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Before Mohammed founded the Islam religion, the weak and religiously divided Arabian tribes fought each other on the Arabian Peninsula in the shadow of the powerful Byzantine Empire. Without Islam becoming the common religion of the region, this would have been going on and on until they were assimilated by the Byzantine Empire. So the Osman Empire would have never existed and Byzantine Empire would have remained a strong superpower.

Could this result in a more peaceful future? Or the opposite, with wars between the Catholic and Orthodox empires, leading to a conflict similar to the Christian-Islamic one? What might be the result of this alternative history?

Note: I asked this question on the History stack, but was advised to ask it here since alt history is off-topic there.

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  • $\begingroup$ This belongs on alternate history, $\endgroup$ – CAgrippa Jul 16 '15 at 19:25
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    $\begingroup$ @CAgrippa - there's no alt history site per se. This site is the closest to that we have. $\endgroup$ – user4239 Jul 16 '15 at 19:28
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    $\begingroup$ The issue is not what the religion tells us to do, there are always someone trying to manipulate the innocent through misuse of religious concept that give rise to conflict. $\endgroup$ – user6760 Jul 17 '15 at 1:31
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    $\begingroup$ @user6760 Yust for clarification: I have no problem with the islam religion at all. It is not worser or better than any other religion. (I do not follow any.) And you are right, all common religions have been used for such purposes that are not compatible with this religion. (Holly Wars, i.e.) But the question has nothing to do with teology, rather with historical political events. $\endgroup$ – Neinstein Jul 17 '15 at 5:08
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    $\begingroup$ I vote to close because this question is far too broad to answer, and highly subjective. $\endgroup$ – o.m. Jul 17 '15 at 5:19
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Every evolving empire finds and uses some religion of one or another kind (communism including). It is a disaster for religion, as the need to serve official daily goals, this so known "Gott mit uns", often undermines the crucial values for which the prophets were ready to die, and many did. Islam has been in this role but also Christianity, also even Atheism.

It would have been great success for Islam not to serve in this role. As for Empire, seems not a problem. There is no lack of religions in the world and probably any can be adapted.

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    $\begingroup$ Atheism is not a religion. $\endgroup$ – Frostfyre Jul 16 '15 at 18:49
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    $\begingroup$ No, it is. To believe nothing exists is also to believe. Atheism was the official religion of the Soviet Union. $\endgroup$ – eigenvalue Jul 16 '15 at 18:51
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    $\begingroup$ @h22 That's false. "USSR became the first state to have, ideological objective, the elimination of religion and its replacement with universal atheism." You're suggesting they elimiated religion and replaced it with religion? Would you also claim "bald" is a hair color? $\endgroup$ – Samuel Jul 16 '15 at 18:53
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    $\begingroup$ +1. Islam had its pecularities that helped the Caliphate to grow fast - such as built in ethnic blindness and conversion at the tip of a sword being a Holy idea. However, lack of access to Islam haven't stopped any empires before (from Kir to Rome) nor after (from Temuchin to various Hapsburgs to Great Britain) from being aggressive expansionist empires. Islam was a contributing factor, not a cause, in how geopolitics got shaped in the last 1600 years $\endgroup$ – user4239 Jul 16 '15 at 19:34
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    $\begingroup$ Since there seems to be a bunch of preconceived notions about what atheism is and is not, as an atheist, I would like to clear things up with this: Atheism is not a belief system nor is it a religion.. $\endgroup$ – Frostfyre Jul 16 '15 at 22:41

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