No Christianity, No Islam- Alt Arabian Religions

All righty, so in prepartions for a timeline project I might do here, I am wondering, what would be some alternate religions that could unite Arabia if Islam wasn't around?

Also, for various reasons, Christianity is not a big factor here. The Roman Empire is not Christian here so basically alot of the stuff with the councils and such didn't happen. Furthermore, I wanna see what could be done if anything, given how paganism was being branched out.

What does everyone think?
 

ar-pharazon

Banned
Judaism and Arabian paganism remain.

In pre-Islamic Arabia there was worship of various gods and goddesses. Arabian polytheism could continue indefinitely.

I could see Jewish communities penetrating along merchant centers and the coast as well.
 
Judaism and Arabian paganism remain.

In pre-Islamic Arabia there was worship of various gods and goddesses. Arabian polytheism could continue indefinitely.

I could see Jewish communities penetrating along merchant centers and the coast as well.


It would continue even into the modern world though??? Or would it formalize itself into something more cohesive?

As for Judiaism, I could see some sprouting up and such around the area.
 

ar-pharazon

Banned
It would continue even into the modern world though??? Or would it formalize itself into something more cohesive?

As for Judiaism, I could see some sprouting up and such around the area.
Arabian society would need to urbanize and you'd need the development of a literate elite and so on for Arabian polytheism to evolve into some sort of unified religion with priesthood, texts, and doctrine and maybe some shift towards monotheism.

Judaism could certainly grow and spread.
 
Arabian society would need to urbanize and you'd need the development of a literate elite and so on for Arabian polytheism to evolve into some sort of unified religion with priesthood, texts, and doctrine and maybe some shift towards monotheism.

Judaism could certainly grow and spread.

Judaism does have its problems, because it's a pretty insular religion. It's why I was doubtful that Mandaeism could spread much in the region. Granted, it could be different branches of Judaism. For the recod, Christiaity does exist, but in a fractured form.
 

ar-pharazon

Banned
Judaism does have its problems, because it's a pretty insular religion. It's why I was doubtful that Mandaeism could spread much in the region. Granted, it could be different branches of Judaism. For the recod, Christiaity does exist, but in a fractured form.
Then Christanity will spread into Arabia in any case. Christianity is a missionary religion after all.
 
Judaism does have its problems, because it's a pretty insular religion. It's why I was doubtful that Mandaeism could spread much in the region. Granted, it could be different branches of Judaism. For the recod, Christiaity does exist, but in a fractured form.

You could always have some brand of Gnosticism getting popular in Arabia. I'd assume you're butterflying Manichaeism, but it might work too.
 
You could always have some brand of Gnosticism getting popular in Arabia. I'd assume you're butterflying Manichaeism, but it might work too.

Manichaeism is still around, but I prefer it not going into Arabia...

Not sure what other Gnosticism could become popular enough without too many changes though.
 
How about sects like Ebionitism in regions like Hejaz (and possibly Najd)?

Maybe... one of the things that made Christianity popularity was they weren't big sticklers for rules in their religion. Any other rules and such and traditions were from the culture itself
 
Christianity does exist here, it's just not a big deal. Like, not the official Roman church. I'm just wanting to know about some alternate religions for Arabia...

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.
 
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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.

All right then, that makes sense. I suppose this means that tribes will adapt different religions and Arabia would be divided into different territories like India was pretty much.
 
All right then, that makes sense. I suppose this means that tribes will adapt different religions and Arabia would be divided into different territories like India was pretty much.

I also suspect a conscious system of alliances between hundreds of states based around three goals... Maintenance of slave trade routes, work for mercenary and an agreement keeping out non Arabs from the lands of Arabia entirely. This was the status quo Muhammad was born to in Arabia. It would take an event like Islam to rupture this status as this status arguably existed for two millennia prior to Muhammad.
 
I also suspect a conscious system of alliances between hundreds of states based around three goals... Maintenance of slave trade routes, work for mercenary and an agreement keeping out non Arabs from the lands of Arabia entirely. This was the status quo Muhammad was born to in Arabia. It would take an event like Islam to rupture this status as this status arguably existed for two millennia prior to Muhammad.


You know alot about the Middle East around this time period then? Maybe you would like to help me out with my project?
 
Judaism does have its problems, because it's a pretty insular religion. It's why I was doubtful that Mandaeism could spread much in the region. Granted, it could be different branches of Judaism. For the recod, Christiaity does exist, but in a fractured form.
Modern Judaism is an insular religion, but there was missionary activity going on in the period directly preceding the Arab expansion. There were still a lot of Jews in Himyar when the conquest happened, and the Kindah tribe in Najd was supposedly Jewish as well. I think that in the absence of Islam Judaism might become a major religion at least in southern Arabia.
 

Deleted member 97083

Christianity will be the big winner over the Arabs and Arabia with a number of Jewish Arab Tribes all over. In the first six centuries, Christianity could be seen all throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Christianity flourished in the southern region of Arabia, specifically Najran. (Which was in turn massacred by the Himyarite Kingdom when they for Judaism and King Caleb beat the shit out of the Himyarite Kingdom over it. )

The Lakhmid dynasty of the North was fill with churches and monasteries. (And had military campaign that was successful as far south as Najran.)

Marcionism was active in Palestine, Arabia, and Syria and had thriving communities in Mesopotamia.

The Ghassanids ( Militarily successful allies of the Byzantines) was strong Arab Christians in the region.

Failing that, you could do something with the Al-Lat.
The OP suggests that ITTL, the Roman Empire didn't adopt Christianity in the first place.
 
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