alternatehistory.com

By the standards of the medieval and renaissance periods, the Ottomans were a pretty ecumenical empire. The simple fact that the vast majority of the Balkan peninsula is a mostly Christian area is testament to this.

This flexibility served them well during the early empire, when centralized superstates were rare and difficult to construct. However, as time marched on, the ecumenical nature of the empire became a liability rather than an asset. Without a common religion, language, or culture, there was little attachment to the monarchy in and of itself. Aside from those directly benefiting from the Ottoman state, few mourned the receding Ottoman frontier as the decades and centuries wore on.

SO what are the effects if the Ottomans take a harder line WRT conversion to Sunni Islam?

And WI Sunni Islam is itself rejected for Alevi Islam ( I think this is more interesting of the two options) which regards the Psalms, the Torah, the Gospels, and the Koran all as holy books? In the early Ottoman period, Alevism was more widespread--even predominant--in Anatolia.

It would seem to me that forcing conversions from Orthodox Christianity to Alevism (and from Sunni Islam to Alevism) is a much easier sell. What are the effects from this change? Would it work in the sense that there are large scale conversions (without forcing a state collapse)? And if large swathes of Sunni majority areas and Christian majority areas do convert, does this foster a unique Ottoman identity, leading to a more cohesive state in the long run?
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