• Christianity, Islam and Judaism emphasize a common ancestor, the tribal patriarch Abraham
• In the Jewish Torah, Abraham is interpreted as the ancestor of the Israelites through his son Isaac (Gen. 17:16)
• In the Christian Bible, especially in the the Old Testament (deriving from the Jewish sacred text), Abraham is given a position of respect
• It is the Islamic tradition, Arabs descend from Abraham's son Ishmael. Interestingly, also Jewish tradition equates the descendants of Ishmael, with Arab people.