Abrahamic religions tradition claims that the Jews are descended from Abraham, and adherents of Judaism derive their spiritual identity from Abraham as the first of the three "fathers" or biblical Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All the major Abrahamic religions claim a direct lineage to Abraham, although in Christianity this is understood in spiritual terms: Adam Dodds argues that the term "Abrahamic faiths", while helpful, can be considered misleading, as it conveys an unspecified historical and theological commonality that is problematic on closer examination. While there is commonality among the religions, in large measure their shared ancestry is peripheral to their respective
Islam and other religions of the faith being effected rather by persuasion and inducement." A few well-known examples of forced conversion are: Unilateral Islam and other religions Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Attitudes have varied according to time, place and circumstance. The Qur'an distinguishes between the monotheistic People of the Book ("ahl al-kitab"), ie. Jews, Christians, Sabians and others on the one hand and polytheists or "idolaters" on the other hand. There are certain kinds of restrictions that apply to polytheists but not to "People of the Book".