@Happers Intruiging, and I hate to shut it down, but if Christian forces conquered Europe, why is Europe Muslim 0_o?
Huh. It seems I was wrong. Maybe there was a second way...
Adding on to that, maybe the Caliphate dodges Byzantine lands out of respect and ovreruns Africa and western Europe?
I mean a bigger version of that. As in, they are permitted land to settle in Egypt, and don't touch any other byzantine lands. Byzantium carries on killing Sassanids. OTL, caliphate took everything south of anatolia and somethings east from byzantium.
Yeah cause Islam will want Mecca anyway you look at it. So, make Islam merely a sect of Christianity then you can have your challenge. I don't see another way.
Unless you'd let me cheat here.
Islam gets Mecca the way Catholics have the Vatican. It's a holy city with religious and international protection.
Christianity stands strong or later pushes back Islam after it has conquered Europe. There by, Islam dominates Europe, has holy protection in Mecca and eventually rules the Americas. While Christianity spreads through the rest of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Indonesia.
Any thoughts?
I don't gwt why everyone is so obssesed with keeping Mecca. Its not like Islam would simply implode i its holy cities fall to non-Muslim power. It would have adapt such as other religions did, when they were confronted with great political upheavels. The best example here is ofcourse Judaism but even Christianity and Buddhism have lost their holy cities and the early centers of their religion.
I know of the religious significance of Kaaba and the Hajj, but there are several reasons why Islam would do fine even without Mecca:See but Mecca is different, because of the Kaaba. Muslims are expected to make a Hajj or Migration to Mecca at least once in their lives. If a non-Islamic government ruled Mecca then they will likely try to stop Hajj. Unless, they take advantage of it and it's commercial use. Anyone who ruled Mecca can make a lot of money from exploiting Muslims.
So actually, never mind Christians would probably just take Mecca and exploit Muslims during Hajj.
I know of the religious significance of Kaaba and the Hajj, but there are several reasons why Islam would do fine even without Mecca:
1st the vast majoity of Muslims don't attend the Hajj (even fewer did in the past)
2nd Islam is pretty relaxed about the Five Pillars (not being able to travel to Mecca is a valid excuse)
3rd lile adherents of all religions muslims can come up with loopholes
4th Judaism was once much more -focused on the Temple than Islam ever was on the Kaaba but still survived the destruction of it and hundreds of years of diaspora (ofcourse it changed because of it)
Well, Muhammad supposedly sent an offer of conversion to the Persians and the Byzantines before he went on his conquering spree. Maybe in TTL Heraclius (I think he was the emperor at the time) accepted and converted, then spread the religion to the rest of EuropE through either proslytising or conquest.
Meanwhile the areas under Byzantine control in the East (Egypt, the Levant and bits of North Africa mostly) cling even tighter to their Christianity in resistance, then revolt and gain independence at some point. Then they later on spread Christianity into Persia and Arabia, somehow?
Those areas were the most easily settled, and most heavily settled by Arabs. If the Byzantines fall, the Levant and Egypt are not going to remain Christian without extreme circumstances.Meanwhile the areas under Byzantine control in the East (Egypt, the Levant and bits of North Africa mostly) cling even tighter to their Christianity in resistance, then revolt and gain independence at some point. Then they later on spread Christianity into Persia and Arabia, somehow?
Those areas were the most easily settled, and most heavily settled by Arabs. If the Byzantines fall, the Levant and Egypt are not going to remain Christian without extreme circumstances.