The Tigris and Euphrates: rivers of the Mandaeans
The Tigris and Euphrates in Genesis and in Mandaean belief: living water, baptism in the river, and the Mandaeans of Iraq today.
Journal
Explainers and essays on the history, scripture and thought of the Abrahamic traditions. Browse every topic.
-
-
Kairouan: the holy city of the Maghreb
Kairouan, the oldest Muslim city of the Maghreb: its founding in 670, the Great Mosque of ʿUqbah, and its scholars.
-
Badr and Uhud: two battles in the Qur’an
Badr and Uhud, the two battles the Qur’an discusses most fully: a victory of the few in 624 and a reverse in 625, and…
-
Masjid al-Aqsa: the Farthest Mosque
Masjid al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam: the Night Journey, the first qibla, the three mosques, and the history of the sanctuary.
-
Christian pilgrimage: Santiago, Lourdes and Fátima
Christian pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Lourdes and Fátima: the apostle James, the Marian shrines, and Mary’s rank in the Qur’an.
-
Patmos and Mount Athos: the holy places of Orthodoxy
Patmos, the island of the Book of Revelation, and Mount Athos, the monastic republic of Orthodoxy, with the Qur’an’s praise of night prayer.
-
Shiloh and Masada: sanctuary and fortress
Shiloh and Masada: the first sanctuary of ancient Israel, where the Ark rested, and the last fortress against Rome. With the Ark in the…
-
Safed and Tiberias: the holy cities of Galilee
Safed and Tiberias, two of Judaism’s four holy cities: the sages, the Masoretes, the mystics of Safed and the Qur’an’s praise of the rabbis.
-
Galilee: Capernaum, Cana, Tabgha and Mount Tabor
Galilee in the Gospels and the Qur’an: Capernaum, the wedding at Cana, the feeding at Tabgha and the table from heaven, and Mount Tabor.
-
Jews and Muslims in history: the record under Islam
Do Muslims hate Jews? What the Qur’an commands, and what historians find in the record of Jewish life under Islam compared with medieval Christian…
-
Is Muhammad mentioned in the Bible?
Is Muhammad mentioned in the Bible? The Qur’an’s claim, the name Ahmad, and the passages Muslims read: Deuteronomy 18, the Paraclete and Isaiah 42.
-
Deuteronomy 18:18: the prophet like Moses
Deuteronomy 18:18 promises a prophet like Moses from among Israel’s brethren. How Christians and Muslims read it, and why Muslims see in it the…