Muslims claim they worship the same God as the Christians and Jews.  They claim that Allah is a generic term that just means God.  Allah is not the name of the Arabic god, they claim, but simply a word meaning God in Arabic.   Muslims claim that Allah was always the biblical God and that Islam just continued and perfected these religions with the same God.   This claim of continuity of their religion is profoundly important in their attempts to convert people to their relgion and to legitimize their faith.   Muslims also cite that since Christian arabs call God Allah, this is proof that Allah is a title or word,  not a name.  They claim this was always what they called Allah and some even try to claim that Allah is mentioned in the Bible.

     Throughout  the ancient Middle East, the people were predominantly pagans.  They worshipped a moon god.   The word for god in Arabic  is ilah.  Archaeologists have uncovered temples to the moon god throughout many areas.  This was the most widespread religion in that part of the ancient world.  The symbol for this moon god was the crescent moon.  This same symbol  is still used throughout the Middle East today.

     The Sumerians left thousands of tablets describing their moon god.   He had many names.  The most predominant name they used was Sin.  Remnants describing this god were also found throughout Mesopotamia.  The Assyrians, Babylonians, and Akkadians also worshipped the moon god Sin.   This god married the sun goddess and had daughters.  Sacrifices were constantly made to them.   The title of the highest god, the moon god, was Al-ilah or Allah.   Pagan  arabs even used the name of Allah in their children’s names, such as Abdullah.   Mohammad’s father’s name was Abdullah (slave of Allah.)  Evidently, Allah was the name of a pagan god long before Islam was established.

     The most prominent deity in Mecca (Mohammad's birthplace) was Hubal  (Hub'al - the Allah reference is there.)  This seems to be a variation of the sun god Baal who is referenced in the Bible and detested as a pagan diety.  Baal is also referred to as Beelzebub or Satan, a coicidence worth noting.  Hubal was the chief god among 360 other deities.   He was the Meccan's moon god .  Since he was their highest god, he was likely the al-Ilah or Allah of Mecca.   The Koran does not mention Hubal but speaks of 3 daughters attributed to Allah.  They were,  Al-Lat (the feminine version of Allah,) Al-Uzza and Manat.  The moon god of the Arab world was always known to have daughters.  But the Koran chastises the pagan Arabs for attributing daughters to Allah specifically.  Since the Koran claims that the pagans credited Allah with 3 daughters,  Allah had to have been a specific god and could not have just meant "The God."   The god with 3 daughters was the moon god.  The highest god was always called Allah.   Logic would lead to the conclusion that Hubal and Allah were one and same god.   The Koran never warns against worshipping Hubal.    Why did Mohammad stop short of warning the new Muslims of worshipping Hubal, who was their  greatest pagan god?

The following verses show that Allah was a god who the pagans worshipped along with other deities:

• Say: O people! If you are in doubt as to my religion, then know that I do not serve those whom you serve besides Allah but I do serve Allah, who will cause you to die, and I am commanded that I should be of the believers. (10:104)

• I am forbidden to serve those whom you call upon besides Allah when clear arguments have come to me from my Lord, and I am commanded that I should submit to the Lord of the worlds.  (40:66)

      Evidently,  the pagans were already worshipping Allah, along with many  other gods before Islam was introduced.  Ilah is used for any god but Al-ilah (contracted to Allah), was the name of the SUPREME.     

      The supreme god was the moon god, as witnessed by all the moon references that still exist in the Middle East today.  When Mohammad  professed "Allau Akbar" (Allah is the greatest) he was professing that his favorite god, known as Al-ilah or Allah, was greater than all the others and was the only one to be worshipped.

     Mohammad could not give up so many of his pagan and animist habits, and knew that he could not convince the masses to follow his new religion  if he expected them to give them up.   So he kept many of those rituals in Islam. The pagan Arabs worshipped the moon god by praying towards Mecca several times a day.   Muslims today pray towards Mecca several times a day.  The pagan Arabs worshipped the moon god by making a pilgrimage to Mecca, walking around the Kaba, and  kissing the black stone.   Muslims today do all these things.   The pagan Arabs sacrificed animals to the moon god.  Muslims today sacrifice goats to Allah during a celebration called Eid-ul-Adha.  Pagan Arabs threw stones at figures representing the devil.  Muslims today do the same.   Muslims today fast during Ramadan which is the month that begins and ends with a crescent moon.   They have never given up their moon god.

The Koran even admits several times that Allah is the name of an Arabic god:

• Pronounce the name of Allah over it: and fear Allah; for Allah is swift in taking account.  (5:4)

•  Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, it is well: for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. ( 17:110)

• And who is more unjust than he who forbids that in places for the worship of Allah, Allah's name should be celebrated? (2:114)

The Koran also gives itself away when it purports that the Christians and Jews did not believe in Allah. Of course they didn't, only the pagan Arabs did.

•  O people of the Book! Do ye disapprove of us for no other reason than that we believe in Allah, and the revelation that hath come to us and that which came before, and that most of you are rebellious and disobedient?" (5:59-60)

     More evidence that Allah is not simply a generic term for God is that the name Allah is usually not translated when Arabic is being translated into other languages.  Names are generally not translated. Words are.

• English: In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

• French Coran:   Au nom d'Allah, le Tout Miséricordieux, le Très Miséricordieux.

• German Koran: Im Namen Allahs, des Gnädigen, des Barmherzigen.

• Spanish Coran: En el nombre de Alá, el Compasivo, el Misericordioso!

• Dutch Koran: In naam van Allah, de Barmhartige, de Genadevollen:

• Italian Corano:  In nome di Allah , il Compassionevole, il Misericordioso

      Muslims claim Allah means God because the Arab Christians and Jews also refer to god as Allah.   If they were raised in Muslim lands, fear of death would certainly make them call their God Allah.   But what did they call God before Mohammad came along and made the highest ilah, the moon god Allah, become the one and only god?         Unfortunately, the history of pre-Islamic Arabia is basically unknown.   There has been little archaeological exploration allowed in that area.  Saudi Arabia is one of the only nations which does not allow excavation of any kind.  What are they trying to hide?    There are many written sources that were found from the Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, but none from the Arabs at that time.   The only “evidence” that we have are oral traditions which were recorded by Islamic scholars, after the fact; hardly without bias, misrepresentation, and falsehoods.

     If Allah was the title for a  pagan god named Hubal, Sin or any other name, then it would be nonsensical to believe that the Christian and Jewish Arabs at that time referred to God by a pagan title or name.

     The first Arabic translation of the Bible came into existence in the 9th century.  Nowhere is the name Allah found in the Old or New Testament.   In the OT, the name of God is Yahweh.  Nowhere is this mentioned in the Koran, just as nowhere in the Bible is the name Allah mentioned.  They are not the same God.

There is no moon god but Allah. And Allah is his name.