--Napoleon Bonaparte, Proclamation to the Egyptians, July 1798.
Napoleon was an excellent propagandist, so while the above quote is authentic, there is absolutely no reason to believe that he was sincere. Napoleon was a Catholic by baptism, a deist privately, and despite a few speculative essays to the contrary, never converted to Islam. The nickname "Ali Bonaparte" was bestowed on him by Egyptian religious leaders, which he seems to have appreciated, but they were likely playing the same politics he was.
But my question here is: is it possible that he would have converted publicly in different circumstances? Either out of some kind of genuine religious feeling, or more likely, as an ambitious and extravagant new power play to build a personal empire in the Muslim world for himself.
There are a few obvious problems: first of all, it seems extremely unlikely that a French leader would ever be able to give up wine and pork in his army, perhaps a greater issue than any religious solidarity among the troops. Moreover, it would have been impolitic for Napoleon's ambitions back in Paris. That said, it wasn't unheard of for French dignitaries in Egypt to convert: Napoleon's general Jacques Menou married the daughter of a wealth Egyptian notable and converted to Islam.
So it's probably possible that out of a burst of personal feeling, Napoleon converts; I'm going to put that to the side for now. More likely, though, is a series of events that make a public conversion practical for him, which would mean some kind of break with Paris while Napoleon is in Egypt that would make him plan a permanent stay. The window probably goes from his July 1798 capture of Cairo, to his departure about a year later.
What might go wrong? The clearest path here would be Napoleon falling out of favor in Paris, and resisting an attempt to recall him. He was a supporter of the Coup of 18 Fructidor, which empowered the Directory against a growing Royalist tide; so we might need to imagine an anti-Directory countercoup a year later, perhaps with foreign (especially Papal) backing at the beginning of the War of the Second Coalition. In defiance, Napoleon declares some kind of independence in Egypt, or a government-in-exile, and turns revolutionary anti-clericalism to Islam. Which seems like a long shot to succeed.
The other card here might be the Ottoman Empire, an unlikely ally for Napoleon considering he had just seized Egypt from them. The web of political maneuvering here probably would have to include Tipu Sultan in Mysore, a potential ally of Napoleon and clear opponent of the British. Historically, the Brits were able to keep the Ottomans on their side, and killed Tipu Sultan in 1799. Tsar Paul in Russia was also dedicated enough to fighting the French that he was willing to ally with the Ottomans; the disruption here might be in the form of a new Russo-Turkish war preventing such an alliance, and with Britain siding with Russia, Napoleon finding a way to establish an Ottoman alliance.
Everything here feels like a longshot, but not QUITE outside the realm of possibility. Any thoughts?
