Torah תּוֹרָה‎‎ and Sharia شريعة

Swiss Theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968) forcefully emphasized that divine revelation comes to us directly from above, "senkrecht von oben".

This is the fundamental understanding of Moslem believers - Qur'an is originally written in Heaven and the dictating of the holy book by angel Gabriel to Muhammad is a fresh new start and revelation of previously unknown messsage. Fresh light illuminates the dark world.

Similarly, for many Christians New Testament is essentially the holy book and the Old Testament is reduced into the role of John the Baptist, preparation of the ground and foretelling of what is going to happen in Jesus Christ.

Both religions have their background in ancient Judaism. For many religious Jews Simchat Torah, the Joy of Torah, is the new light that illuminated the world when God gave the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai.

It is difficult for these believers to realize that religion has history, roots, evolution, developments and that they depend on each other.

For Moslems there is a holy secret - the learned scholars know about the relationship between Qur'an and the Bible and understand Islam as a completion of these books and as the full revelation, return back to the simplicity of the Monotheism of Ibrahim, el-Khalil, the friend of God.

Christians have persecuted Jews, the people of Torah, who do not accept Jesus of Nazareth as their King. The role of Judaism changed from "mother religion" to enemy already in early Christian centuries and religious anti-Semitism raisis its head already in the second century AD.

Jews abhor the Canaanites and there are the Biblical warnings against this religion and lament of the penetration of paganism into the pure religion of the fathers and of the Sinai desert. But modern scholarship has demonstrated essential connections and links between the religion of the Hebrews and the religions in the ancient Near East.

Religions are organic, social, historical realities developing in place and time. Archaeology shows often structures that have a history from one religion to another - the Canaanite holy spot, that became the location of the Temple of Salomon and now has the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques is a great example of this continuity and change through centuries.

So the Canaanite supreme God El gives the word Elohim to Hebrew and Allah to Arabic. Organic, connected and yet different in function and role and religion. The spouse of this royal rather passive god of Ugarit, Elat, lives in the name of the city of Eilat and there was a pre-Islamic goddess Allat.

It is important that we realize the historical background of the religious Moslem Sharia Law شريعة

The Law of Moses, itself related to ancient Near Eastern legislation, possibly to Hammurab, gives comamnds to stone people to death and to burn people publicly. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

While rough ancient habits, punishments and law code survive in the holy Scriptures we need to remember that at time many of the laws were constructive and protective and probably inhibited some of the worst things in ancient courts and their decisions.

For example, it is often said that the Sharia law does not "allow a Moslem man to have four wives" but rather "limits the number of wives to four".