AHC: Maximum spread of Islam

There are a LOT of "weaken Islam" PODs on this forum, but not too many of the opposite. The challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to make Islam the clearly dominant religion in an alternate timeline. The sect doesn't matter in this case; so long as a significant majority of the world believe in the Shahadah and Quran.

EDIT: For the purposes of this challenge, the Hadiths are optional due to the vast sectarian differences concerning which ones are accepted.
 
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Well, if Byzantium falls to the Ummayads, that is possible. let's say, in the Early 700s, Constantinople Falls, followed by Greece and Bulgaria, perhaps around the 720s so Hispania still falls as OTL...

Have them then Expand Northwards, if the Carpathian Basin is Muslim before the Magyars Arrive, then you have left Christianity with only one way east, and that is Scandinavia-Baltic-Russia, you would also have Germany and Poland, vulnerable to Raids, and perhaps even Italy south of the Rubicon might fall before the collapse of the Ummayads... you could also have the Khazars fall, or at least retreat into the Daguestan and the North Caucasus.

that however won't help the Ummayads, so there's an ATL Abbassid Empire, much more decentralized.

now, Unless Scandinavia and/or Poland go Christian, then Russia won't, no Constantinople after all, if you can get the steppe peoples like the Magyars, or the Cumans, to turn Islamic, then you have just augmented their Cavalry, so now Christianity is encircled (the Rus' might or might not turn Muslim).

Now, with the balkanization of the Alt-Abbassid, we will assume the Seljuk (or other Turks) arrive roughly OTL (a big IF) they might form a ''Caliphate of Rum'' based on Constantinople, or with some luck, in Rome Itself, however, eventually, with Islam divided, there will be some attempt at a Reconquista in Iberia and Italy.

Most of OTL India ending up more permanently muslim is also possible, but to expand further east, they will have to sort either, the Deserts, or the Himalayas, and further North and West into Europe, is unlikely (depending on whether the Poles go Christian or Muslim) if the Norse abandon their old faith it is more likely that they will go with Christianity, and I believe the same is true for the Poles... then, if the Magyars come around as IOTL and settle the Carpathian Basin, you better hope they turn muslim

now, Francia, Germania, and Britannia, are out of the question, too much resistance from the local nobles, and even if parts of them can be conquered, it won't be for too long before Christian Rule is resumed.

So, in my opinion, by 1100s, the best case is something like this for Islam
SPEEdMT.png

where Green is all land ruled by Islam (not necessairly with a Muslim majority) and Red, is the Christian World
 
Islam could potentially spread much further.

Victory at Tours = Islamic Occitan and perhaps more of France
Arabs and Ottomans alike had interests in the Italian peninsula, perhaps make that successful
Chinese emperor could convert to Islam, or at least have a larger portion of China convert
Indochina definitely has potential for conversion
All of Africa could potentially be Muslim if the Islamic world dominates the colonial period, and with that the Americas too.

Overall, the only places that really don't have much potential to ever become Muslim are Japan, Korea, Russia and the Baltic, and it's more difficult to convert Scandinavia, Germany, France, Britain, China proper and Poland.
 
Islam could potentially spread much further.

Victory at Tours = Islamic Occitan and perhaps more of France
Arabs and Ottomans alike had interests in the Italian peninsula, perhaps make that successful
Chinese emperor could convert to Islam, or at least have a larger portion of China convert
Indochina definitely has potential for conversion
All of Africa could potentially be Muslim if the Islamic world dominates the colonial period, and with that the Americas too.

Overall, the only places that really don't have much potential to ever become Muslim are Japan, Korea, Russia and the Baltic, and it's more difficult to convert Scandinavia, Germany, France, Britain, China proper and Poland.

the problem with Islamic Francia or western europe, is the Ummayad over-extension (which existed before the fall of the Visigoths) the Balkans are nearer to the Islamic Core, which means that is easier to hold, while, the Umayads after Tours, even if they manage to take All of Aquitaine, the land north of the pyrenees is going back to Francia as soon as the Caliphate collapses on it's own weight, and Andaluz can't get it back on it's own, as the Franks would have soon entrenched themselves on the Pyrenees

as for the Ottomans, that is much more likely, give them a victory at Lepanto, or an Earlier takeover of Constantinople, so they can take on Italy before Spain unifies, but by the 15th and 16th centuries they cannot expand much further than OTL+Italy...

All of africa is also plausible, make the Omani and Yemeni traders go further south (did they IOTL?) and establish successful outposts that turn into cities, then expand inland (which doesn't necesairly imply a violent conquest), rinse and repeat in OTL Americas and you can get Muslim America
OTOH, Russia is more likely than western europe, if the Tatars are more focused in converting the locals, or if the Balkans are islamized earlier, the Rus' might convert before the 12th century
 
If the Byzantines are really severely weakened early on, Rus' princes might see Muslims as more influential trading partners and convert to Islam. Alternatively, a more successful Volga Bulgaria might be able to spread Islam farther in Russia.
 
There is always possible eastward bits to take as well - more of India, more permanently... with a strong empire around Bengal area maybe, marching into Burma, even Thailand maybe... OR some daring sultan taking on Ceylon... A revival of Champa muslim kingdom, or Khmers somehow converting from Malay traders maybe..

Maybe Madagascar from swahili sea traders...
 

U.S David

Banned
The Arabs win the Battle of Tours, while Constantinople falls. France and Eastern Europe are now under Muslim Control.

Make Islam permenat in India, and do better in China. If a big chunk is Muslim, an Emperor may convert bringing the rest of China. The rest of Asia will fall.

Make the Black Death kill off most of Northern Europe's population, and the Arabs settle in.

Most of Africa and America will be Islamic sooner or later.
 
Tours being excluded (by the virtue of not being a conquest campaign, and not wholly different of 725/726 successful raids in Gaul) as well conquest of western Europe past Pyrénées (too few Arabs and Berbers numbers, virtually no islamic garrison safe one past the mountains even IOTL, with maybe some 10/15 000 for the whole Muslim Spain in 750's), there's some possibilities.

- Constantinople conquest. While it would have the same problems than any peripherical area, and without a conquest going further than OTL Macedonia, it would certainly allow an earlier conquest of Anatolia and possibly Agean Islands. The city itself could likely be taken back at the favour of a Caliphal civil war or political shattering, but these gains could hold and probably weaken significantly Byzantines.
I must add, however, that this is a really hard feat to achieve. OTL sieges were plagues by tribal features and factionalism (having impact on reinforcements), lack of supplies, and of course a really strong and organized opponent.

- More successful campaigns against Khazars. IOTL, they were more difficult while ponctually victorious (forcing the conversion of Khazars to Islam, something that lkikely lasted among some elites). More decisive campaigns would allow an even more important Islamic penetration in OTL Russia (especially Ural region), coupling trade presence with political presence.
Eventually, the region could know a similar fate than Sahelian Africa : being a gigantic slave hunt terrain, with creation of Islamic states by reaction. I don't see it reaching Muscovy easily, but basically south Russia in its entierety at least.
With a weakened ERE, it's easier.

- There's probably other fronts that can be expanded. I'm thinking about medieval India, modern era Siberia (without Russian conquests) and possibly in China.

That said, all of these can't easily co-exist. The structural instability of Arabo-Islamic entities, more than regularly weakened by succession crisis or outright "inner invasions", coupled with a tendency to political separation (admittedly, a entity going from Atlantic to China can't hold in one piece) would may allow for some temporary conquest or some permanent ones, but not all of these.
 
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