There is no god in the entire universe but only God Almighty the Creator: One God without associate.
This Creator, glory be to Him, has many names which different peoples call Him with in their different languages.
Other gods are false, have no realities but only names and stones or material objects and beings; only names without real existence; while God Almighty is the True One.
The One God is the God from the start of the humanity and before them; He sent His envoys to teach people His commandments and that they should not associate anyone else with Him and that there will be the next afterlife.
These idols of the idolaters: they consider them mediaters or small gods in comparison to the Great Creator, and the idolaters know God is the Lord of the heavens, and their idols are near to them on Earth; so this is the association with God Almighty: the Creator which demands God will send them a new apostle when every generation will fall in this idolatry and association.
So there are many false gods together with the True God the Creator recognized by the idolaters.
This is obvious, but some people here try to ignore it. The many gods are the
patrons of the associaters and idolaters, and this is the plea of the associaters: they claim:
"
These patron saints intercede to God for us.
We can take our special needs to them and know they will listen to our prayers, and pray to God with us."
They claim that God is so Great, but they can talk and swear by these patrons (to whom they will draw pictures and erect statues); and they claim also that God is far from them in heaven, while these patrons and minor gods are near to them on earth.
See my thread here on this Canadian Forum:
The patron saint