Confronted with seemingly endless discord in the Middle East—much of it said to be rooted in religious difference—scholars and laymen alike have been promoting the idea of "Abrahamic religion." This is the notion that Judaism, Christianity and Islam are equally indebted to the figure of Abraham, the patriarch prominent in the scriptures of all three. Surely, the theory goes, the three communities can move toward much-needed reconciliation by considering their shared origins.
This is a message that the more fanatical members of each community need to hear, but their very fanaticism makes them unlikely to listen. One might also question whether theology, rather than culture and politics, is what lies at the heart of anti-Western and anti-Israeli rhetoric in the Middle East. Commonalities and cross-influences do exist among the three religions, but no less worthy of attention are the differences.
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