Arabs

[dave_c]

What was the Religion of the Arabs pre-Islam?

[Romeo]

Mainly Zoroastrianism (the religion of Zoroaster / Zarathustra).  But there were many other cults around, usually a mixture of occultism, Christianity and Judaism.

[Narolines]

On a trip to the Sahara, where we were shown various ancient Arabic & Berber religious sites, our guide told us that pre-Islam many Arabs still followed the old pre-Christian animistic beliefs.  I don't know how right he was, but he was an Arab........

[Clanad]

The pre-Islamic deities of Arabia which were most venerated were astral deities, especially the triad of the moon god, the sun goddess, and the god associated with the planet Venus. The moon god was the chief and was protector of the cities. These deities were given various names, however the moon god was evidently originally the Babylonian moon god Sin. To end division among his people in Mecca, Muhammad elevated the moon god Al Ilah to the chief and only god. The evidence is still visible in the star and crescent venerated by all Muslims...

Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hasim was persecuted for his teachings in Mecca and fled to Medina in 622 AD, his teachings were soon accepted and the community-state of Islam emerged. From the date of Muhammad's flight, called the hijrah, Muslims begin their calendar---AH (Anno Hegirae) 287 is the same as AD (Anno Domini) 900.

[kempie]

I would not agree with the phrase "mainly Zoroastrianism" as this monotheistic religion (probably the precursor of Judaism and Christianity) appeared prevalent in the lands of the northern Arabs. The southern and Bedouin Arabs practised polytheism, worshipping three goddesses, al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat, who were all daughters of one supreme god, Allah.

All of the mentioned belief systems would have added to the mix, producing a multiculturalism far beyond what Britain currently prides itself on.

[Octavius]

Muslims believe that Islam is a faith that has always existed.  Islam was gradually revealed to humanity by a number of earlier prophets, but the final and complete revelation of the faith was made through the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE (BC).

Before the coming of Islam, most Arabs followed a religion featuring the worship of a number of deities, including Hubal, Wadd, Al-Lat, Manat, and Uzza, while some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, had apparently rejected polytheism in favor of a vague monotheism. With the expansion of Islam, the majority of Arabs rapidly became Muslim, and the pre-Islamic polytheistic traditions disappeared.

At present, most Arabs are Muslims. Sunni Islam dominates in most areas, overwhelmingly so in North Africa; Shia Islam is prevalent in Bahrain, southern Iraq and adjacent parts of Saudi Arabia, northern Yemen, and southern Lebanon, as well as parts of Syria. The tiny Druze community, belonging to a secretive offshoot of Islam, is usually considered Arab, but sometimes considered an ethnicity in its own right.

[Octavius]

sorry thats AD not BC, doh!

[dave_c]

Thanks for everyone who answered. By the way wasn't Zoroastianism the supposed religion of the Three Wise Men?

[Octavius]

It is widely believed that TTWM were Zoroastrian Magi (Zoroastrian astrologer-priest's from ancient Persia)

[badams]

You mean of course the wise men who brought three gifts!  There is nothing in the Bible or anywhere else to suggest there were three people|