Amica said:
Christians are right when they say that Muslims and Christians do not believe in the same God. For Christians god is Jesus and for Muslims God is Only God, One, and not Jesus.
Jew and Musilms have a closer understanding of God in that both of the groups claim that God is One, He is incomprehensible, He says "Be!" and something is.
Jews and Muslims do not believe in the human god or an idol (or are not supposed to). So Christians do believe in a different God (some of them, I guess).
Not all of us who follow Christ believe that God is Jesus. There's a lot of diversity there. Personally, I believe God dwelt in Jesus. Essentially, that Jesus was a pure manifestation of God, and that He was a human that completely poured out His own will for God's. I do believe Jesus was created for a specific purpose and wasn't just your ordinary human. But I don't believe Jesus was an incarnation of God- for me that makes no sense when you read Jesus' teachings. But believing in teachings such as "I and my Father are One," doesn't mean for me that Jesus was saying He
was the Father God, but rather that He was in union with God. I believe in the trinity in a symbolic, but not literal sense. The trinity points toward an experience with different aspects of God as a Christian for me, and isn't the definition of what God is. I'm with you in believing that God is One, incomprehensible and beyond human expression. Jesus' teachings, for me, point toward that mystery.
As for the history of Islam and Christianity, I agree with you all. Both religions have been misused by people to gain power, spread hatred and prejudice, and justify social problems. But this doesn't mean the religions are themselves at fault. I haven't read the entire Qu'ran, but as far as I can tell from what I have read, and the Muslims I know, it is a religion that loves peace, justice, and mercy. Unfortunately, just as Jesus' teachings (which were incredibly blatant about demanding selflessness, peace, and love) have been used to justify the horrors of crusades, the Inquisition, and slavery... so too has Islam been used by some to justify holy wars and intolerance. I imagine this is as frustrating to many Muslims as many of us Christians find our own history.
In Peace