Understanding

Christianity, Islam and Judaism

Draw the symbols for the three major religions in the Middle

East at the very top of your notebook.

Then match the symbols

to the religion they represent:

Christianity, Islam and Judaism

The cross is the central symbol of Christianity. Christians

believe that Jesus died on the cross and three days later

rose from the dead. The cross is a symbol of victory over

death, promising eternal life.

The crescent moon is a common symbol of Islam. Muslims

believe that when Muhammad received his first revelation,

the moon was in its last stage, appearing as a waning

crescent.

The MögenDavid, or Star of David, is the central symbol

of Judaism. The star is the sign of the house of David, the

family that produced the kings of Biblical Israel.

Understanding

Christianity, Islam and Judaism• The three

prominent religions in the Middle East -Christianity, Islam and Judaism -belong to the same monotheistic tradition. Despite differences in beliefs and practices, all three share a central belief in one God: the God of Abraham.

• All three faiths

originated in the Middle

East: Judaism and

Christianity in the

region of Palestine, and

Islam on the Arabian

Peninsula. In 1990,

more than 90 percent of

the people in the Middle

East practiced Islam,

which is the majority

religion in every

country in the region

except Israel.

• Christianity, practiced by approximately 5 percent of Middle Easterners, has significant minorities in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and among Palestinians.

• Adherents, or followers, of Judaism - approximately 2 percent of people in the region - live primarily in the state of Israel.