10 Things Mormons and Muslims Have in Common

I can see many shaking their heads right now. How can a Middle Eastern-born faith and an American-born faith have anything in common? Yet, it is true.  There are so many aspects about our religions that are similar to each other. In fact, I would be willing to say that the Islamic faith is one the closest religions to the LDS church.

Yes, we believe in Jesus Christ differently (Mormons believe Him to be the Savior and Muslims believe Him to be a prophet) and there are probably many such differences that would divide us as well. However, that division will never bring us together. These 10 points can help us to find our common ground.

1. We Both Believe in God

A few years ago, I was walking home from my job on BYU campus. It was midnight, but I felt safe because I was walking with my Muslim friend. We were talking about faith and he explained to me that Allah was God, the same deity that Abraham worshiped in the Old Testament, and that, therefore, we basically prayed to the same God.

Did you know that strictly practicing Muslims pray at least five times a day? If you think about it, many Mormons do as well. We pray when we get up, before we eat our meals (we typically eat three meals a day), and before we go to bed.

2. Following Prophets

About a year later, I found myself sitting in a world religions class. The professor told us a story about an uneducated man who had revelations, was visited by an angel and later became a prophet, but was met with persecution. The professor asked us what religion the story belonged to. Excited, most of the class yelled out “LDS!” The teacher smiled, said ‘no’, and announced that the answer was Islam.

According to both faiths, their founding prophets (Muhammad and Joseph Smith) found seclusive places to pray which led to them having divine experiences and, therefore, becoming prophets and founders of their religions.

Latter-day Saints understand that God has continued to call prophets in the present day, while Muslims believed He has stopped calling prophets. But we both venerate many of the same early prophets. And the restored gospel even gives us additional insights into the ministry of Muhammad.

3. Belief in the Premortal Life

As Mormons, we are very unique in the realm of Christianity because we are the only mainstream Christian religion that has a doctrine saying that before this earth we lived with God as spirits. In fact, that belief was condemned as heresy in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 AD.

Yet, when compared to Muslims we are not so unique. From my understanding, they believe that when God created Adam that we were also created as spirits in our adult forms to be his descendants. As spirits, we would have testified that God was the creator and that He was worthy of worship.

In the LDS church, we believe that in this premortal life that we were given instruction about the Plan of Salvation and told that a Savior would be needed. We then participated in the War of Heaven which is where a third of the host of heaven fell away because they chose Lucifer over Jesus. Those of us who have come to earth chose to accept God’s plan to have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior in that plan.

4. Tithing

In the LDS church (and most Christian religions) we call it tithing, but in Islam it is called Zakat (meaning ‘almsgiving’ or the purifying of your wealth for the will of Allah).

For Muslims, it is an annual tax (2.5 percent) that goes to the aid of the poor within the Muslim community and is a part of the Five Pillars of Islam. However, it is only required of those who meet a certain level of wealth. It goes towards the poor and suffering and not to the building of mosques.

For Mormons, a tithe is 10 percent of one’s monthly income. It is something that we do in faith and is used for the Lord’s purposes throughout the world. It goes towards building temples and churches, missionary work, educating members, and any other cause dedicated to the Lord’s work.

Another donation that LDS members make is called Fast Offerings. Every month we give a small amount of money (usually the cost of two meals but is not limited to that) to be given to the poor and needy.

5. Word of Wisdom

When people hear that Mormons don’t drink alcohol, coffee and tea they get a lot of questions and strange looks. Yet, it isn’t that unusual for a religion to have a certain code of conduct concerning what they will and will not eat.  In fact, Muslims don’t drink alcohol either because it is considered ‘haraam’, meaning forbidden.

Our dietary codes aren’t the only thing we have in common on the subject of food, however. Though we have different traditions around fasting, Islam is one of the world’s other major faiths that teaches its members the spiritual importance of fasting.

6. Religions of Peace

In a world where peace is not the first thing that we see on the news, it’s hard for us to notice those who are promoting it―or to not stereotype an entire people based off of the few who go rogue. However, it’s important for us to look deep into a religion to know what it is truly all about.

Concerning, Mormonism and Islam, we need to take a look into the etymology, because a name can tell you a lot about something. The word ‘Mormon’ means “more good” and ‘Islam’ actually derives from the Arabic term ‘salema’, meaning peace and submission to God.

Secondly, we need to look beyond the headlines that we see and look at the people behind the religion. The LDS church is active in spreading peace throughout the world through welfare programs and humanitarian aid. Likewise, Muslims throughout the world spread peace by responding to the world’s needs by providing help to refugees, orphans and victims of natural disasters.

7. Religions of Tolerance

The LDS church is a huge promoter of religious freedom. In fact, the church often releases statements in response to religious freedom concerns. One of them being a statement given by Joseph Smith in 1841:

[quote_box_center]“Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, that the Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Latter-day Saints, Quakers, Episcopals, Universalists, Unitarians, Mohammedans [Muslims] and all other religious sects and denominations whatever, shall have free toleration, and equal privileges in this city…”[/quote_box_center]

As for the faith of Islam, few people may know this but parts of the Quran insist on the tolerance of those of other faiths, calling Christians and Jews “people of the book” and those of other faiths (that don’t worship the God of Abraham) ‘dhimmi’.

8. Involved in the Community

As Latter-Day Saints we are well-known for responding to the issues that we care about, especially when it comes to the well-being of others. We are there on the ground when tornadoes strike to give relief, in the middle of Africa helping people to have clean water, and donating millions of dollars to Middle Eastern refugees.

Likewise, Muslims respond to such humanitarian calls. They do all that they can to show that they truly care about people and the community. In the midst of an era of Islamophobia due to attacks by ISIS, a terror group who also claims the religion, they still stand strong. After the December 2015 San Bernardino attacks, Muslims were quick to raise $100,000 for the victims’ families.

9. Beautiful Places of Worship

Now, onto softer subjects. I have a huge appreciation for beautiful architecture. Everywhere around the world there are glorious Muslim mosques (or, in Arabic, ‘masjid’) and LDS temples. They represent people who are dedicated to worshiping the God of Abraham. We call Him Heavenly Father and my Muslim friends call Him Allah—the Aramaic word for God, which also means “the only God to be worshiped”.

Latter-day saints go to temples, also known as the House of the Lord, to perform sacred ordinances and to make our worship more intimate. Likewise, Muslims go to their mosques because they believe that they are God’s houses on the earth. They go there to pray and to intimately worship Allah in the way that they believe is fit.

10. We Both Enjoy Humor

A Mormon, a Muslim, a Catholic, and a Baptist sat down at a table . . . at BYU for a religious symposium on heaven and hell. Two of the speakers were Imam Shauid ud Din (the leader of a mosque in Sandy, Utah) and Brent Top (an LDS BYU professor).

As they discussed heaven, the Imam told of Islam’s very descriptive vision of heaven. He said that there will be:

“Rivers of honey, rivers of milk, rivers of wine. That is the first thing that I’m going to order―scotch on the rocks! I’m dying to drink some wine!”

Later on in the symposium, Professor Top referred to that vision of heaven, saying:

“I thought that was so wonderful that that one river of milk was particularly for the Mormons and its BYU creamery chocolate milk.”

As was proved by that symposium, we can all sit down together and let there be peace. As has been discussed in this article, we ought to acknowledge our similarities. We should also show our love to anyone who we see as being different from us just because they worship differently than we do. After all, we are all brothers and sisters―children of a God who loves every one of us.

[quote_box_center]“Be respectful of the opinions and feelings of other people. Recognize their virtues; don’t look for their faults. Look for their strengths and their virtues, and you will find strength and virtues that will be helpful in your own life.”―Gordon B. Hinckley[/quote_box_center]

Have you ever had an opportunity to be tolerant and loving of someone who believes different than you? Please share with us your story!