What if, for some reason or another, some members of the European nobility started converting to Islam? Perhaps, for arguments sake, enough so that at least a third of Europe's rulers was Islamic, though not necessarily all in one place. What effect would this have on the nations and peoples of Europe. What effect might it have on Islam? Could a third major sect break away/develop from Islam?
WI: European nobility converting to Islam?
- Thread starter Kayin Dreemurr
- Start date
To answer the questions in order, if they aren't close enough geographically and don't have atleast a core of Muslim subjects to go along with their conversion they probably end up dead pretty quickly (which isn't to say it's impossible, just that it would have to be a concentrated group in a certain region with a core backbone of supporters in the community to begin with). In this case it would probably be a state (I'm gonna go with it being one unitary state since that would probably maximize it's ability to not just be destroyed in the first few years of it's existence) would face a lot of emnity from European natinos for it's apostasy for awhile. And really I don't think a third major sect would break away (the two major sects are pretty broad tent and support numerous sub groups), maybe if the distant third sect Sufism was the specific brand of Islam catching on among the Europeans then it would turn it into a "third major sect".
At different varying points they were a Kingdom, from 1272–1368 they were a Catholic Monarchy, and from 1928–1939 when the Prime Minister declared himself King Zog I, they were a Sunni Muslim monarchy. They were driven out by the communist forces, and still have a pretender, Prince Leka II, grandson of Zog I.
Max Sinister
Banned
Heh, many years ago I wondered about WI John Lackland had done this. He gave it at least a thought IOTL...
He ends up dead in quick order. The vast majority of the population is Christian. There are no Islamic armies nearby to back him.
IIRC, Philip Augustus of France also made that threat. He told the Pope that Saladin was getting on fine without a Pope and he might be tempted to follow suit if Rome stood firm in the matter of Agnes of Merania and Ingeburga of Denmark. However, it was an empty threat and both knew it. The French nobility would never have accepted a king's conversion to Islam.
The king didn't mean converting to Islam, he meant causing a schism within the catholic church.
That surely happened to some extent in Muslim Iberia and in the Ottoman Empire, remember that Muhammed Ali was Albanian. A lot of European travellers to the Ottoman Empire also converted and made part of the Ottoman Administration IIRC...
Now, seriously, the best scenario is the one that we have Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus converting to Islam instead of Orthodox Christianity.
Interesting... Do you have some available sources please?
Now, seriously, the best scenario is the one that we have Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus converting to Islam instead of Orthodox Christianity.
Interesting... Do you have some available sources please?
Plenty of their naval captains were originally Christians - Greeks and Italians, mostly. Best example is Uluch Ali Pasha.
An Islamic Russian Empire? That sounds like a potentially dangerous yet highly awesome idea.
Artaxerxes
Banned
Its actually quite amazing it took until Luther for the Catholic church to deflate and fracture into varying faiths, it was permanently on the verge of needing major reform or full of horrific infighting for centuries before then.
Anyway, I could see more nobles converting to Islam if the Crusader States lasted longer, perhaps with more exposure to the East you'd see more cross pollination between the faiths despite the best efforts of the Pope and Islam.
Perhaps if the Mongols converted to Orthodoxy you'd see a marriage of convenience between Islam and Catholicism, doubtful though