Answers (1)
Muḥammad gave rituals and rites an Arabic flavor. Jerusalem and its temple were replaced by Mecca and its sacred shrine, the Kaaba. Saturday for Jews and Sunday for Christians were replaced by Friday as a day of communal prayer. And instead of either Moses or Jesus, Muḥammad now came to be viewed by Muslims as God’s foremost prophet.
He apparently felt no affinity for Judaism or for Christianity either. H. M. Baagil, a Muslim author, elaborates: “Because Christianity had deviated a long way from the original teachings of Jesus, Allah then sent as part of His original plan His last Prophet, Muhammad, as revivalist to restore all these changes.”
Mecca was taken peacefully in 8 A.H. (630 C.E.), as was most of the Arabian Peninsula. A few decades after Muḥammad’s death, a controversy over succession led to such civil strife that, in reaction, the community adopted an almost accommodating stance toward non-Islamic groups and ideas.
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