No Christianity, No Islam- Alt Arabian Religions

Well it seems likely that a sizeable Greek population would remain depending on the regions we are counting as being Arabian. Therefore you would have your Hellenic faiths but also those of which are Roman in origin. On top of that there would be your Mystery Cults. Certainly there would also be some remains of the Mesopotamian religions assuming survival. The Phoenician religion could also still be a thing. If we are also counting "Arabic" Africa you then have your Amazigh (Berber), Kemetic (Egyptian) but also whatever was around in present day Sudan. Certainly there will be Zoroastrians at some point as Persians move into the region but also there could be Buddhist Arabs for example.
 
Well it seems likely that a sizeable Greek population would remain depending on the regions we are counting as being Arabian. Therefore you would have your Hellenic faiths but also those of which are Roman in origin. On top of that there would be your Mystery Cults. Certainly there would also be some remains of the Mesopotamian religions assuming survival. The Phoenician religion could also still be a thing. If we are also counting "Arabic" Africa you then have your Amazigh (Berber), Kemetic (Egyptian) but also whatever was around in present day Sudan. Certainly there will be Zoroastrians at some point as Persians move into the region but also there could be Buddhist Arabs for example.

It just makes me wonder if a Manichaean wank is in order, since North Africa clearly had a significant Manichaean population (see St. Augustine), as did the Levant, and we know it existed in Arabia as well, since it's a nice "compromise" between Zoroastrian influences and various monotheisms be they Christianity or Judaism. Maybe you could blend it with Gnostic traditions in Egypt as well.

But without Islam, I highly doubt the Arab world would contain much outside of the Arabian peninsula or the fringes of Mesopotamia or the Near East, given how Islam facilitated the Arabisation of those regions.
 
But without Islam, I highly doubt the Arab world would contain much outside of the Arabian peninsula or the fringes of Mesopotamia or the Near East, given how Islam facilitated the Arabisation of those regions.

I agree. Going back to last week's thread I think that a faze of extensive Arab conquest is still certainly possible but without religion it probably wouldn't have the same cultural impact and would be assimilated reasonably quickly.

It does seem like an extensive Buddhist presence in the West is possible in this timeline.
 
Last edited:
SO you think the Triple Goddesses could become a more formalized religion then?

I don't see why not. In the lack of Christianity, and Islam, we may see a messianic wave. As said, both the Nabataean Kingdom and Mecca was big places of worship for them. I mean, al-Lat is mention as far back as Herodotus. (Called Alilat.) and likely before him as well. (Link to Ereshkigal and worship in Carthage.)
 
I don't see why not. In the lack of Christianity, and Islam, we may see a messianic wave. As said, both the Nabataean Kingdom and Mecca was big places of worship for them. I mean, al-Lat is mention as far back as Herodotus. (Called Alilat.) and likely before him as well. (Link to Ereshkigal and worship in Carthage.)

Hmm... could be possible yeah. Granted, it needs to be able to provide the similar sort of comfort and or purpose that Christianity/Islam were able to OTL (one reason why they were so popular).

Furthermore, I’d figure this could probably influence cultural ways of living and give women more prominence
 
Hmm... could be possible yeah. Granted, it needs to be able to provide the similar sort of comfort and or purpose that Christianity/Islam were able to OTL (one reason why they were so popular).

Furthermore, I’d figure this could probably influence cultural ways of living and give women more prominence

Yes. With the lack of Christianity, and Islam, everything is really up in the air, but if done right, we could have something serious with them. (As a off hand note, Japan was in fact a Matriarchy society before Confucianism from China came over and made everything Patriarch. So we could have a reverse with a successful and formalized Triple Goddesses Religion.)
 
Yes. With the lack of Christianity, and Islam, everything is really up in the air, but if done right, we could have something serious with them. (As a off hand note, Japan was in fact a Matriarchy society before Confucianism from China came over and made everything Patriarch. So we could have a reverse with a successful and formalized Triple Goddesses Religion.)

Yeah though Arabia was pretty patriarchal before Islam already, though to what extent I don't know, especially with how the formalized religion could change things.
 
No Christianity as we know it likely butterflies away what we today understand as Islam. If I recall correctly, the early Muslim movement under the prophet and his immediate successors was more of a 'pan-monotheistic' movement, aimed at uniting all those who believed in the one true God under one banner. Coins stamped by the early caliphate apparently did not display the second part of the shahada and only stated that "There is no God but God" - something all the monotheistic peoples of the 'Believers' state' could agree to.
 
Yes. With the lack of Christianity, and Islam, everything is really up in the air, but if done right, we could have something serious with them. (As a off hand note, Japan was in fact a Matriarchy society before Confucianism from China came over and made everything Patriarch. So we could have a reverse with a successful and formalized Triple Goddesses Religion.)

Arabia will most certainly not be a society based upon matriarchy...
 
Yemen and Hejaz would house significant Jewish populations. Perhaps the entire RedSea coast becomes Jewish.

I can sea Zoroastrianism spreading from Persia: first Oman, the UAE and Qatar.

Manicheanism could penetrate into Kuwait and northern Najd.
/*might be interesting to see Manichean extremists blowing themselves up to combat the minions of melech kheshokha).
Jordan: either Jewish or Nabatean.
Najd will be the last to convert... who gets it, it depends
 
Arabic Buddhism would be a good deal different and adapted to suit the needs of the people. Not out of the question though...
 
My personal opinion is that, Arabia itself will remain traditional Arab faith with Jewish minorities as the most major faction into the Middle Ages. The Arab tribesmen, from my previous discussions, develops an affection for polytheism and abstraction of polytheism, that occurred in India with Hinduism. Such will occur in Arabia, but with additions of Christianity and powerful monasteries in the desert, Jewish tribes, Manichaen merchants and possibly in the future, Buddhism in the south of Arabia. However, Arabia likely remains predominantly Arab traditional faith and on the fringe of many different religious worlds of both the east, west and Iran.

Mind you, up until Islam, Arabs south of the Ghassanids-Lakhmids, had had contact with Christianity and Manichaeism for nearly 500 years and 300 years, neither held any amount of sway in Arabia. Tribes in the Najd region resisted Islam for decades in the time of Muhammad and quickly turned to other forms of Islam or outright apostasy during the Abbasid Caliphate. Tribes in the Nejd as late as 1745 were reported worshipping trees, rocks and idols of various gods. Islam thus even with all of its pro Arab tendencies, was still having issues grappling with traditional Arab faiths. The same holds true for many other regions of Arabia which continued a light resistance of Islam into the modern era.

It should also be known, the Arab tribes of the south was were the power in Arabia rested, by the 7th century. Northern tribes such as the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, were ignored by the conglomerations to the south, who had fearsome warriors devoted to gods and goddesses as well as to an extremely complex system of hierarchy and tribe. As was shown with the Islamic conquests, the Northern Christian Arab states were no match for their brethren to the south and duly admitted so, seeking refuge with their masters.

Another point, Arab paganism was not basic in its theology. The theology was in fact somewhat advanced for the time and very stratified. In some ways, it was more complex than Babylonian paganism for instance. Further, it is agreed upon by many scholars, that the sin of the Arabs was not polytheism necessarily, but the idea of intermediates. Arab tribes believed principally that their gods in some ways, were representations of different and higher gods or a god... Not to mention, the extreme association between Arabs and religion, where the religion was simply an outpouring of Arab spirit and the security pact. Islam was no different, which is why Islam was the only religion to come close to grasping all Arabs.

Really interesting post! Do you have any good sources available on pre-Islamic Paganism in Arabia? I'd be fascinated to read more up on the topic!
 
Do you have a source for this? That sounds wild.

Kitab at-Tawheed by Muhammad ibn abd al-Wahhab.

It is a book on religion, however, it covers topics regarding the beliefs of the Arabs in his time. This is a theme throughout his book, his belief, that the Arabs in much of the rural lands had reverted to pre-Islamic beliefs, which included the worship of trees and other objects.
 
Top