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The Middle East wasn't exactly peaceful before Islam came around.
Monophysite, Nestorian, and other unorthodox forms of Christianity were very commonly practiced amongst Arabs and other eastern peoples (who were later Arabized). There was considerable religious tension between the peoples of the middle east and Byzantium, and plenty of religious tension directed amongst themselves.
Muhammad had Christians in his family, and Mecca and Medina were both strongholds of Nestorian Christianity. If there had been no Islam there would probably be conflict between Christian sects - not to mention that the Persians after the Sassanids came to power became much more hardline Zoroastrian than they were before.
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Originally Posted by Deezus
Europe has been mostly Christian since the Dark Ages and they were still slaughtering each other by the millions in brutal warfare as recently as the 1940s.
I agree with Majoun's post. The Middle East would be different, but there would most likely be plenty of conflict between different Catholic or Orthodox sects along with plenty of other cultural divisions. There might be war and mistrust between Persian and Arab kingdoms or between the Turks---there would be historic times when outside powers invading and stirring up the region throughout history and so on(The Mongols for example). There'd still be mutual mistrust and divisions between the European powers and the Middle East. In some ways the more unified empires that existed in the early Muslim period might have been replaced by some other hegemonic power.
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Originally Posted by BIMBAM
Um, I think some of you guys need to bone up on your history.
First of all, Buddhism had it's day in the Middle East but was already a very small minority religion by the 7th century and didn't look to make a comeback, it just wasn't as evangelical as it's neighbours were. The Church of The East, however, Sassanid Persia's church, grew voraciously and was the largest of the early churches both in geographical extent and population. I believe Iran was officially Christian for a very brief period under one king. But considering how widespread Christianity was in the middle east prior to the conquest and how evangelical the faith is, coupled with the fact that it's western and northern neighbours had become Christian, it's quite possible Iran could have converted. If it had, it'd only have been a matter of time before the rest of the region did, there were already well established, large christian population in Arabia. It would have been Nestorian, however, and not any more merged with Zoroastrian beliefs than it already was by the 7th century. We should also keep in mind that the Roman middle east was already fully, officially Christian.
Another possibility is the powerful movement Mazdakism could have come out on top in Sassanid Persia. A radically socialist offshoot of Zoroastrianism, it wanted to establish a communist state and conflict between Zoroastrians and Mazdakites dominated Sassanid politics right up until the conquest. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the destabilizing effects of Christians in the West, Buddhists in the East, Mazdakites and Zoroastrians fighting it out in the middle, and arab Sassanid client states buffering them from the peninsula falling into anarchy over conflicting interpretation of Christianity they'd never have been taken by the Muslims. Sassanid Persia was vast and powerful. All of these new religions and schisms destabilized the whole region until one ended up coming on top, and it could just as easily have been the Christians or Mazdakites as it was the Muslims. All three were ambitious, expansionist, and looking to use religion to establish powerful dynasties.
All the above very well written comments illustrate the absurdity of trying to what if centuries of human history a tendency that makes a joke of out most history threads. There are many pivotal events where there are real facts to base alternate histories, what if Lee had listened to Longstreet at Gettysburg, what if Hilter had not declared war on the United States, what if Bush had not invaded Iraq on these events we have significant historical evidence to play what if. This thread isn't one of them.
Since Christianity spread as far as Europe, and there weren't really any religions as big to compete with it by the time of Muhammad in the Middle East and Europe. Judaism was confined mostly to Jews. Do you think Zoroastrianism might have fused with Christianity to form another religion, this time with roots in Persia? Would there be anything like Islam without Muhammad? Or do you think Christianity would have grown to dominate the Middle East? I mean the oldest Christian communities today are in Syria, Jordan and Ethiopia. Would the form of Christianity be similar to that find in Ethiopia and Egypt - the Coptic tradition, or something like the Nestorian tradition of Syria and Palestine?
It would be Eastern Orthodox Christian and continued to fall under the Byzantinium (Constantinopole) hegemony...Judism and Coptic religion would have still survived as they have under Muslim rule.
All African Countries, Bosnia, Albania, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Yemen, Oman, Azerbaijan, Western Iran and Norhern Kazakhstan would be Christian.
Lebanon, Jordan and Sinai would be Jewish.
Eastern Iran and The Stans would be Hindu.
Northwestern China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Timor-Leste would be Buddhist.
All African Countries, Bosnia, Albania, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Yemen, Oman, Azerbaijan, Western Iran and Norhern Kazakhstan would be Christian.
Lebanon, Jordan and Sinai would be Jewish.
Eastern Iran and The Stans would be Hindu.
Northwestern China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Timor-Leste would be Buddhist.
Genghis Khan's conquest would have possibly spread farther to the west in the middle east and north Africa without Muslim opposition. His religion was an odd mix of ancestor worship and polytheism but he was somewhat tolerant of other religions. Christianity would have suffered but might have survived in some form. He was less tolerant of Jews (and Muslims) and killed off 15 million people in Persia. Muslims probably suffered more from the Mongols than the crusades. His successors military advances reached into Poland in Europe and was approaching Jerusalem when stopped by the Muslim Mamluks from Egypt in Palestine. Some of the soldiers in the Mongol army were Christians including a general who was a Nestorian Christian.
Since Christianity pre-dated Islam it would suggest to me that if it wasn't Islam it would have been something else. Clearly inhabitants of the middle east found Christianity not all that interesting.
Since Christianity spread as far as Europe, and there weren't really any religions as big to compete with it by the time of Muhammad in the Middle East and Europe. Judaism was confined mostly to Jews. Do you think Zoroastrianism might have fused with Christianity to form another religion, this time with roots in Persia? Would there be anything like Islam without Muhammad? Or do you think Christianity would have grown to dominate the Middle East? I mean the oldest Christian communities today are in Syria, Jordan and Ethiopia. Would the form of Christianity be similar to that find in Ethiopia and Egypt - the Coptic tradition, or something like the Nestorian tradition of Syria and Palestine?
Please. This is the 5th "What if?" topic I see on this history page alone.
As soon as you ask that question, you just left the world of facts and entered the world of fiction, where anything and everything can happen, no matter how ridiculous or stupid it is.
History deals with facts, period. Factually, when one thing changes, everything else also changes. Facts can be disputed, but fiction, since its all made up fro the get-go, cannot.
What if City-Data disallowed all of these "what if?" threads?
"What if?" could be a legitimate question when discussing current events or other topics. But history isn't one of them. History is a discussion of the past.
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