This article presents a brief history of the Arab religions and highlights the differences between them. It also examines different Jewish and Christian communities. It ends by discussing the importance of anthropological sensibility in interpreting Arabic texts. It also discusses historical and anthropological methods of research. It promotes appreciation of the diversity in Arab religious traditions.
Islam
Islam is the main religion of the Arab world. Islam is a religion that dates back to the 7thcentury. It was first established in Syria, and Arabia. It is similar to the Jewish and Christian religions and its roots are in pre-Islamic Arab poetry. Prophet Muhammad promoted the Arab Past by glorifying it through his writings. He also revived the language of Arabs. One verse in the Koran, where Allah is called the eternal language, lisan arab, even has a reference to Allah.
Assyrian religions
The Assyrian religion follows Christianity and is closely connected to Easter, the most significant Christian festival. The Assyrian Church of the East and other churches based in the Near East use the Gregorian calendar, although many Assyrians still observe the Julian calendar. Assyrians observe fasting during Lent, and abstain from eating meat or animal products.
Christian communities in Lebanon
The Christian community of Lebanon is made up of four churches: the Orthodox Church and Maronite Catholic Church as well as the Armenian Apostolic Church and Greek Orthodox Church. The largest denomination is the Maronite Church, which is fully in communion with the Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church, however, is the second largest. It has approximately one-third population. In Lebanon, Christians are well represented in parliament, holding a total of 64 seats. Maronites control 34 seats and the Eastern Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church each hold around five seats. One seat is also held by the Protestant Church.
Jews
Pew Research Center recently conducted an Israeli survey on religious affiliation. The survey involved 5,601 Jewish and Arab respondents living in Israel, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The survey also included religiously unaffiliated respondents.
Dualists
The dualists of the Arab religions do not necessarily endorse one God but do support the existence a higher power. According to dualists, the soul is not indestructible, but rather a metaphysical substance that interacts with the physical body. The Devil was regarded as a fallen angel in medieval heresy. He created the human body. This approach is illustrated by qualified dualism and Bogomils dualalism.
Sabians
The Sabians were an ancient historical Arab religion. They lived before the Prophet Muhammad, and they read the Zabur. They fell under Islamic rule in 639 AD. They are considered a protected religion but were brought under the control of Islam through the pact with Umar.