Just for everyones knowledge, I've created two new threads based on issues which came up in this thread (but really have nothing to do with it's central topic)

Does the Bible really teach that Jesus was God?
http://www.coniserver.net/ubb7/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=241335#Post241335

Bible or Quran - which is true?
http://www.coniserver.net/ubb7/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=241339#Post241339

Dan -
My point was that the leap of faith is required by materialism as much as it is required of religions. Some of the comments on this thread have claimed that the universe was not created by a God, and that the universe is the result of chance. Since I did not witness the creation of the universe, believing in this would require a leap of faith on my part. Since I think it's highly unlikely that such a complex and beautiful system could ever be created by chance, I choose, instead, to believe in an intelligent creator.

As to which religion I choose to follow, this is a seperate process, which requires research and study of the various beliefs and texts available. After carrying out such research, I am happy to accept Islam as my faith, because the beliefs as presented in the Quran (not necessarily those presented by some Muslims) are congruent with the beliefs which I have aleady gathered from my own observations of the universe.

Am I 100% certain that I'm right? Of course not. But unless I find a beter explanation, which not only explains the origin of the universe, but also explains how the Quran came into being, I am going to remain a Muslim. This seems perfectly logical to me.

Your assumption that the Quran and it's conception of God are similar to that of the Bible is a common one. I do not think this is the case. The God presented in the Quran is much more reasonable and fair than that of the Bible.

The Quran explains that messengers were sent to every nation at some time, which explains why similar religions exist throughout the world. The differences can then be attributed to human error in recording scripture, and by intentional tampering.

Even Islam has not been free of such tampering, which is why some Muslims get caught up in some very narrow minded cultural viewpoints. But so far this has not impacted the text of the Quran itself.

This is a bit off topic, so maybe we could continue this discussion in another thread, or via email...

Finally, your argument about aliens having helped the creation along is valid, but it does little to explain how life originated from the first place. Where did the aliens come from? How did they evolve? You still have the problem of life coming from dead matter.