Abstract
This chapter compares the foundation events of Islam and Christianity, arguing that these historical beginnings had long-term effects on the evolution of “good behaviour” in Islam and Christianity. Christianity as a global movement was the creation of Saint Paul, because Christ claimed ‘my kingdom is not of this earth’. Why discipline behaviour if the world is ending? By contrast the Prophet Muhammad created a state through the constitution of Medina. While Islamicate norms of conduct are comprehensive and plentiful, the norms of civilization in the West (following the sociology of Norbert Elias) came later, with Erasmus, and were primarily secular. In modern times, Islamic norms of piety have been amplified, while in the secular West they have become informal.
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Turner, B.S. (2021). Good Behaviour: Islam and Christianity as Framework for Religious Life. In: Milani, M., Adrahtas, V. (eds) Islam, Civility and Political Culture. New Directions in Islam. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56761-3_4
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