ISIL Attack in Pakistan

[Airstrip One]

Islam has a lot of magical stuff.
The idea of Persian flying carpets came from jinn- which we made into genies in the west.
They are capable of flying great distances in seconds,and can transform into human or angel forms

There's all kinds of mystical forms/figures like that

..interesting read--> http://listverse.com/2016/01/09/10-supernatural-creatures-of-islamic-tradition/

Yes, Islam had to deal with Arab and Persian paganism in the same way that Christianity had to deal with Western paganism.