In the thread discussing American soldiers evangelizing Muslims in Afghanistan, Rasputin suggested we come up with a timeline where a technologically-advanced democratic Muslim state occupies a "podunk" Christian theocracy at the foot of the Appalachians.
Here's a 20th Century scenario I came up with, although it would obviously need a MUCH earlier POD to get there:
1. Perhaps a unified Latin American uber-state governed by "Limpieza" invades the American South and tries to conquer it, but is ejected by the *Americans, who receive aid from a liberal Ottoman Empire, which was in a Cold War with said state. A unified US cannot exist in this timeline, so perhaps the Constitutional Convention fails and all the colonies go their own way, with none becoming particularly powerful and many of them becoming foreign puppets?
2. The Ottomans then lose interest as the *South falls into civil war, with Taliban-esque elements (Reconstructionists?) winning out.
3. A "Christianist" international terrorist group based in ATL Alabama kamikazes airliners into the Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia Mosque, and some other targets.
4. The Ottomans invade and slag the "Reconstructionists" to widespread popular accalim.
5. However, they don't finish the job and get distracted by another, less necessary conflict, enabling the "Reconstructionists" to regroup.
So, how might we get this?
Here's a 20th Century scenario I came up with, although it would obviously need a MUCH earlier POD to get there:
1. Perhaps a unified Latin American uber-state governed by "Limpieza" invades the American South and tries to conquer it, but is ejected by the *Americans, who receive aid from a liberal Ottoman Empire, which was in a Cold War with said state. A unified US cannot exist in this timeline, so perhaps the Constitutional Convention fails and all the colonies go their own way, with none becoming particularly powerful and many of them becoming foreign puppets?
2. The Ottomans then lose interest as the *South falls into civil war, with Taliban-esque elements (Reconstructionists?) winning out.
3. A "Christianist" international terrorist group based in ATL Alabama kamikazes airliners into the Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia Mosque, and some other targets.
4. The Ottomans invade and slag the "Reconstructionists" to widespread popular accalim.
5. However, they don't finish the job and get distracted by another, less necessary conflict, enabling the "Reconstructionists" to regroup.
So, how might we get this?