Muslim Jews?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Let's say that Jews were not expelled from the Palestine by a Roman Empire and largely remained there (which means no Diaspora).

Wouldn't it be likely that later, they would be conquered during Arab conquests and, possibly, converted to Islam, basically becoming what today's Assyrians or Berbers are? Or maybe more like Kurds?

Discuss.

[Yelnoc]

The butterfly effect would most likely prevent Islam from ever arising.  This is still an extremely interesting supposition.  The most important thing is the exact POD (Point of Divergence) used.  We have to keep the Great Revolt of 66 from occurring.  This, to me, seems an almost impossible feat; the mixture of Hellenistic (Pagan) and Jewish cultures was inevitable after the Roman conquest of the Hasmonean Kingdom in the decades preceding the birth of Christ.

My suggestion is that the Liberators' Civil War following the death of Julius Caesar goes the other way.  Brutus and Cassius reestablish the Roman Republic and the Hasmonean kingdom is left alone as a buffer state between Rome and Parthia (who had allied with the Republican forces). 

This forestalls the forced mixing of pagan and Jewish cultures which could seriously impact the development of religious sects in Israel and prevent the diaspora.  Notably, the Zealots and Sicarii, extremist groups that could be said to have prompted the Great Revolt, will most likely not appear.  The Essenes are still there so you will likely see a Jesus figure emerge, though because there is no diaspora "Christianity" if it does exist will likely be nothing more than a breakaway Essene sect and footnote in the annals of history.

Without Christianity there will be no Islam.  Muhammad drew heavily on Christianity when creating his religion, though that does not preclude Arab conquests.  The Great Dam in Yemen will still likely fail and cause a massive diaspora of Arabic people which could, as in OTL (our timeline) provide enough of an impetus for conquest.

Despite this, religions of salvation were popular in the Mediterranean before the advent of Christianity.  Various Greek and Egyptian cults held believed that resurrection (of some important figure) was the key to salvation.  Sound familiar?  So, a proteolytic religion will fill the void Christianity left, bringing "salvation to the masses" while the Roman elites hold onto their Pagan gods and/or Greek philosophies.  You could see Zoroastrian restoration movements in Persia or Buddhism penetrating even farther west.

Getting back to the Jews, they have been surrounded by different cultures and religions for most of their history so I doubt Arab conquest in this timeline would go all that differently for them.

[J. J.]

There were a large number of Jews living in Palestine (I'm referring to the area of modern day Israel) in the 7th Century.

Also, at the time of Christ, 2/3 of the Jews in the world did not live in Palestine.

[patrick1]

There were a large number of Jews living in Palestine (I'm referring to the area of modern day Israel) in the 7th Century.

Also, at the time of Christ, 2/3 of the Jews in the world did not live in Palestine.

Yeah, this basically.  There was always a remnant of Jews in Palestine and they never converted. Further, the land of Israel was a center of Rabbinic scholarship even after the Bar Khokba revolt and in later eras flowered in Islamic centers of learning like Damascus or Baghdad.

[Mikestone8]

Let's say that Jews were not expelled from the Palestine by a Roman Empire and largely remained there (which means no Diaspora).

Wouldn't it be likely that later, they would be conquered during Arab conquests and, possibly, converted to Islam, basically becoming what today's Assyrians or Berbers are? Or maybe more like Kurds?

Discuss.

I expect quite a few did.

It's a standing joke that if everyone whose ancestors were Jews was still a Jew, they would be the biggest religious group in the world. Quite a few converted to Christianity, willingly or otherwise, from the Roman period onwards, and no doubt many in the Moslem world embraced Islam. Today's Jews are descended from the hard core who refused to do either.

[ag]

Most Jews in Palestine (and in Arabia - there used to be quite a few), probably, did convert either to Christianity or to Islam (or first to Christianity and then to Islam). But, then, of course, they are not considered Jews anymore.