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==Islam and Paganism==

==Islam and Paganism==

Although Muslims profess belief in a single, almighty [[Allah|God]], some Western scholars believe that some Muslim beliefs, like some of the [[church]] and indeed early Judaism, can be traced back to distinctly polytheistic antecedents{{fact}}. Some, for example, have attempted to link Allah to a moon deity, though this is unsupported by an etymological study of the word "Allah" and the fact that Allah is cited in the Qur'an as the God of Abraham (the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). <ref>Abramahov, "Islamic Theology". Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 1988. [http://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Theology-Binyamin-Abrahamov/dp/0748611029/sr=8-4/qid=1172042917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref> Others have pointed to the pagan roots of various Muslim prohibitions, such as the ban on pork (also practiced in Judaism) originating in the 3rd-century AD Damascene [[cult]] of the pig-god Jamal. <ref>Ibid.</ref> . As well as various recently-recovered scrolls that hint at early Muslim human sacrifice, which was also a part of early Judaism (eg: Story of Abraham being ordered to sacrafice his son by God. The story can be found in both the Bible and Qur'an). However such claims remain unverified. <ref>Esposito, "The Oxford History of Islam", p. 523. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1999. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/sr=8-1/qid=1172042853/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref>

Although Muslims profess belief in a single, almighty [[Allah|God]], some Western scholars believe that some Muslim beliefs, like some of the [[church]] and indeed early Judaism, can be traced back to distinctly polytheistic antecedents{{fact}}. Some, for example, have attempted to link Allah to a moon deity, though this is unsupported by an etymological study of the word "Allah" and the fact that Allah is cited by Mohammad as the God of Abraham (the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). <ref>Abramahov, "Islamic Theology". Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 1988. [http://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Theology-Binyamin-Abrahamov/dp/0748611029/sr=8-4/qid=1172042917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref> Others have pointed to the pagan roots of various Muslim prohibitions, such as the ban on pork (also practiced in Judaism) originating in the 3rd-century AD Damascene [[cult]] of the pig-god Jamal. <ref>Ibid.</ref> . As well as various recently-recovered scrolls that hint at early Muslim human sacrifice, which was also a part of early Judaism (eg: Story of Abraham being ordered to sacrafice his son by God. The story can be found in both the Bible and Qur'an). However such claims remain unverified. <ref>Esposito, "The Oxford History of Islam", p. 523. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1999. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/sr=8-1/qid=1172042853/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref>

==Sharia==

==Sharia==