The conflict in the Middle East shows no signs of abating. It is undeniable that religious conflict is one of the many causes, where the primary players are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

These three religions have swung back and forth between conflict and coexistence, but in modern times, the situation has deteriorated significantly. After World War II, Jews, who had long been scattered throughout the world, founded Israel in the land of Palestine. In doing so, Arabs (mostly Muslims) who were living there at the time were evicted from their homes, which resulted in the escalation of the conflict between Jews and Muslims. Since Christian nations in the West supported the creation of Israel, relations between Christians and Muslims also deteriorated. The accommodation between these religions has become an urgent issue of our time.

The Origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all absolute monotheisms, and are closely related. In this order, newcomers arrived upon what was built by those who came before. Judaism has the Old Testament, Christianity added the New Testament, and Islam has the Koran, and the three are often called “Religions of the Book”.

Judaism is a religion that has its origins in the revelations of Moses, Proto- and Deutero-Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others who have handed down the words of God. The Jews, at one time flourished under a kingdom created in Palestine, but went through significant trials through experiences such as the Babylonian captivity (6th century BC). However, each time, they strengthened their ethnic bond by uniting under religious precepts such as the Ten Commandments.

On the other hand, Judaism has been criticized for its self-identity as the “chosen people”, where the main concern is the salvation of its own people. The justification for the State of Israel, despite having been built upon the expulsion of Muslims, is that the land was promised to them by God.

During the first century, Jesus Christ was born from within the Jewish tradition. He preached the teachings of love, and criticized Judaism, which at the time had lost its vitality by focusing excessively on religious discipline. Jesus was resented and eventually executed on the cross by conservative Jews, but those who believed him to be the Savior created Christianity. After Jesus’ death, Jews lost their nation to the Roman Empire, and were forced to scatter throughout the world.
In the 7th century, Muhammad was born in the Arabian Peninsula, and founded Islam. Its teachings ordained Muhammad as the final and greatest Prophet, and in particular, emphasized the idea that man is “equal under God”. His military victories formed the foundations of the Caliphate. After his death, a series of Caliphs succeeded him, but during the time of Ali under the fourth Caliph, the Shia split from the mainstream Sunnis to divide the Islamic world. While many Islamic nations today are Sunni, Iran and Iraq have a sizeable Sunni population, and the Syrian leadership also consists of Sunnis.

Archangel Gabriel Directed All of the Abrahamic Religions

Master Ryuho Okawa, of Happy Science, is currently looking into the origins and histories of various religions and their spiritual realms in order to achieve peace through religious understanding.

In addition to recording the words of spirits relating to the Abrahamic religions, he has been looking into the Gods of Shinto, where recent spiritual messages suggest a spiritual connection between Japan and Judaism. In particular, the spiritual message of Deutero-Isaiah showed that King David of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, Japan’s Emperor Jinmu, and Islam’s Muhammad were in fact the same spirit. This has provided interest in uncovering the spiritual secrets behind Judaism, Japan, and Islam.

It was under those circumstances that Archangel Gabriel’s name came up as a possible subject to record a spiritual message. Gabriel appeared from time to time in Jewish history, and is considered to be an angel that guided humanity. For example, the Book of Daniel contains an episode that interprets the vision seen by the prophet Daniel. Furthermore, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Annunciation” shows Gabriel telling the Virgin Mary of her pregnancy.

Gabriel is considered to be among the highest ranked angels. According to Muhammad’s biography, Gabriel was the first to provide Muhammad with his revelations, and is said to have strangled him to force him to read the words of God. It is believed that subsequent words of God in the Koran were revealed through Gabriel.

Archangel Gabriel, who guided all of the Abrahamic religions, is a key spiritual figure in determining the secrets of the spiritual realm and suggests a hint toward religious reconciliation.

The Relationship between Judaism, Islam, and Japan

The summoned Archangel Gabriel stated that the guidance of the prophet Daniel and the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary were indeed true. While he denied that he strangled Muhammad to force him to read the words of God, he did explain “Muhammad was at the verge of being taken in by evil, so there was a struggle between God and the devil.” The revelations given to Muhammad were described in greater detail compared to the Koran, and the origins of Islam, long forgotten in history, were revealed.

During the spiritual interview, he was asked whether King David, Emperor Jinmu, and Muhammad were indeed the same spirit. While Gabriel declined to state explicitly, his answer, and Master Okawa’s summary at the end of the spiritual interview, was enough to determine that this was indeed true. If this were the case, it would mean that the same spirit was instrumental in the founding of the civilizations of Judaism, Japan, and Islam.

Furthermore, one of the central Gods of Japan, Ame-no-nakanushi-no-mikoto, was the fourth Caliph Ali, and that Saladin, who defeated the crusaders, was reborn as Heihachiro Togo, who defeated the Russian Baltic Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War. This shows that the same gods are guiding both Japan and the Islamic world.

While the Abrahamic religions are considered to be monotheistic, spiritual investigations conducted by Master Okawa have revealed that there are voices from several spirits contained in the Bible and the Koran. The problem lies in the fact that humans on the receiving end of those revelations are mistakenly interpreting them as originating from a single God.

Among these spirits is an ethnic deity called Yahweh, who rejects other gods, often calls for the genocide of foreign peoples, and resulted in the persecution of Jews who ended up believing this god. Later spiritual investigations showed that Yahweh was subsequently born as Kublai Khan who attempted the Mongol invasion of Japan, and as Franklin Roosevelt, who defeated Japan during World War II. Japan and Judaism share some of their mainstream gods, but also seem to be hounded by those who intend them harm.

Innovation is Necessary in Both Judaism and Islam

What are the lessons regarding religious conflict to be learned from recent spiritual messages? The spiritual messages of Proto- and Deutero-Isaiah pointed out the exclusivity of Judaism, and warned that it shouldn’t dwell on Jewish identity or the State of Israel. While this may be unacceptable to Jews, it seems that the time has come for Judaism to forgo some of its old teachings and embrace a more universal set of values.

On the other hand, the Islamic world is suffering under the problems of constant conflict, severe legal punishments and discrimination against women, and a lacking sense of human rights, resulting in continued political turmoil and the inability of democracy to take hold. Gabriel says that “Islam needs some shakeup”, and that “the population in the Islamic world has been increasing, so if they can’t muster another level of innovation, there may be some problems”, which is in line with the thoughts of many spirits that are calling for the need for reform. The call for reform in the Islamic world isn’t coming merely from spirits of foreign cultures, but also from those like Muhammad and Ali.

It has been shown that Japan has deep spiritual connections to both Judaism and Islam. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Christian civilization of the West, and has created an environment that can accept all of the Abrahamic religions. Happy Science, which originated in Japan, worships the creator of all three Abrahamic religions and the God of Earth, El Cantare, and is trying to spread the teachings of love that encompass all religions of history. By understanding that each religion comes from this original Creator in a way that fits the times and the cultures of the land in which they were created, the various religious conflicts around the world can be reconciled.