Not that the Dune allusions needed to be more overt...

Not that the Dune allusions needed to be more overt, but just for the sake of the it: how would the Imperium of Mankind from Warhammer 40,000 had been different if its iconography and cultural aesthetics had been inspired by the Islamic golden age (and its eventual downfall following the Closing of the Gate of Ijtihad) rather than the history of the Catholic Church?

Not.

The Imperium is pretty Christian, aesthetically. You can't replace those influences and expect nothing to change

It'd have been only a little different. Honestly the style likely exists in-universe given the tens of thousands of words the Imperium rules over.

You'd have probably only really seen a visual difference. So the Imperium would be called the Caliphate, people would be wearing turbans, the God-Emperor would be called "the Prophet-King", the Space Marines would be the "Najmat Almujaheedin", the AdMech would be the Mikanika Almuqadasa", etc.

Probably have curved chainswords or something.

The Imperium isn't based on the Catholic Church, it's based on an amalgamation of every iconic "brutal, oppressive regime" from Western History. It's the medieval Catholic Church (or at least its darkest elements), but just the same it's Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, pre-revolutionary France, etc. In many ways, it's even the Islamic world as it is. So it'd be a way smaller change than you might thing, unless you also replace those things.

Actually makes for a funny thought experiment. Let's say the influences on the Imperium are medieval Catholicism, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and pre-revolutionary France. Now let's switch them around:

medieval Catholicism -> Islam
Soviet Russia -> Communist China
Nazi Germany -> ???
Pre-revolutionary France -> maybe Tsarist Russia?

Keeping with the theme of taking everything east? Imperial Japan.

The Imperium is heavily based/blatanty ripped of of the Terran Empire from Nemesis the Warlock, which is definitely the Catholic Church without any positive elements and diallied up to 11.

>Imperium based on Islam, Imperial Japan, Red China and Tsarist Russia

I'm getting a weirdly Firefly vibe out of this.

First major difference: an emphasis on Calligraphy over Iconography. No fancy images of skulls. Words written to look like skulls.

Instead of symbols of you'd get words and lessons written in fancy (almost illegible) form of text.

NOW if you altered the setting history to adopt to a Prophet Emperor, I'd probably have the Horus Heresy be completely different.

Instead of a conflict between Horus and the God-Emperor, the Imperium split between which son to follow after the Prophet Emperor went to the Golden Throne for his great sleep.

Guilliman believed that the Imperium must wait for the Prophet-Emperor to awaken once more and seek inwards for the future of mankind: Namely the reclamation of human worlds and lost technology of man.

His teachings were compiled into the Kitab Alnajima. All good Munjiim follow the Kitab Alnajima.

Horus did not agree with the passivity of the new imperial order established. He believed that the true path for humanity is beyond. They must seek out alien life and establish trade or settle war with them. Coin and wealth with those who recognize the glory of the Prophet and blade and blood to those who reject it. They believe that as a Psyker himself, the Prophet only wants to safeguard humanity against dangerous use of the Warp, not seal away the warp's connection to humanity completely.

The Munjiim and Horusites split into two empires.

Something something mudslimes, something something jews, something something blah blah bah white beta cuck.

Instead of the Space Wolves, you'd have Space ____?

Tigers

I disagree

Individual worlds or armies of the Imperial Guard might have these aesthetics but the Imperium overall is predominantly based on the feudal Holy Roman Empire.

>space tigers
but that'd actually be interesting :^)

Star Jackals?

Cowboys

That's actually pretty badass. They hail from the crazy dangerous jungle planet Shijin.

They could still be Wolf-themed, just give them a Turkish steppe people aesthetic instead of a Viking one.

>Islamic golden age
This is dumb for the same reason calling the medieval era the dark ages is.

Also, most of the inventions were made by atheists.

Nobody cares.

It would literally be Dune

There's a someone like you in every thread that mentions any kind of history. You're wrong, and you're an asshole about it.

Imperator titans would have a golden dome on their heads.

No primarch project, he just had 21 sons

But how many wives does he have?

40,000 nine year olds
41,000 goats

The great crusade is a defensive conquest of the galaxy! The Emperor wants peace!

Isn't it canonically all of the Sisters of Battle?

I wish this "islamic golden age" meme would just fucking die already. I keep seeing it plastered over the floor like vomit all the time but no one has any idea what they're talking about.

The """""""islamic"""""" golden age was a bunch of arabs copying egyptian, syrian, persian and byzantine (greco-roman) literature, architecture, religion and science and taxing the fuck out of non-muslims. The moment christians and other religious groups started converting to islam to no longer have to pay the jizz-ya, the caliphate collapsed in on itself and it brought on an era of warlords and infighting that made the germanic kings and warlords seem sane.

Dude why are you so racist? Watch Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye, they'll show you how peaceful and advanced the Muslims were before getting oppressed by Eurocentric whites.

>curved chainswords
Kek
Also there was an imperial fists marine named Omar Akbar who's only combat mission was terrorism and his only dialogue was " the emperor is great" and "he is an infidel" and he was recruited from the sand nomads of necromunda

A blue wolf took as his spouse a fallow doe. They settled at the head of the Onon river, and there were born the Mongols.

What's this a reference to?

Turkish Steppe peoples were associated with wolves for ages now.