency of the three Abrahamic religions.

The author notes that the Qu’uran acknowledges the Law and the Prophets of the Jewish faith and accepts Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. In the three decades after the occupying Roman army brutally executed Jesus by crucifixion, Jesus’ brother James, who was a priest at the Temple in Jerusalem, led Jesus’ followers who comprised a sect within the larger Jewish faith, not a separate religion. In fact, Akyol takes pains to point out the strong similarity between Jewish Christianity and Islam.

Gentile Christianity, however, was a different matter.

Paul, who spread the Jesus movement among Gentiles between the late 30s and early 60s of the Common Era, ignored the actual teachings of the man Jesus and instead focused on his role as the divine Christ who died for the world’s sins and was resurrected. It was Paul, a Hellenized Jew and Roman citizen, who proclaimed that Jesus was one-third of a triune God. The authors of the four Gospels, writing 40 to 70 years after the crucifixion and in the decades after Rome crushed the Jewish revolution, seized on Paul’s theology to transcend Israel’s defeat at the hands of the empire.

“Throughout his 13 letters, which make up almost one-third of the New Testament, Paul never quoted a saying from Jesus—not even a single one,” Akyol notes.

“In this new religion, what got reinterpreted would be not only the teaching of Jesus, but also his very self,” he says of the Gentile church, which focused on the universal atonement for sins achieved by Christ’s death and resurrection. Jewish Christians, on the other hand, “were more interested in Jesus’ teachings than in the meaning of his death.”

Muslims, like their cousins the Jews, can accept chosen men as “sons of God’ but not as a divine Son of God. The Qu’uran refers to Jesus as the Son of Mary, and accepts the virgin birth, but rejects any notion that God physically impregnated Mary. Many Muslims do see Jesus as the Word of God, and even as the Spirit. But they view the Trinity as “a very un-Abrahamic idea that violates the absolute oneness of God.”

Akyol draws many parallels between the three faiths. In one startling comparison, he recalls the outrage that the conquering Roman general Pompey created when he entered the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple, hoping to see the Jewish God. Jews considered it blasphemy for the Gentile to enter the sacred space. Similarly, when U.S. Marines entered a mosque in Iraq in 2004, newspapers throughout the world carried a photograph of the soldiers walking on a sacred carpet in their boots. Unwittingly, the Marines had delivered an outrageous insult to Islam.

Perhaps more importantly, the author illustrates the political and theological links between Jews in the time of Jesus and Muslims in the 21st century.

Noting the prevalence of numerous sects within Judaism 2,000 years ago, Akyol postulates that they generally fell into two camps, the Herodians and the Zealots. The Herodians played the hand they were dealt (i.e. Roman occupation) whereas the Zealots actively demanded new cards. The Sicarii, an offshoot of the Zealots, went even further, assassinating Romans and even Jewish collaborators.

Similarly, the vast majority of modern-day Muslims seek to work cooperatively with people of other faiths to live in peace. But Islam has its own Zealots, who take a more confrontational approach. Sadly, it also has its own Sicarii, who resort to violence.

Akyol still holds out hope that Judaism, Christianity and Islam can live together in peace. “Perhaps we can recall that Jesus, a great prophet of Islam, called for the exact same kind of reform in Judaism at a time when Jews were exactly like us. Jesus can, in other words, become a source of inspiration for the much-sought transformation in Islam.”

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Examines the theological similarities between the Qur'an and pieces of the New Testament, as well as several early Jewish-Christian texts, and attempts to trace such paths of influence. Engaging from start to finish. Highlights the influence of Paul's legacy on early Christianity,his differences with James and the Jerusalem church; and above all discusses the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic ideas about Jesus and the nature of his mission.

[Samir Firdovsioglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and the author has a lot of interesting insights that can be very helpful for non-muslims, especially christians. The book is not free of problems, for a muslim reader the authour represents modern reformist school among muslims and has very clear modernist interpretations. Muslims who follow traditional Islam will most probably not like some of the conclusions regarding certain Islamic topics. But these conclusions are not the main topic of the book.

[Adnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author tries to bring Christianity, Judaism and Islam closer together around joint figure of Jesus. Well researched with powerful messages.

[Samar Dahmash Jarrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

he wrote in 2017. Despite Studying Christianity in the early 2000’s Mustafa could not write about it at the time. He was prompted to do so after a friend wrote a book in 2014 about Jesus, it was a historical evaluation of who he was, the conclusion of which was that Jesus was a zealot, a Jewish fighter against Roman rule in 1st century Palestine. Mustafa wanted to write about how Islam understands Jesus, not explain how Quran or hadith describes him, but show that Islam’s understanding of Jesus resonates with Christian tradition.



Mustafa explains that Muslims believe in Jesus in an interesting way, we disagree with Jews in that we think Jesus was the messiah, Judaism does not accept him as their messiah, Christians accept Jesus but worship him, see him as god incarnate, so Muslims fall in the middle they accept him as a prophet and messiah but still see him as human. Jewish Christians are people who believe in Jesus as the messiah, and Christianity then developed further. Islam’s views on Jesus are in line with those of the Jewish Christians’. The Islamic Jesus follows the intriguing connection between Jewish Christianity and Islam and how we can interpret it in different ways.



Mustafa points to more similarities between the two beliefs, Mary is named 34 times in the Quran and is the only woman mentioned by her name, Quran talks about her being a virgin mother, one of the core beliefs in Christianity, but that it did not mean Jesus was god, this is also true for Jewish Christians, they believe Jesus was born of a virgin, but they did not believe this made him divine.

listen to Mustafa talking to me about his books

http://samarjarrah.com/en/radio-shows...

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not Convinced

The author attempts to take Jesus and turn him into a Muslim. Heavy on polemics, but short on evidence. I didn't expect the author to convert to Christianity, but I also didn't think he would be so dismissive either. I can agree there were probably some differences between Paul an d James at the beginning of Christianity. But to suggest that Christianity is completely wrong, and Islam is right strikes me as hubris.

[Zippergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and accessible to open-minded readers of all faiths, and nonbelievers alike. Akyol explores the shared roots of the Torah, the Gospels (canonical and otherwise), and the Qur'an, and the relevancy of the lessons of Jesus to each.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims by Mustafa Akyol is a Muslim's look at Jesus in both a historical and religious sense. Akyol studied political science a Bogazici University in Istanbul. He is a journalist and author of several books on Islam and Turkish politics. He is currently a contributor to the New York Times and considers himself a classic liberal. This also contributes to his ability to discuss religion in an open and less critical sense than one would expect.

Akyol starts his book with what seems to be a chance encounter with Christian missionaries, handing out copies of the New Testament, in his native Turkey. Rather than tossing it into the recycling bin, he reads it in an analytical manner. Keeping his beliefs in mind he begins to underline sections that match his Islamic beliefs in blue and those that didn’t in red. Despite a lot of red, he noticed quite a bit of blue. The blue was most evident in the Epistle of James (brother of Jesus) and least evident in Paul’s writing.

Many outside of Islam would wonder why a Muslim would care about Jesus. There was, a few years ago, the interview of Reza Aslan on Fox News concerning his book Zealot -- "Why would a Muslim be interested in the founder of Christianity?" was asked. Jesus is an important prophet in Islam second to only Mohammed. He was also the most powerful prophet in Islam having the power of life -- raising Lazareth. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, is mentioned more times in the Koran than in the Bible. Jesus is, indeed, an important part of Islam; He is just not God.

Akyol's thesis on Jesus begins with his reading of the Epistle of James. In the early days of Christianity, there was not a single version of the religion. Two different factions existed. James at the Church of Jerusalem worked with the Jewish population and Paul with the gentiles. James’ Epistle does not mention the death, resurrection, or divinity of Jesus. Paul, who had not met Jesus during his life, takes up the issue of divinity and the pre-existence of Jesus. James fits well with Islamic prophet Jesus. Paul’s version does not fit well with the single God entity of Islam. Looking at the Gospels and when they were written Akyol notes the growing divinity of Jesus as time passes. Mark, the earliest Gospel presents a much less divine Jesus than the last gospel written, John.

Islamic Jesus presents Jesus as he is recorded in the Koran and the traditional beliefs of Jesus. The Koran, however, has many holes in the life of Jesus mainly because it is not written as a narrative like the New Testament. It is a document that records the recitation of God’s will and law. This is explained in detail in the section on Islam. Towards the middle of the book, Akyol uses noncanonical Gospels to explore more commonalities between the two versions of Jesus. This leads the reader to wonder if perhaps Islam was influenced by the noncanonical Gospels or that those Gospels were influenced by Islam. I found that to be the weakest part of his argument only because some of these texts have been rejected as authentic works.

All in all, a very well done exploration and comparison of Jesus as seen by two religions. The author does not try to convince the reader of the truth of his version Jesus but rather presents his information and discoveries. Needless to say, the book is very well documented with almost a quarter of the book being cited sources and references. As someone who does not embrace either religion, I found the book fascinating.

[Django Laić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mustafa Akyol 'Islamski Isus' - Krist kao most između religija

Knjiga turskog novinara Mustafe Akyola proučava što u muslimanskoj tradiciji predstavlja i znači Isus Krist. Kršćanski Bog, a muslimanima jedan od najvažnijih proroka može postati vezom između dvije religije i poslužiti kao primjer svojom porukom mira i ljubavi.

Osoba Isusa Krista jedna je od ključnih pojava u monoteističkim religijama, a ovisno o perspektivi, možemo ga smatrati razdvajateljem ili spojnicom između njih. U prvom slučaju, možemo ustvrditi kako je njegovom pojavom među Židovima došlo do rascjepa između onih koji ga nisu prihvatili i onih koji su ga odlučili slijediti, a koji će nakon intervencije svetoga Pavla, čovjeka koji Isusa nikada u životu nije susreo ni susreo, postati vodećom religijom zapada za tisućljeća koja će uslijediti. I dok su ga Židovi odbacili, a kršćani počeli slijediti kao Boga, jedno kraće vrijeme postojala je i treća
skupina kojoj su pripadali Isusovi učenici, a predvodio ih je njegov brat Jakov Pravedni. Riječ je o judeokršćanima koji su slijedili Isusova učenje i smatrali ga velikim prorokom i duhovnim vođom, ali ne i Bogom.

Islam je kao najmlađa monoteistička religija na scenu stupio osam stoljeća kasnije, ali čini se kako se u svojim učenjima najviše naslonio upravo na spomenutu judeokršćansku tradiciju. Islam priznaje i Židovske knjige (Toru) i kršćanska evanđelja koja su mu prethodila, a osobu Isusa Krista vidi upravo kao i judeokršćani, kao jednog od najvažnijih proroka, ali ne kao i Boga, jer prema njihovom mišljenju Allah je jedan i žusrto se protive kršćanskoj doktrini trojstva.

Neke dijelove priče o Isusu Kur'an i islamska tradicija prenose drugačije od Biblije, poput primjerice rođenja pod palmom u pustinji, a pripisuju mu se i neka čuda koja kršćani ne poznaju. U njih se ubrajaju Isusovo oživljavanje glinenih ptica, ali i govor u koljevci kao obrana njegove majke Marije, još jednog od prominentih lica u svetim tekstovima obje religije. No Islam drži ekvidistancu između judaizma i kršćanstva, prve optužujući zbog neprihvaćanja Isusove poruke, a druge zbog pretjeranog slavljenja Krista kao Boga.

No, tu je i drugi način gledanja na Krista, a to je kao onoga koji spaja ove dvije religije koje se i danas može smatrati zaraćenima. I to je perspektiva koju Akyol prihvaća i preporučuje drugima u posljednjem i najboljem poglavlju knjige s naslovom "Što današnji muslimani mogu naučiti od Isusa". Prema njegovome mišljenju, današnji bi islamisti i džihadisti trebali primiti Isusovu poruku mira i ljubavi i shvatiti da je kraljevstvo Božje duhovno, a ne političko kraljevstvo kakvo ovi pokušavaju istvariti kalifatom i šerijatskim zakonom.

Posljednjih godina na hrvatski je prevedeno nekoliko zanimljivih knjiga koje su se bavile Isusom kao povijesnom osobom. Među njima se ističe stariji naslov "Isus i zeloti" S. G. F. Brandona, ali i jedan noviji, "Zelot" poznatog muslimanskog novinara Reze Aslana. Akylolov "Islamski Isus" za razliku od ovih knjiga pažnju ne usmjerava na Isusov život, već na viđenje Krista kao Mesije i Božje riječi u islamu, na muslimansku kristologiju, ali i eshatologiju koja također, što će možda začuditi
mnoge koji nisu dublje upoznati s islamom, uključuje ponovni dolazak Isusa.

[Harmen de Jong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik volg de schrijver op Twitter, zodoende kwam ik aan deze titel. Hij is overtuigd moslim en heeft een uitgesproken mening over de huidige islam: die is in een crisis. Maar dat is niet het onderwerp van dit boek. De ondertitel is “How the King of the Jews became a prophet of the Muslims”. Hij heeft hierover een studie gemaakt van de vroeg christelijke ontwikkelingen en heeft de Bijbel gelezen. Een belangrijke bevinding van hem, maar niet verrassend, is dat Jezus niet goed te begrijpen is zonder rekening te houden met zijn joodse achtergrond. Het gegeven dat God door Jezus weleens ‘Vader’ wordt genoemd, wil nog niet zeggen dat God ook echt de vader was en dat Jezus echt de Zoon van God was. Niet anders dan dat wij zoon/dochter van God zijn.

Paulus heeft met de zending naar de heidenen de monotheïstische Jezus in een polytheïstische wereld gebracht. Het idee dat Jezus de zoon van God was, was daar veel logischer, de drie-eenheid ook makkelijker te volgen.

De andere vorm van christendom, die van Jezus’ broer Jacobus was strikt monotheïstisch. Jezus was de Messias, maar hij was een gewoon mens, niet iemand om te aanbidden. Ik ben het in grote lijnen absoluut eens met Akyol. Dat wil niet zeggen dat ik moslim ga worden, maar wel dat ik monotheïst ben. De triniteitsleer lijkt toch wel een groot struikelblok, hoewel moslims het erger interpreteren dan het in feite is. Dat heeft iets met taal en cultuur te doen. Met name het woord ‘zoon’ (‘walad’) in het Arabisch, houdt een seksuele relatie in tussen beide ouders. Ondenkbaar natuurlijk, ook voor christenen. Er is een verschil tussen ‘zoon/kind van God’ en ‘Gods zoon’. Ook de joodse christenen moesten niets van de 2e term hebben. De 1e term houdt alleen een bijzondere relatie met God in, niets meer. Daarover kunnen Joden en moslims het wel eens zijn.

De volledige doctrine van de triniteit werd vastgelegd in 381 door het Concilie van Constantinopel.

Het Unitarisme dook in de loop van de geschiedenis telkens weer op. Een bekende unitarist was Michael Servetus, door o.a. Johannes Calvijn op de brandstapel gezet vanwege zijn Unitarische denkbeelden. Hij schreef daar een boek over: De Trinitaris Erroribus. Vanuit Polen, via Nederland werd ook in Engeland het Unitarisme weer actueel en onderdrukt. In deze visie is Jezus de Logos, het Woord, een uitlegger van Gods wil. Maar niet God!

In de islam komt Jezus terug in de eindtijd. In Medina is grafruimte voor hem gereserveerd naast Mohammed. Wat Mohammed begon zal Jezus beëindigen, daarna zal hij sterven. Jezus is echter bij veel moslims niet populair, dat lijkt vooral te maken te hebben met een antipathie voor het christendom. Erg jammer, alle Abrahamitische godsdiensten hebben veel gemeenschappelijk, hoewel het christendom met de triniteitsleer er wel uitspringt.

[Tim Chesterton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read this book for some time. I have noticed, in my study of Islam, that some of the Muslim traditions about Jesus are very different from those of mainstream Christianity, but I was not clear about where those traditions came from. Akyol’s main contention is that they come from an early Christian source: Jewish Christianity, which (he argues) saw Jesus as a prophet and the Messiah, but not the son of God, and certainly not as God the Son, the divine figure of Jesus as he appears in mainstream Christianity.

Mustafa Akyol has been a reformist voice within Islam for some time (see his earlier book ‘Reopening Muslim Minds’, which I reviewed a few weeks ago), and of course he is a controversial figure—admired by some, but despised by others. He is also a great admirer of Jesus. His account of his own first reading of the New Testament, and its profound impact on him, is very moving, and I was fascinated by his insight that the more Jewish parts of the NT (such as the letter of James and large parts of the synoptic gospels) seemed much easier to reconcile with Islam than the more Greek and Pauline parts. Also, at the end of the book, in a moving chapter, he calls for a symbolic ‘second coming of Jesus’ today, as Jesus’ way of interpreting the law in terms of love, justice, and peace could transform Sharia observance in Islam as it transformed Torah observance for Jewish Christians twenty centuries ago.

But the book has weaknesses. Akyol is rather symplistic about seeing the divine Christ of Paul and John as a later, Hellenistic vision of Jesus, while the ‘Son of Man’ in the gospels is an earlier, more Jewish vision. He does admit at one point that other scholars (eg. Larry Hurtado) have made strong arguments for the presence of a high christology in the very earliest strains of the NT as well as the later ones. Furthermore, modern Pauline scholarship has recognised that western Christianity has been far too ready to interpret Paul in isolation from his Judaism, rather than in dialogue with it as, himself, an Israelite (as he asserts in his own letters).



I think all Christians should read this book. It will bring us face to face with the challenge before us as we seek closer relations and deeper understanding with our Muslim neighbours. But it will also give us hope. Jesus has a long history of breaking out of the boundaries imposed on him by organised religion, and appearing in new places with fresh power to transform peoples’ lives. If a second coming of Jesus in the Islamic world could begin with a willingness to follow the lead of Jesus in interpreting sharia in terms of love, justice, and peace—well, who knows where it could end?

Four stars out of five.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - what an eye opening book as a lifelong Christian to see Christ through the eyes of Islam. This author’s research posits many shared bridges of understanding between Islam and the history of Christianity, particularly between the early Jewish Christian movement which saw Jesus as a revered prophet, servant of God, reformer of Judaism, but not the literal Son of God. Islam shares many of these views, and the depth of the reverence in Islam for Christ is stunning.

A few things I learned:
- He is referenced in the Quran 93 times through fifteen chapters
- The Islamic Jesus is a reformer within Judaism, who offers Jews a less restrictive and strict Halakha (Jewish Law)
- Eschatologically, Christ’s return, alongside the Mahdi, is as a savior figure who will cleanse the earth and rule in righteousness, will die and the world will slip back into evil, followed by the destruction of the world.
- He is the second bookend and pillar in Islamic faith, Mohammed was the first, the Messenger who brought God as a Word to his people, the Quran, and Christ is the Messiah to herald the close of the world and will come to convert Christians to the true faith, teaching Christians that they have missed the mark and gone too far believing that he is God’s literal son, instead of His Servant
- There is an empty tomb in Medina awaiting Christs burial alongside the tomb of Mohammed
- Many books in the apocrypha match the teachings and even stories of the Quran about Jesus and His mother Mary

Two main teachings close this book: the author argues that:
1. Modern may Muslims can learn much from Jesus as a Judaic reformer, getting to the heart of the law and away from superficial adherence and stricture. Much as Judaism learned this lesson from Christ in the late 19th century, moving away from the ancient penal codes of the Halakha, modern day Muslims must do the same. Thus the Sharia is made for man, and not man for the Sharia
2. The caliphate as a political ideology is an anachronistic artifact which should no longer be the political goal of modern Muslims. Instead, as Jesus says in the New Testament, the “Kingdom of God is within you” should be adapted to apply to all modern Muslims. The first caliph was Adam, defined as one who knew the names of all things, and he (or she) who has the power of agency to bring about God’s will on earth (or not). Thus the Caliphate of God is within each person, and not a political structure, lived by example and expressions of faith under any system which allows democratic rule and representation (as laid out by Asma Afsaruddin in Contemporary Issues in Islam), and freedom to practice as a Muslim with freedom, dignity and agency.

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Islamic Jesus" is a measured and accessible study of how Jesus is understood within Islamic tradition, and how that understanding developed in conversation with Jewish and Christian thought.

What makes the book compelling is its structural framing of Jesus within history. Akyol treats Jesus not as an abstract theological emblem, but as a historical figure embedded in the volatile religious and political ecology of first-century Judea. Jesus is situated among messianic expectations, Jewish law, Roman authority, and prophetic tradition—not floating above history, but forged within it. This grounding lends sobriety to Akyol’s portrait and makes the “Islamic Jesus” feel less like a construct and more like an inherited figure interpreted through a different civilizational lens.

Akyol’s greatest strength lies in how Islam’s reception of Jesus is rendered intelligible without being flattened. Rather than presenting the Qur’anic Jesus as a diminished version of the Christian Christ, the book frames him as a prophetic figure continuous with Abrahamic monotheism—one whose authority rests on proximity to God rather than ontological elevation. Islam’s Jesus is not removed from holiness; he is placed within it differently.

Running quietly beneath the historical analysis is a larger aspiration toward reconciliation. The book carries a restrained but unmistakable vision that Jews, Christians, and Muslims might rediscover one another not through abandonment of conviction, but through historical humility. Jesus, in this telling, becomes less a fault line and more a connective thread—less a site of fracture than a memory of shared spiritual ancestry.

The book is not without moments where historical tension is eased too gracefully, and where the desire for harmony risks smoothing theological edges that were, in reality, sharply contested. Yet these moments do not undermine the work; they reveal its horizon. This is not a book written to win arguments, but one attempting to widen understanding.

"The Islamic Jesus" should thus not be read as a doctrinal statement; rather, it should serve as an attempt to recover Jesus as a figure capable of disarming inherited hostilities rather than reinforcing them. In an era where religious identity is more often viewed as a boundary than as a bridge, that gesture remains both rare and quietly consequential—even if disagreement is inevitable.

[Altaf Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am writing an average long review of a book after months. Thanks to this isolation period. I am having a feeling that I really like reviewing books that I read.

So here is the review of "The Islamic Jesus" by Mustafa Akyol. I bought this book from #KIBF 2019 randomly. The title of the book made me to buy it. I am glad that I bought it. Comparative religion always excites me. It's always fun to read relationships between religions and analysis of them.
The relationship between all three Abrahamic religions is beautifully explained in it. This book can be divided into two parts. The first part focuses on proving that Prophet Jesus (PBUH) came to the Jews to renew their faith. To bring them to the right path and not to bring a new religion. Author gives all the references in two ways; doctrinal and historical. In doctrinal perspective, he argues that there was nothing new that requires birth of a new religion that Jesus PBUH addressed that wasn't addressed before to Jews from Prophets like Moses, Jacob, David etc. In historical perspective, he shows the comparison between Jewish Christianity (Those who follow James the Just, brother of Jesus PBUH) and Paulian Christianity ( Those who follow St. Paul's version). Jewish Christianity can be defined as an ideology that believed in Moses and all the prophets before him and after him and considered Jesus PBUH as one of the prophets of Yahweh (The God) who came to Jews as a Prophet. In second part, author develops the relationship between Jewish Christianity and Islam. This part connects Jews and Christians with the followers of Muhammad SAWW. I was not a novice to the whole concept. Following Reza Aslan's books, especially Zealot, and his talks helped me to grasp the heavy content in the book. As Reza says, "Judaism and Christianity are not adversaries to Muslims, but rather intrinsic parts of the entire Islamic belief system." So, this book furthered my this belief.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it to you, if you have interest in knowing religions.
5/5 for me.

[Omar Nizam · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Book Review: "The Islamic Jesus" by Mustafa Akyol - 📚🔯✝️☪️

In what is surely going to come as an eye opener for general readers outside scholarly circles, Turkish author Mustafa Akyol compares, contrasts, and links the beliefs about Jesus in Islamic tradition with that of an ancient Jewish sect known to us in history as "Jewish-Christians".

Without giving too much away, the stories about Jesus in the Qur'an are found in both the canon of the New Testament as well as in the Apocryphal (non-canonical) tradition. The Jewish-Christians died out in the fifth century CE, and the author alludes to the rise of the Islamic faith in the seventh century as a revival of this ancient Jewish-Christian faith.

I had hoped for many years that Biblical or Qur'anic scholars would have come up with a book like this a lot sooner, as it is such an interesting topic. I never expected a Turkish journalist to be the first to write such a book. Nevertheless, I will say that despite the author's day job being that of a journalist and newspaper columnist, he has by his own admission in fact been studying the subject matter for some 15+ years and the book in question here is very well researched and filled with numerous references from other scholars.

And in the author's own words: despite all the past tensions, Jews, Christians, and Muslims can all come together in the remarkable story of Jesus because they either share a faith followed by him, or a faith built by him, or a faith that venerates him.

This in itself makes the book a must read.

I highly recommend the Islamic Jesus to both students of comparative religion as well as the casual historian, and to people who advance the cause of forming better relations between the adherents of the Abrahamic religions.

My rating: 5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Zaifa Nafimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are trying to understand the differences in how the modern day Christians and the Muslims view Jesus, this is as good a book as any in highlighting the main differences.

But the more important messages and ideas in this fascinating book are:
1) There are very clear similarities between how the Muslims view Jesus a.s - as a prophet, rather than part of a Trinitarian God - and how the earliest Jewish Christians view Jesus (also as a man and a prophet)
2) There are many earlier sects of Christianity initially. The account of Jesus from the Gospel of James is well-aligned with the Muslims’ belief about Jesus. (James was thought of by the Christians as the half-brother of Jesus. Apparently, the Christians believe that Mary went on to marry a man named Joseph and Jesus had a half-brother from that marriage. The idea of Mary being married after the birth of Jesus is not something that Islam asserts or denies). But the account of Jesus from Paul (who had never met Jesus, by the way) emphasised the death, resurrection and divinity of Jesus. The Pauline version of Jesus became more dominant and widespread among the Gentiles over the course of the history and this version is now the main version of Jesus among modern-day Christians.
On the other hand, the James’ version of Jesus gradually lost its following and is now considered a heresy.
3) Judaism, Christianity and Islam are greatly connected to one another, theologically and historically. The link between these three religions can be clearly seen in the figure of Jesus a.s.

I give this book 1 star for content, 1 star for clarity of thought, 3/4 star for the engaging language style, 1/2 star for credibility of author,1 star for subjective enjoyment. So altogether, this book has earned 4.25 stars. Highly recommended to those who are interested in Theology and History of Abrahamic Religions.

[Argum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise, but lacks some expertise and knowledge. The beginning and end are great, but the middle focusing on ties to Jewish Christianity relies heavily on Protestant conceptions of Jesus and apocrypha that postdates Islam in many cases. I personally believe that if more Americans and Westerners knew about Islam for what it actually is and says there would be less strife and hatred directed at Muslims. I think that realizing that Jesus is an important Quranic figure is a great entry point to this. But for example to say that Christianity differs from Judaism and Islam in believing in faith alone and disregarding works is wildly inaccurate outside of Protestantism - Catholics and Orthodox Christians would whole heartedly agree as would the Bible - Faith without works is dead. My second issue is with the proof texts used to show Jewish Christians and a separate church at Jerusalem run by James that was squashed by Paul is like Bart Ehrman run amok. Using apocryphal texts is fine and many were excluded because they lacked content not because of error, but using ones that postdate Islam to say see this survived is nonsense. An example is the finding of a church with a palm tree dedicated to Mary to prove the Quranic Nativity story. He doesn't say much about this church's history, but referring to it as Byzantine is a clue. It was built around the time of Muhammed. It was also later turned into a mosque. This isn't proof of anything. Mr Akyol does a lovely job of explaining Islamic Jesus. He should have stopped there. He isn't exactly arguing with a straw man because Protestants exist, but his historical ties and presentation of Christian history is flawed by his reliance on a subset of Christian thinking. Worth reading but with a grain of salt

[Caroline Mathews · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to like about The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims by Mustafa Akyol.

It's the kind of research book I adore, the bibliography long and thorough, as the text runs so smoothly that you almost believe the whole book was written from original sources. I tip my hat to a writer who narrates in a way that doesn't interrupt one's train of thought with myriad, if imaginary, footnotes.

Much of this material, I knew; some, I had forgotten. I've never read any of the information presented from the perspective of a Muslim; yet, that one difference was an eye-opener although Akyol was not tough about leaning either towards the Muslim point of view, nor even his own, in speaking of today's current events.

I love comparing and contrasting Jewish and Gentile Christianity; nevertheless, I had never factored in all the sects, their histories (or their differences) with the rise of Islam (with its own sects) through the prophet Mohamed.

I appreciated that the The Islamic Jesus pointed out the differences as well as the similarities of the viewpoints of the people of the Book concerning the life and works of Jesus (his purpose) and tied that information in with our, often cloudy, perspective of today's world problems.

I have a better understand of underlying modern currents of thought after digesting this material, as well as a different mindset, and something like a newborn appreciation for the reasons behind the animosity, now and through the centuries, among the Muslims, the Jewish, and Christianity itself.

[Deirdre Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this new and timely book, the journalist Mustafa Akyol makes a convincing case for linking traditions about religious practice in Islam to performances and beliefs about Jesus evident in the New Testament and in Jewish Christian gospels and writings of the second, third, and fourth centuries CE. The surprising result is a picture of Islam and Christianity in which shared practices and convictions open up a world in common scarcely visible e.g. in media coverage of these two religious traditions today. Muslims need to follow Jesus, the author concludes.

By noting that Christian tradition is not monochromatic, and that there are a variety of views about Jesus in the New Testament and early Christian traditions for several centuries after Jesus’ death, Mustafa Akyol points out through careful readings both of the English text and sound scholarship what it is all too easy for Christians to overlook, namely, that Torah-observant followers of Jesus, were not, as the Acts of the Apostles would have us believe, a tiny minority swept aside by the rising tide of gentle Christianity led by Stephen and then by the apostles Peter and Paul as they broke from Judaism. No, indeed; in Antioch, Edessa, and Syria, Jewish Christian followers of Jesus continued not as a heretical minority but to flourish openly. The epic view of Acts that all roads lead to Rome, is simply untenable. The Paul of Acts is not the Paul of the Epistles. Christianity in fact expanded in the first century CE eastwards into Armenia and Syria, and to the south into ancient Nubia, Ethiopia, and Africa.