Bigmo you should start a new thread on shirk and paganism according to the Quran so it doesn't get "lost" in this thread. I think it would be interesting and beneficial.
The Koran tells the prophet to communicate with the Rabbis and ask for their religious sources it also tells us to go forth on Earth and seek wisdom and see what has happened to other nations. Seeking knowledge is what the Koran told us.
There are many pagan traditions we know of. Chinese, Indian, Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Persian, Egyptian, and many South American and African. There is Japanese and there is Australian. Its all over the place.
My main concern here is the comparison between idol worship and monotheism. Between polytheism or paganism versus monotheism. Between the gods of the pagan religions and the God of the Bible and Koran. The theological difference.
As far as the Koran is concerned, nearly all the characteristic of God in the Koran dismisses paganism.