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Christianity was a prominent monotheistic religion in pre-Islamic Arabia.Christianization was a major phenomena in Arabian late antiquity, driven by missionary activities from Syrian Christians in the north and Christianity's entrenchment in South Arabia after its conquest by the Ethiopian Christian Kingdom of Aksum.
Indigenous Arabian polytheism, ancient Semitic religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mandaeism, and Zoroastrianism were among the religions in pre-Islamic Arabia.Arabian polytheism, the dominant form of religion, was based on veneration of deities and spirits.
Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia included pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism, ancient Semitic religions, and Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Judaism. Other religions that may have existed in pre-Islamic Arabia are Samaritanism, Mandaeism, and Iranian religions like Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism.
Believed to be Nestorian, the Christian community continued for at least a century after the arrival of Islam . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In 1992 the remnants of an ancient buried building on the eastern side of the island of Sir Bani Yas were discovered, and through further excavations was found to be a 7th century Church of the East Christian monastery ...
This community is the most famous case of the expression of Christianity in pre-Islamic Arabia. According to the Arab Muslim historian Ibn Ishaq , Najran was the first place where Christianity took root in South Arabia .
An important locus of pre-Islamic Arabian monotheism was in the Himyarite Kingdom that ruled over South Arabia, whose ruling class converted to Judaism in the fourth century (roughly when official polytheistic inscriptions stop appearing in the area) who nevertheless present a neutral outwards monotheism in engagement with the public.
Although the vast majority of Middle Eastern populations descend from Pre-Arab and Non-Arab peoples extant long before the 7th century AD Arab Islamic conquest, a 2015 study estimates there are also 483,500 Christian believers from a previously Muslim background in the Middle East, most of them being adherents of various Protestant churches. [46]
Christians developed Arabic-speaking Christian media, including various newspapers, radio stations, and television networks such as Télé Lumière, Aghapy TV, CTV, and SAT-7, which is a Christian broadcasting network that was founded in 1995; it targets primarily Arab Christians in North Africa and the Middle East. [103]