AHC: Muslim-Majority USA

Today's Alternate History Challenge is to ensure that by 1900, the majority religion of the United States is of an Islamic faith, and to describe what effects this may have on the development of the US and, potentially, Islam into the modern eras.
 
I'm going to call ASB, on the basis that whilst it would be possible to have the territory that the USA covers be Muslim majority, it isn't possible for the distinct political entity that is the USA be or become Muslim. It wouldn't be recognisable. Wouldn't have the same borders, either.

The very name America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was a Catholic.
 
I'm going to call ASB, on the basis that whilst it would be possible to have the territory that the USA covers be Muslim majority, it isn't possible for the distinct political entity that is the USA be or become Muslim. It wouldn't be recognisable. Wouldn't have the same borders, either.

The very name America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was a Catholic.

While not yet Catholic-majority, certainly not in 1900, who would have thought, pre-1900, that the US, short of ASBs, would be have a Catholic plural-majority (largest Christian denomination)? Or a Catholic president? Or be Catholic-majority by the mid-21st century?

I am still in agreement that a Muslim-majority and by 1900 is extremely implausible, however, I would not doubt the creative and intellectual genius this forum posses. (I am looking at Jonathan Edlestein and Nasserisimo amongst many, many others.) Their worlds were drastically altered than OTL, in similarly recent PoDs.

US-Muslim interactions and relations have been present since the first Morisco/crypto-Muslim or African slave stepped foot on what is now the US, depending on your outlook. From there, there is the Protestant-Muslim affinity that in OTL was a mere romanticized idea that in OTL was not capitalized upon; continued import of African Muslim slaves through the ban on import of new slaves; the first recognition of the United States as a sovereign power by Morocco; the wars on the Barbary Coast; the Liberian adventure with untapped potential; the potential of Tatar and other Eastern European Muslim Tsarist subjects who could have joined the Polish Catholic or Jewish brethren given a larger presence of Muslims in the US; the Spanish-American War (Philippines as per OTL, American Sahara in another?) This is all pre-1900.

I will leave you with these, and calmly step aside for what I hope to see will be more fruitful discussion:

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(Kawkab Amirka, 'The Star of America,' was the first Arabic-language newspaper in the United States; debuting in 1892 in NYC)
 
While not yet Catholic-majority, certainly not in 1900, who would have thought, pre-1900, that the US, short of ASBs, would be have a Catholic plural-majority (largest Christian denomination)? Or a Catholic president? Or be Catholic-majority by the mid-21st century?

Actually it really wasn't that surprising that the Catholic Church became the largest single denomination, as there never has been one huge Protestant denomination in the United States. In fact, I'd suspect that the Catholic Church became the largest denomination at some point in the 19th century. (Of course, counted together, Protestants were, and still are, much more numerous.)

Also, it's extremely doubtful that the U.S. will be Catholic-majority anytime this century. In 2013, Catholics were estimated to be 22% of the population, a percentage that has been very stable for decades.
 
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My best guess would be having a muslim colony around there as a beginning which ends up conquered by the british later. To get a significant muslim colonizing power would need huge butterflies but maybe the spaniards could decide to instead of simply driving them out to settle the moors in north america. Maybe in the southern part so the north could be nearly the same as OTL. After british conquest british settlers come and the center of the state is north so we could end up with an USA far from the same but at least a bit similar to OTL USA with a very significant muslim minority i the south. Making it majority is asking too much.
 
But, it's TRIV,SvoHljott....

The Caliphates figure out to survive longterm, 8 centuries, how long long-lived states live. Their problem was internal, that they added something bad into their constitutions, I've read.

Then they're in Spain and will've leaned the local long-distance trick of the fishermen.

It gets even easier if they win at Tours and have France.

Yes, the name will be Arabic, and have different borders likely; prolly a British state 'd exist.
 
I know it's outside the terms set by OP, but it'd be possible albeit extremely unlikely with a post-1900s POD: If the Nation of Islam is a leading portion of a coalition that overthrows the white supremacist U.S. government and Islam could then become the official religion?

But that's pretty close to a *Race War* type delusion so I don't think it's particularly probable.
 
A very large amount of celebrities and politicians convert to Islam.after sometime many Americans follow them :p:p:p
 
While not yet Catholic-majority, certainly not in 1900, who would have thought, pre-1900, that the US, short of ASBs, would be have a Catholic plural-majority (largest Christian denomination)? Or a Catholic president? Or be Catholic-majority by the mid-21st century?

"By the beginning of the 20th century, approximately one-sixth of the population of the United States was Catholic." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_the_United_States Today, according to the same article, "With 78.2 million baptized members, it is the largest religious denomination in the United States, comprising 24% of the population."

An increase from 16 to 24 percent is hardly a revolution--and indeed, many people in the early twentieth century might be surprised that the increase was not greater. Incidentally, just where is your evidence that the US will be "Catholic-majority by the mid-21st century?"
 
The Emirate of Cordoba stays stable and conquers the Pyrenees, withstanding French assaulsts and managing to conquer Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and Southern Italy. When the Ilkhanate conquers Syria, they look for a new way to China, and sail west, hopeful that islands will be there. Instead they find a continent, Al-Ard Al-Mahjula is colonized by Arabic and Berber settlers, who convert the locals to Islam.

Ta da, US is Muslim, so is most of OTL America.
 
I don't see how this is going to be pulled off. If for some reason Muslim immigration picks up to a large extant the U.S government will surely put some sort of quota in place like they did for East Asians.
 
The Emirate of Cordoba stays stable and conquers the Pyrenees, withstanding French assaulsts and managing to conquer Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and Southern Italy. When the Ilkhanate conquers Syria, they look for a new way to China, and sail west, hopeful that islands will be there. Instead they find a continent, Al-Ard Al-Mahjula is colonized by Arabic and Berber settlers, who convert the locals to Islam.

Ta da, US is Muslim, so is most of OTL America.

Getting the Emirate of Cordoba not to collapse is easier said than done. I can see a Moorish state surviving in Spain, but not the Emirate of Cordoba; it had too many issues. Also, in your scenario, there would be no Muslim-majority USA because the USA wouldn't exist.
 
While not yet Catholic-majority, certainly not in 1900, who would have thought, pre-1900, that the US, short of ASBs, would be have a Catholic plural-majority (largest Christian denomination)? Or a Catholic president? Or be Catholic-majority by the mid-21st century?

Catholics are'nt the plurality in the United States, the Catholic Church is the single largest Church, but in terms of denominations Protestants are the largest group.

We have had exactly one Catholic president, and there was controversy at the time over it.

The United States is not going to be Catholic Majority by mid-century, if anything the proportion of Catholics will shrink.
 
Getting the Emirate of Cordoba not to collapse is easier said than done. I can see a Moorish state surviving in Spain, but not the Emirate of Cordoba; it had too many issues. Also, in your scenario, there would be no Muslim-majority USA because the USA wouldn't exist.

That's the thing, any PoDs that make America a Muslim haven will make our world unrecognizable.
 
You would have to go so far back that the "United States" would be nothing like the United States of the 1700's or 1800's; ignoring the possibility of mass immigration by Muslims to the United States during that period, or rather than inability to do so for various reasons, the backlash against such immigration would make the Nativist movement against Catholics look calm and pacifistic.
 
Here is my take:

The United States is less stable than in OTL. The USA loses the war of 1812 and is forced to cede territory to Britain. Lets say Tecumseh wins too. Because of this, there are less northern states and the South dominates. This results in the succesful seccession of one or several northern states.
Because of the domination of the southern states, slavery continues and also the import of new slaves (which are largely Muslim) continues.
At the end of the 19th century/early 20th century, the US governments is overthrown by a revolution of black slaves, though they are also supported by some whites (this is needed because the USA needs to stay intact, which the slaves probably wouldnt want). The revolution succeeds because of foreign funding of the revolution (probably Britain, maybe Mexico too if Mexico is more stable).
The US government structure is kept largely intact, but voting rights are extended to everyone. Probably the United States turns in a kind of socialist state, it might be similar to the Soviet Union in ways (mainly economically).
In this TL, many new slaves are still muslim, and the idea that African Americans should be Muslims quickly spreads. After a while, nearly all African Americans have converted. Because of higher birth rates among African Americans, the Muslim percentage continues to grow. Eventually some white people convert too, becaus of social pressure.
The percentage gets even larger as many Muslims from the Middle East immigrate to the United States, looking for a better life.
In this scenario, the United States should become Muslim-majority in the second half of the 20th century.

Probably not very plausible but the challenge is pretty difficult.
 
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