WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -Background and sources. Until about the fourth century, almost all inhabitants of Arabia practiced polytheistic religions. Although significant Jewish and Christian minorities developed, polytheism remained the dominant belief system in pre-Islamic Arabia.

Detailed explanation-2: -Nomadic Tribes in Pre-Islamic Arabia One of the major cultures that dominated the Arabian Peninsula just before the rise of Islam was that of the nomadic Bedouin people. The polytheistic Bedouin clans placed heavy emphasis on kin-related groups, with each clan clustered under tribes.

Detailed explanation-3: -Islam emerged in a polytheistic environment; although there were notable Jewish and Christian communities, most people living on the Arabian Peninsula believed in multiple gods. In contrast, the fundamental tenet of Islam was monotheism-the belief in one God alone.

Detailed explanation-4: -Arabian religion, polytheistic beliefs and practices that existed in Arabia before the rise of Islam in the 7th century ce. Arabia is here understood in the broad sense of the term to include the confines of the Syrian Desert.

Detailed explanation-5: -Muhammad said that he was told by Gabriel to reject the polytheism of the others in the area and follow the one true God. This one god is the same God whom Abraham followed.