Plinkett, that's sad. May future attempts prosper better.
Rex, as you say, that was a period of history when Islamic doctors were everywhere, both because they were generally very good, and because having one was a major status symbol.
And speaking as a real-life pagan, I would agree that very few of our gods are at all exclusive. Part of the reason why the Abrahamic religions prevailed was that they were more prepared to do conquest and violence in the name of religion, and to co-opt the trappings of religion into their empire building. Plus the factor that many pagan rulers and clergy let Christian missionaries into their countries either not realising what they were doing there, or thinking there was no harm in it, because people would follow the inclinations of their souls. (Why am I reminded of modern politics?). I know that when the advent of Christians was discussed in the Welsh and Irish courts, the idea emerged that since these people had a triune god, how bad could they be? After all, many of the British pagans of the period had a triune goddess.....And of course, the conquerors get to write the history.
Also, 'pagan', in its original usage, just meant country people, those close to the land, as opposed to cityfolk, and acquired the religious connotations gradually, because most of those who were what we would call pagan, were country people. And yeah, many pre-Christian and pre-Islamic folk had a 'paradise afterlife' (or in the case of Celtic pagans, a 'paradise betweenlife', because sooner or later you had to go out and be born again). The word 'paradise' originally meant just an enclosed safe space, particularly an enclosed garden.