# Is the God of Islam a Pagan god? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 1, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749 "2004-04-01T16:26:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/1 "2004-04-01T16:26:04Z")
Hopefully someone here can clear this up for me. A friend of mine (who is also a very religious christian) told me that Allah of Islam is actually a pagan moon god. I didn’t believe his story at first but decided to do a quick internet search. I found quite a few sites that agree with his statement, but it’s hard to tell if these sites are legit or fronts for fundamentalist christian groups. Has anyone heard this before? Thanks in advance ---
**Author:** ![mbacko1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@mbacko1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbacko1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/2 "2004-04-01T16:28:10Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Hopefully someone here can clear this up for me. A friend of mine (who is also a very religious christian) told me that Allah of Islam is actually a pagan moon god. I didn’t believe his story at first but decided to do a quick internet search. I found quite a few sites that agree with his statement, but it’s hard to tell if these sites are legit or fronts for fundamentalist christian groups. Has anyone heard this before? > > Thanks in advance I don’t have a direct cite, but after years of Christian religious education, I was taught the the God of the Jews, Islam, and Christianity was the same entity. All three groups just have different ways of worship. Mike ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/3 "2004-04-01T16:30:32Z")
Same Dude, different prophets. God, aka: Jehovah, Allah, Yaweh ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/4 "2004-04-01T16:32:51Z")
**yorick73** --The Prophet Mohammed was influenced by both Christianity and Judaism in his writings, however inspired. The three faiths share common religious texts, & may justly be considered as worshipping the same God. But I doubt you can convince your friend of this position. Better to change the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/5 "2004-04-01T16:33:26Z")
Gah…as for the rest of your post. Tell you friend that Mohammed (you know, the guy who was given the Koran by The Big Guy) led some ass kickin on the pagans who had used Abraham’s Kaaba as a storage shed for their pagan idols. Dude had some pretty strong feelings about pagans as I recall, and they were not warm and fuzzy ones (the feeling that is, some of the idols probably were). ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/6 "2004-04-01T16:35:38Z")
A moon god was worshipped in Pre Islamic Arabia, the moon is a symbol of Islam, and the Islamic calendar is based on the moon. However, Allah is not a pagan moon god. He is the same as the Christian or Jewish God, and Muslims venerate some of the same prophets as Christians or Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/7 "2004-04-01T16:54:00Z")
As **Bosda** said, Muhammad was influenced by both Christianity and Judaism in his writings, but he was also inspired by the native religions that existed on the Arabian peninsula. Islam is basically an amalgam of the three. For example, the veneration of the Ka’aba comes from the native Arabian religion. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/8 "2004-04-01T17:50:59Z")
“Your god is pagan” = “I am a religious zealot” So yorick73, is your friend a fan of [Jack Chick?](http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0042/0042_01.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/9 "2004-04-01T18:02:02Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > “Your god is pagan” = “I am a religious zealot” Unless you’re talking to pagans… ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/10 "2004-04-01T18:47:03Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Same Dude, different prophets. Mostly incorrect, since Islam recognizes all the prophets in the OT. They believe that Jesus was also a prophet and the only prophet they add is Mohammed. As to Allah being a moon god it should be noted that it is believed Yahweh started out as a volcano god and was later combined with the sun god, El. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/11 "2004-04-01T18:54:09Z")
The issue arises because there were multiple gods in pre-Islamic Arabia and the chief god of the pantheon was simply al-Ilah or Allah, The God. This, however, is no different than the situation that existed with pre-Judaism, where Yhwh was originally a god in a pantheon that included the linguistic cognate of the supreme god Allah, _El_, and who later came to be associated/combined with El. In both cases El/Allah/Yhwh came to be considered the sole God, singular and indivisible - in Muhammed’s case he had the pre-existing example of the Abrahamic religions to guide him to this discovery that the Jews had made so long ago ( if you want to look at it that way ). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/12 "2004-04-01T19:00:49Z")
Much as it may distress certain extremist Christians, the Muslim god is exactly the same as the Christian god. I don’t think I have ever come across a Muslim - no matter how extreme in their views - that believes the Christian god to be a wrong god or a pagan god - it’s very much the same god to them. They have huge reverence for Jesus and for Mary. Remember how much the early Christian church assimilated pagan festivities and practices - Easter=Eostre, pagan fertility goddess, many Christian festivals are on old pagan holidays - and let’s not also forget that Easter is a moon-timed festival, just as Muslim holy days are. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/13 "2004-04-01T19:01:51Z")
> [@kniz](#): > > Mostly incorrect, since Islam recognizes all the prophets in the OT. They believe that Jesus was also a prophet and the only prophet they add is Mohammed. I meant what you said, I just sacrificed clarity for glibness. By “different prophets” I simply meant that adherents of Christianity & Islam follow different prophets (I realize Christians do not view Jesus as a mere prophet, but I believe they are alone in this regard in the traditions discussed). Anyhoo, thank you for clarifying my irresponsibly unclear and smart aleky remark. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/14 "2004-04-01T19:28:06Z")
From the Catholic Encyclopedia: > [@](#): > > The notion of Allah in Arabic theology is substantially the same as that of God among the Jews, and also among the Christians, with the exception of the Trinity, which is positively excluded in the Koran, cxii: “Say God, is one God, the eternal God, he begetteth not, neither is he begotten and there is not any one like unto him.” [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01316a.htm](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01316a.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/15 "2004-04-01T20:11:41Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > From the Catholic Encyclopedia: > > > [@](#): > > > > The notion of Allah in Arabic theology is substantially the same as that of God among the Jews, and also among the Christians, with the exception of the Trinity, which is positively excluded in the Koran, cxii: “Say God, is one God, the eternal God, he begetteth not, neither is he begotten and there is not any one like unto him.” Right. Which is why Maimonides considered Jews and Muslims to essentially share the same God, while Christianity did not. However from a Muslim perspective, the Christian God _is_ the same as the Muslim ( and Jewish ) God, Trinitarianism just being regarded as a unfortunate corruption/error of interpretation by most Christians. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/16 "2004-04-01T20:43:42Z")
The Muslim God and the Christian God are certainly _not_ the same. While Muslims may believe they are worshipping the same God as Christians and Jews, Christians do not hold a similar belief towards Allah. In fact, there are essential differences between how the two see God, not the least of which is that Christianity believes thta Jesus was/is God while Islam simply recognizes him as a prophet. There is also the little matter of the Trinity, as well as fundamental differences in the nature of God that are different between Islam and Christianity, even going back to how each perceives the nature of how God created the world (and I’m not talking about evolution, I’m talking about how God labored to create the world in the Christian view and how God simply spoke and the world was created in Islam). Now if you’re trying to say that there is only one god and we all worship the same god in different ways, then that’s one thing. But to say that the God of Islam and the God of Christianity are the same underestimates the fundamental differences between the two religions. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/17 "2004-04-01T20:49:25Z")
> [@](#): > > **Now if you’re trying to say that there is only one god and we all worship the same god in different ways, then that’s one thing.** Yes > [@](#): > > **But to say that the God of Islam and the God of Christianity are the same underestimates the fundamental differences between the two religions.** But it is the same god. The only fundamental difference is on the perception of Jesus (human-Muslim, divine-Christian). In terms of the overall concept of God, it is the same one. As was mentioned before, Muslims just don’t have the Trinity interpretation. But in terms of the (most abstract) God part at the top of the Trinity, that is the same for both (albeit worshipped somewhat differently). ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/18 "2004-04-01T21:30:53Z")
Regarding **Renob** ’s post: Mere doctrinal differences, however pronounced, do not negate the idea that all three religions worship the same god. By your logic, Jews and Christians are not worshiping the same god. Jews do not believe in the trinity. Moreover, unlike Moslems, Jews don’t even consider Jesus to be a prophet. He’s merely an itinerant rabbi, and not a particularly important one (from a theological standpoint) at that. Whether they’re the same god or not is not anything Jews worry much about. However, from a Christian standpoint, they have to be worshiping the same god as the Jews, or most Christian theology falls apart. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/19 "2004-04-01T23:45:21Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > A friend … told me that Allah of Islam is actually a pagan moon god. First, the language problem. Whenever the writings about God in another language are translated into English the word for God (be it Dieu, Dios, …) are rendered as the word “God”. However when the language being translated is Arabic the word Allah (accent second syllable, a lah’ ) is not translated as God but the (romanized) word “Allah” is retained. Therefore the perception becomes that everyone believes in God except those who believe in Allah. The French don’t worship Dieu, the Spanish don’t worship Dios, they worship God. But the Arabs never worship “God” they always, whenever you read about what they worship, worship “Allah.” If the word “Zeus” was translated always as the word “God” would you not think then that the Greeks of old also worshiped God? Second the Judeo-Christian-Islam tradition. The prophet Abraham is the father of that tradition. Moses is the prophet of the Jews. Jesus is the prophet of the Christians (Christians assign a greater, if you will, role.) Mohammad is the prophet of the Muslims but not following the teachings of Moses or Jesus but, and this is a major point, continuing or reestablishing the worship of God started by Abraham. Jews == Abraham → Moses Christians == Abraham → Moses → Jesus Muslims == Abraham → Mohammad Third, irregular nouns and adverbs ( I am obstinate. You are stubborn. They are pig headed.) Your Christian friend is a pagan. Instead of following the first commandment he worships two or three gods. He best do what Jesus did, worship the one God, instead of listening to what others say about Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749/20 "2004-04-02T00:21:31Z")
> [@AcidKid](#): > > Jews == Abraham --\> Moses > Christians == Abraham --\> Moses --\> Jesus > Muslims == Abraham --\> Mohammad I believe you are wrong here. It’s Muslems == Abraham -\> Moses -\> Jesus -\> Mohammad As others have noted, Muslems do consider Jesus one of God’s prophets, and hold him in high regard. They simply do not consider Jesus to be the divine son of God that Christians do; in that regard, Muslems and Jews are theologically closer than Christians and Jews are. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-god-of-islam-a-pagan-god/237749.md?page=2)