“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are the sons of one religion, and that is the mind” – Khalil Gibran (Think Exist). Islam and Catholicism are just two of the many religions that populate the world. Although the two are similar in some ways, it is the differences that clearly set them apart. “Muslim extremists” are a stereotype that clearly distinguishes the two religions; You rarely hear someone call a Catholic an “extremist.” Since the founding of these religions, tensions have increased between them over their “ownership” or “rights to” what was once the “Holy Land.” “Holy wars,” or “Jihad” according to Muslims, were fought to determine who should control these lands. Since both groups came into existence within this “Holy Land,” they continue to fight for their “homeland” or the “birthplace” of their religion. Instead of simply reaching an agreement or resolving the conflict, groups decide to continually fight. When the World Trade Center towers were unexpectedly terrorized on September 11, 2001, tensions increased exponentially. The relationship between these religions will continue to be hostile until they can come to an agreement to resolve the differences between them. Islam was founded in 622 CE in the Arabian Peninsula after the death of Muhammad (Stopke). The beliefs of the Islamic religion include: the unity of God, belief in (the book, prophets, angels, a day of judgment, reward and punishment in the afterlife), and that God is omniscient ( Stopke). The original language of Islam was Arabic and is still an important part of the religion today. There are approximately 1.3 billion believers in the Islamic religion worldwide. Islam believes in the Quran, the literal Word of God, middle of paper ...... religion, Catholics are rarely classified as "radical" or "extremist". These religions will continue to generate hatred against each other if they do not resolve disputes over the “Holy Land” and live in peace according to their sacred texts. The stereotypes associated with these religions are based on the actions and words of their followers. Works CitedReligionFacts. Comparison table: Christianity and Islam. 2004-2010. August 31, 2011. .Stopke, Steven. Conference on Islam Alex Lohmann. October 12, 2010. The Roman Catholic Church and Islam. August 31, 2011. .Think Exist. Quotes ThinkExist.com. 1999-2011. Web page. August 31 2011. .