the lengths that the human mind will go to to deny the obvious
Tell me about it!
But what is obvious to me is that we have a Creator; our Creator alone is worthy of our worship; our Creator has sent guidance to us through selected messengers throughout the centuries to explain the meaning of life in this world and how best to live it; we are free to accept or reject this guidance; sound reasoning in determining what to accept or reject is better than blind faith; Muhammad was the final messenger sent by The One God (Allah in Arabic, also in Christian Arabic Bibles) and the Qur'an is the final revelation of guidance from our Creator.
I accept that pagan Arabs were using the Ka'abah as a holy site, prior to Muhammad, that it was filled idols from all over the region to help cement trade relations, and that they too used the Arabic name Allah (The God) to denote the God they held in esteem above all others as the Creator. Why wouldn't they? They were Arabic. This does not prove that Islam is pagan or had pagan origins. Its teachings show quite the opposite. I cannot prove archeologically that Adam built the first Ka'abah there, nor that Abraham and Ismail rebuilt it, nor that some of the rites the pagans were using, and which Muhammad maintained, originated with Abraham. But because my inquiries have proved to me that there is a Creator and that the guidance given to Muhammad is from our Creator, I have no reason not to accept this as reliable as well.
Although the laws and applications may have varied, the essential guidance brought by all of God's prophets to all the nations has been the same: there is no god worthy of worship but the One God; He is alone and has no partner; He neither begets nor was begotten; He alone can determine right and wrong, give us right guidance for our conduct, and pass final judgment on us with true justice and mercy.
If anything I have said is in error, may Allah forgive and correct me.
Salam Shalom Peace E'tokmite'k Paz Paix Shiochain Maluhia Santi 'Eyewi Baris
~Merry