Until the advent of materialism and 19th c. dogma, Western Civilisation was superior to anything Islam had developed. Islam has not aided in the development of the modern world; in fact civilisation has only been created in spite of Islam. Proof of this resides in the 'modern' world and the unending political-economic and spiritual poverty of Muslim states and regions. Squatting on richer civilisations is not 'progress'. Islam is pagan, totalitarian, and irrational.
It is rather clear that Moslems know very little about their own cult. Try debating with a Moslem on the origins of Allah or the 'one'. It is clear that historically Allah is a moon deity who is simply the Babylonian Baal or Hubal renamed. This fact simply outrages the moon cult of Meca.
Some Moslems object that their Allah-thing and Baal or Hubal cannot be the same. Moslem 'logic' centers around the claim – or demand – that Allah created Hubal or Baal and that he or it, is the supreme ruler of the universe. This is rather obtuse.
For Babylonians and many Near Eastern peoples including the Semitic tribes, Baal or Hubal was called supreme and identified as the sole creator. In Christian theology, the cult of Baal which included polygamy, despotism, high taxes, child sacrifice, virgin sacrifices, sex orgies and bizarre rituals, was castigated as demonic, and in league with Beelzebub. Baal and idol worship were proscribed by the Jews and in the Old Testament and for good reason. It led to a very primitive society.
Allah has many characteristics of the Hubal cult. The main difference is that Muhammad fused the Judaic ideal of monotheism with Hubal and elevated his family cult's deity, ilah or the 'lord' or 'one', to be the supreme universal power ruling over any and all other idols. This is why he smashed up the 360 non Allah idols in the Kabaa shrine. It was Allah alone, and Allah uber alles. Hubal, which was a chief deity of the Meccan spiritual center was crushed even though he was acknowledged as the great defender of Mecca against the Ethiopian invasion of 571 AD – the saviour of the Arabs. It is simply ignorant to say that the idea of Allah passed through Judaism and Christianity to the pagan Arabs of Mecca. It didn't and could not have.
The Jews and Christians did of course make an impression on Muhammad. They possessed richer literate and more advanced societies, with public welfare systems, hospitals, libraries and extensive trade connections. Unlike the Bedouin they were settled and prosperous and appear unified. Such facts must have made an impression on Muhammad the politician. How to unify the Arabs under one 'god' managed by his cult? As one historian noted, "Islam is Heathenism in monotheistic form" [Morey, Islamic Invasion, p.43]
Muhammad originally preached not against other gods, but simply that his creation the Allah-thing was the greatest amongst them. It was only later as he was more and more influenced by the Jews and Christians and more adamant about assuming dictatorial power, that he preached that his Allah was the only god. "This is seen from the fact that the first of the Muslim creed is not 'Allah is Great' but 'Allah is the greatest' i.e., he is the greatest among the gods. Why would Muhammad say that...except in a polytheistic context?" [ibid].
Islam is imbued with polytheistic rites and practices. The entire cult is centered around ritualized worship and irrational observances. As well Muhammad never does explain what this Allah deity actually is. He simply assumes that the Arabs know. Each Arab tribe had a 'lord' or ilah god, and though there is some dispute about which celestial object the ilah might be – either the Sun or Moon – there is no dispute that all tribes would understand what he meant which is the pagan Lord of the Moon.
One of the aspects of Islamic poverty is the complete lack of self judgement and analysis. I doubt that any Moslem would even countenance the idea that perhaps Hubal is Allah. If it is true that Islam is pagan – and there is little doubt that it is – what does that mean for entire Islamic political-social project?