Religion has always been an important factor in the history of the Middle East. Jerusalem is sacred to the three largest monotheistic religions in the world: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Control over the region has shifted from one religious affiliation to another over the years, bringing battles both political and religious that continue to this day. Since the time of the biblical, Abraham, the leading religions of the Middle East have changed from polytheistic to …showed first 75 words of 917 total…

…showed last 75 words of 917 total…other sciences. The monotheistic, anthropomorphic G-d once again encouraged an adoption of humanistic ideas and in Islam it was a central moral message that each Muslim had a duty to create a just society where the less fortunate were expected to be treated decently. It was viewed as wrong to develop personal wealth at the neglect of society as a whole, and alms giving became one of the central pillars of the faith of Islam.