The inscription carved on the arch of the gateway reads like this: Jesus, Son of Mary (on whom be peace) said: The World is a Bridge, pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day, may hope for eternity; but the World endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen.

Even if that quote isn't particularly familiar, it still reads as if the gateway might lead to a Christian church, doesn't it? Instead, it leads to a mosque in northern India.

If you're surprised that a Muslim church should be referring to figures so central to Christianity, then you might need to take a closer look at the tenets of Islam. I've quoted Samuel Huntington before, in saying that the current conflict in the Middle East is a clash of civilisations. But there are so many similarities and points of convergence with the two religions, that it is almost more like a family falling out. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in the Middle East 540 years after the death of Jesus. He was a camel driver who lived in Mecca. When he was about 40 years of age, he went to a cave outside the city to meditate. He fell asleep and, the story goes, was awakened by the angel Gabriel - the same Gabriel who heralded the birth of Jesus in the New Testament.

Gabriel, hugging him so tightly that the air was forced from his body, ordered him to "recite" in the name of God. Muhammad, who was illiterate, protested that he knew nothing to recite. Gabriel squeezed tighter and tighter until, it is said, the word of God spilled from Muhammad's lips.

Muhammad remembered these divine revelations, and dictated them to his followers, who assembled them in the document now known as the Qur'an, or Koran.

Muhammad had never learned to read or write, never attended school, never read the Bible, and never had the Bible read to him. To Muslims, that proves beyond any doubt that the revelations he received which make up the Qur'an are indeed God's word. The Qur'an is considered the most beautifully-written book in the Arabic language, and Muslims believe that, too, is an indication of its divine origin. The two religions were so closely related that at first, apparently, Muhammad expected Jews and Christians to embrace his Qur'an as a document that merely took their own religious documents another step forward. That was not to be, as we know.

In the Qur'an, Muhammad reveres Jesus as a fellow prophet, retelling his story with great respect. He said that God "made (Jesus) the son of Mary, and his mother as a sign for mankind", caused Jesus to follow "in the footsteps of the prophets", and "gave him the Gospel with its guidance and light, confirming the Torah (the Five Books of Moses)".

The Lord's Prayer has its Islamic counterpart - the Fateha, or Opening. The words used in each one are different, but their meaning is precisely the same. There are differences as well, of course. The Qur'an tells the stories of the birth and death of Jesus rather differently than does the Bible. In its version of the birth of Christ, it suggests that Mary gave birth in the wilderness, then took the child home to her parents. It does not mention Joseph, the journey to Bethlehem, the Wise Men, the Star of Bethlehem, or any of the traditional elements of the nativity scene.

The Qur'an flatly rejects the notion that Jesus is the Son of God, calls the concept of the Trinity polytheistic, and denies that Jesus is a god or is God Himself. It contends that Jesus was not crucified, killed, or resurrected. Muslims doubt that God would endow Jesus with the power to perform miracles, then allow him to be humiliated, tortured, mocked, and killed by his enemies. Nonetheless, it can certainly be said truthfully that Christianity is given respectful treatment by the Qur'an.

You can imagine that Muslims might be a little irritated, then, when Christian fundamentalists like Billy Graham's son, Franklin, describe Islam as "a wicked, violent religion", and the Prophet Muhammad as "a terrorist". Or when the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention describes the Prophet Muhammad as "a demon-possessed paedophile". Many Muslims know as little about Christianity as most Christians know about Islam, and believe that such people speak for all of the Christian Church. That is not to say the fault for the current unpleasantness between the two religions is entirely on the Christian side. The Muslim world has allowed itself to be misrepresented by its own fundamentalists, like Osama bin Laden. Just as Christian fundamentalists should not be taken as representing the Christian Church, the bin Ladens of the world cannot be taken as representing Islam. At its heart, Islam is a peace-loving religion, not the concatenation of bloodthirsty lunatics we are tempted to assume it represents.

My eye was caught by an interview with a prominent Muslim published recently that speaks to this subject. It was with Sheikh Abdul Palazzi, a professor at the Research Institute for Anthropological Studies in Rome, the secretary-general of the Italian Muslim Association and a recent guest lecturer at Yale University. This forthright exchange was carried by www.JewishPress.com.

Interviewer: "You know the terrorists always claim to be followers of the Qur'an."

Sheikh Palazzi: "The Qur'an is being misread. The Qur'an forbids mistreatment of Jews and the state is obligated to protect them. At the time of the Ottoman Empire, Jews held positions in the government. The Qur'an says before the end of days the Jews will return to their land. At the end of World War One, Sharif Al Hussein, the leader of the Hashemite family and governor of Mecca said, when he saw the Jews returning to Palestine, 'We are seeing what was foretold in the Qur'an. When others settled there the land stayed barren, but now the land recognises its original sons and it is producing'."

Interviewer: "It's too bad the Palestinian Arabs don't know that."

Sheikh Palazzi: "They can't know it because these passages have been removed from their books. The PA selected only certain sources for their books. All of the proofs are deleted. But in other Islamic countries you do find all proofs in the Qur'an. You know, before 1967, Islamists referred to the Jews as Palestinians and the present-day Palestinians were called Jordanians. In Jerusalem, Imam Tabari, an important cleric, wrote an important book, 'Lives of Prophets and Kings'. He described the life of King Solomon and the Temple he built. Anyone who denies this not only denies history, but denies Islamic sources."

Interviewer: "The Palestinian Arabs even deny that the Holy Temple ever stood on the Temple Mount."

Sheikh PaIazzi: "I was part of an international delegation that visited Israel in 2000. The Wakf (guide) took us to visit Al Aksa. Right outside of the Dome of the Rock is a small chapel on the eastern side. 'What is this place?' I asked. 'It is the place where Solomon stood to dedicate the Temple', was the reply. 'Then why do you deny this?' I asked. With a smile I was told, 'For political reasons'. Mecca and Medina are the holiest places for Islam. Jerusalem is shared with Jews and Christians. Why, according to Islam, did Muhammad go to Jerusalem? To meet all the prophets from other religions who worshipped there. Islam is faith in monotheism, faith in prophets, faith in humanity. The basic distinction is monotheism versus idolatry. And this concept it shares with Judaism."

Interviewer: "This is just one of many instances of historical revisionism on the part of the Arabs."

Sheikh Palazzi: "Another example of history being forgotten concerns the 1919 agreement between Chaim Weizmann and King Faisel of Jordan and Iraq. The agreement said that the Jordan River was the border between the Jewish state and the Arab state. The Arabs did not oppose this. Then the British came and created Saudi Arabia, taking land from Jordan. So they told them to take some of the land back from the Jews. When the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was created, control of Mecca and Medina was thereby given to Wahabbism, the most primitive tribe of all. Islamic scholars were horrified. Then oil was discovered and they became all powerful and forced everyone to believe in Wahabbism and killed whoever didn't. With the passing of years they became more sophisticated. Wahabbism in its original form is still practiced in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It is their official religion."

Interesting interview. And a good reminder of how seldom things are what they seem to be.

gshorto@ibl.bm