Arriba, el símbolo ichthys, creado por la combinación de las letras griegas ΙΧΘΥΣ. El vocablo significa ‘pez’, pero constituye además un acrónimo: Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, ΘεοῦΥἱός, Σωτήρ (Iēsoûs Christós, Theoû Hyiós,Sōtḗr), que se traduce al español como «Jesús Cristo, Hijo de Dios, Salvador». Elichtus o ichthys fue uno de los primeros símbolos cristianos¹ y se convirtió en emblema del cristianismo primitivo.² Abajo, el término ΙΧΘΥΣ labrado en mármol en las ruinas de Éfeso, en Asia Menor.

El cristianismo (del latín christianismus, y este del griego χριστιανισμός)³ es una religión abrahámica monoteísta basada en la vida y enseñanzas atribuidas a Jesús de Nazaret, presentadas en el canon bíblico —que recoge tanto el Antiguo como el Nuevo Testamento—. Los cristianos creen que Jesús es el hijo de Dios, así como el Mesías (o Cristo) profetizado en el Antiguo Testamento, que murió crucificado para laredención de los pecados del género humano, y que resucitó tres días después de su muerte.

Algunos de los escritos sagrados cristianos son compartidos con el judaísmo. El Tanaj constituye, junto con la Biblia griega —más antigua que el Tanaj en su forma actual—, la base y la fuente para el Antiguo Testamento de las diferentes biblias cristianas. Por este motivo, el cristianismo es considerado una religión abrahámica, junto con el judaísmo y con el islam.

Historiográficamente, sus inicios se ubican en la primera mitad del siglo i Anno Dómini, en tiempos de Jesús de Nazaret. No obstante, la fe cristiana considera ese tiempo como la llegada del Mesías anunciado en profecías judías del Antiguo Testamento.

Algunos estudios del siglo xx no toman como fecha incontrovertible el año 33 d. C. para la muerte de Jesucristo. Hay quienes, al indagar en las fechas, sugieren que pudo haber un desfase de 4 a 8 años entre el inicio del cómputo de la era cristiana y la fecha precisa del nacimiento de Jesús de Nazaret, conocido como Cristo.⁴ En adición a esto, no hay clara certeza ni consenso entre estos autores de que este haya muerto a la edad de 33 años, tal como algunos textos bíblicos parecen mostrar.^{Nota 1} En sus primeras décadas, el cristianismo era considerado por algunos como una doctrina sectaria de las tradiciones judías ortodoxas.⁶ Desde que el cristianismo se convirtió en la religión oficial del Imperio romanoen el siglo iv, ha influido de manera significativa en la cultura occidental y en muchas otras.

La palabra cristianismo proviene del griego χριστιανός, christianós, ‘cristiano’, la cual a su vez procede del nombre propio Χριστός, Christós, ‘Cristo’, traducción del hebreo Mesías, que significa ‘ungido’. El origen del término se indica en el libro de Hechos de los Apóstoles:

Y partió Bernabé a Tarso a buscar a Saulo; y hallado, lo trajo a Antioquía. Y conversaron todo un año allí con la Iglesia, y enseñaron a mucha gente; de tal manera que los discípulos fueron llamados cristianos primeramente en Antioquía.

Islam portal

The Kaaba, in Mecca, Hejazregion, today’s Saudi Arabia, is thecenter of Islam. Muslims from all over the world gather there to pray in unity.

Islam (/ˈɪslɑːm/;^{[note 1]} Arabic: الإسلام‎, al-ʾIslām IPA: [alʔisˈlaːm] ( listen)^{[note 2]}) is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a religious text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Allāh), and, for the vast majority of adherents, by the teachings and normative example (called the sunnah, composed of accounts called hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570–8 June 632 CE), considered by most of them to be the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim (sometimes spelled «Moslem»).^[1] Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable^[2] and that the purpose of existence is to worship God.^[3]

Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.^[4] As for the Qur’an, Muslims consider it to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of God.^[5] Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, from topics ranging from banking and welfare, to family life and the environment.^[6][7]

Islam began in the early-7th century. Originating in Mecca, it quickly spread in the Arabian peninsula and by the 8th century the Islamic empirewas extended from Iberia in the west to the Indus river in the east. The Islamic Golden Age refers to the period traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century when much of the historically Islamic world was experiencing a scientific, economic and cultural flourishing.^[8][9][10]The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders and conversion to Islam by missionary activities.^[11]

Most Muslims are of two denominations:^[12][13] Sunni (75–90%)^[14] or Shia (10–20%).^[15] About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia,^[16] the largest Muslim-majority country, 32% in South Asia,^[17] 20% in the Middle East,^[18] and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[19] Sizable Muslim communities are also found in Europe, China, Russia, and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world. With about 1.6 billion followers or 23% of the global population,^[20][21] Islam is the second-largest religion by number of adherents and, according to many sources, the fastest-growing major religion in the world.^[22][23][24]

Etymology and meaning

The dome of the Carol I Mosque in Constanța, Romania, topped by the Islamic crescent

Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace.^[25] In a religious context it means «voluntary submission to God».^[26][27] Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means «submission» or «surrender». Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb form, and means «one who submits» or «one who surrenders». Believers demonstrate submission to God by serving God, following his commands, and rejecting polytheism. The word sometimes has distinct connotations in its various occurrences in the Qur’an. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as an internal conviction: «Whomsoever God desires to guide, He opens his heart to Islam.»^[28] Islam, by its own inner logic, embraces every possible facet of existence, for God has named Himself al-Muḥīṭ, the All-Embracing.^[29]

Other verses connect Islām and dīn (usually translated as «religion»): «Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion.»^[30] Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.^[31]In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that includes imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence), where islām is defined theologically asTawhid, historically by asserting that Muhammad is messenger of God, and doctrinally by mandating five basic and fundamental pillars of practice.^[32][33]

Articles of faith

God

Medallion showing «Allah» (God) in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul,Turkey.

Islam’s most fundamental concept is a rigorous monotheism, called tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد‎). God is described in chapter 112 of the Qur’an as:^[34] «Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam