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Islam and other religions

Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Attitudes have varied according to time, place and circumstance.

Non-muslims under Islam

Non-muslims under Islamic law would be held under the status of dhimmi (from arabic ???? th as pronounced in this) were allowed to "practice their religion, subject to certain conditions, and to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy" and guaranteed their personal safety and security of property, in return for paying tribute and acknowledging Muslim rule. Taxation from the perspective of thimmis who came under the Muslim rule, was "a concrete continuation of the taxes paid to earlier regimes" (but now lower under the Muslim rule) and from the point of view of the Muslim conqueror was a material proof of the thimmi’s subjection. Various restrictions and legal disabilities were placed on thimmis, such as prohibitions against bearing arms or giving testimony in courts in cases involving Muslims.

The Qur’an distinguishes between the monotheistic People of the Book (ahl al-kitab) (Jews, Christians, Sabians and others), and polytheists or idolaters on the other hand. The People of the Book should be tolerated to some extent: "whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right-shall be rewarded by their Lord; they have nothing to fear or to regret." Polytheists are not given that same degree of tolerance. Atheists and agnostics are considered beyond the pale of tolerance. There are certain kind of restrictions, when involved with People of the Book, do not apply to polytheists. One example is Muslim males being allowed to marry a Christian or Jew, but not a polytheist. Muslim women, however may not marry non-Muslim men.

The idea of Islamic supremacy is encapsulated in the formula "Islam is exalted and nothing is exalted above it." Accordingly, Muslims must not place themselves in a position inferior to that of the followers of other religions. Pursuant to this principle, Muslim women may not marry non-Muslim men, non-Muslims may not inherit from their Muslim relatives, and a testimony of a non-Muslim is inadmissible against a Muslim. A non-Muslim who insults Islam must be put to death, according to most schools of Islamic jurisprudence, or flogged and imprisoned, according to others.

Abraham, Moses, Hebrew prophets, and Jesus were all prophets of Islam, but according to Muslim tradition their message and the texts of the Torah and the Gospels were corrupted by Jews and Christians. Similarly, children of non-Muslim families are born Muslims, but are converted to another faith by their parents.

Apostasy in Islam is punishable by death. W. Heffening states that Shafi’is interpret verse [Qur’an 2:217] as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in Qur’an. Wael Hallaq states the death penalty was a new element added later and "reflects a later reality and does not stand in accord with the deeds of the Prophet." He further states that "nothing in the law governing apostate and apostasy derives from the letter of the holy text."

Practice of the early Muslims

During the ten years that Muhammad led his followers against the Meccans and then against the other Arab tribes, Christian and Jewish communities who had submitted to Muslim rule were allowed to worship in their own way and follow their own family law, and were given a fair degree of self-government.

The Jews generally rejected Muhammad’s status as a prophet. According to Watt, "Jews would normally be unwilling to admit that a non-Jew could be a prophet." In the Constitution of Medina, Muhammad demanded the Jews’ political loyalty in return for religious and cultural autonomy.However, after each major battle with the Medinans, Muhammad accused one of the Jewish tribes of treachery (See [Qur’an 2:100]). After Badr and Uhud, the Banu Qainuqa and Banu Nadir, respectively, were expelled "with their families and possessions" from Medina. After the Battle of the Trench in 627, the Jews of Banu Qurayza were accused of conspiring with the Meccans; 600-900 Qurayza men were beheaded (except for the few who chose to convert to Islam) and their properties confiscated.

After Muhammad’s death in 632, the Islamic empire grew rapidly, encompassing what is now the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa, and Iran. Most of the new subjects were Christian or Jewish, and considered People of the Book. (After some argument, the Zoroastrians were considered People of the Book as well). Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians were called dhimmi, protected peoples. As noted above, they could worship, follow their own family law, and own property. People of the Book were not subject to certain Islamic rules, such as the prohibitions on alcohol and pork, but were subject to other restrictions. Under the Islamic state, they were exempt from military service, but were required to pay a poll tax known as jizya. (They were, however, exempt from the zakat required of Muslims). They could be bureaucrats and advisors, but they could never be rulers.

They were not subject to forced conversion. In fact, under the first caliphs and the Ummayad dynasty, conversion was discouraged. Arab troops were settled in garrison towns like Kufa and Basra, in part to keep them separate from the conquered peoples. If a dhimmi wanted to convert, he/she could only do so by convincing an Arab to act as a sponsor or patron, adopting the dhimmi in the patron’s tribe and making him/her an honorary Arab. There are claims that there were several instances in which entire communities wanted to convert, and were prevented; and that they were more useful as taxpayers.

The Syriac Patriarch Ishôyahb III wrote in his correspondence to Simeon of Rewardashir, "As for the Arabs, to whom God has at this time given rule (shultãnâ) over the world, you know well how they act toward us. Not only do they not oppose Christianity, but they praise our faith, honour the priests and saints of our Lord, and give aid to the churches and monasteries."

Later Islamic practice

Under the Ummayads and Abbasids, the Islamic community was increasingly fragmented into various sects and kingdoms, each of which had its own evolving policy towards dhimmi and towards conquered polytheists.

The Islamic heartland

In general, the policies of the territories comprising the earliest Islamic conquests were never harsh- towards the dhimmis. Although conversion to Islam was made easier (all one had to do was to recite the confession of faith, many dhimmis did not convert as a result of Muslims tolerance. Areas that were majority Christian or Zoroastrian before the Arab conquest at some point became overwhelmingly Muslim. Moreover, at some point (it is not clear when), non-Muslims were forbidden to visit the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, while some hadith even urged their exclusion from the entire Arabian peninsula.

Later Islamic conquests

With the Ghaznavids and later the Mughals, Islam also expanded further into northern India. Will Durant, in The Story of Civilization, described this as "probably the bloodiest story in history". This approach was not uniform, and different rulers adopted different strategies. The Mughal emperor Akbar, for example, was relatively tolerant towards Hindus, while his great-grandson Aurangzeb was heavily intolerant. Hindus were ultimately given the tolerated religious minority status of dhimmi. However, the underlying complexity of Hindu philosophy was useful in this regard, as it had always posited an underlying unity of all things, including the fusion of various deities into a single reality (Brahman).

The Buddhists of India were not as fortunate; although Buddhism had been in decline prior to the Muslim invasions, the destruction of monastic universities in the invasions such as Nalanda and Vikramashila were a calamity from which it never recovered. According to one Buddhist scholar, the monasteries were destroyed because they were large, fortified edifices considered threats by Muslim Turk invaders, not because they were non-Muslim institutions.

The Almohad rulers of Muslim Spain were initially intolerant, and engaged in forced conversions; Maimonides, for example, was forced to masquerade as a Muslim and eventually flee Spain after the initial Almohad conquest.

However, it is worth mentioning that most Muslims rulers in Spain could be considered tolerant with some exceptions. Christians were free to practice their own beliefs, and had kept their own churches. The tolerant atmosphere in Muslim Spain made it a refuge for Jews persecuted in other European lands.

Contemporary Islam

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During the 19th and early 20th centuries, most Islamic states fell under the sway of European colonialists. The colonialists enforced tolerance, especially of European Christian missionaries. After World War II, there was a general retreat from colonialism, and predominantly Muslim countries were again able to set their own policies regarding non-Muslims. This period also saw the beginning of increased migration from Muslim countries into the First World countries of Europe, the UK, Canada, the US, etc. This has completely reshaped relations between Islam and other religions.

Predominantly Muslim countries

Some predominantly Muslim countries allow the practice of all religions. Of these, some limit this freedom with bans on proselytizing or conversion, or restrictions on the building of places of worship; others (such as Mali) have no such restrictions. In practice, the situation of non-Muslim minorities depends not only on the law, but on local practices, which may vary.

Some countries are predominantly Muslim and allow freedom of religion adhering to democratic principles. Of particular note are the following countries:

Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia have a significant population from the Hindu, Christian and Buddhist faith. They are allowed to practice their faith, build places of worship and even have missionary schools and organizations but with limitation of such practice. Some Muslim countries nationally observe Hindu, Christian and Buddhist holidays, e.g. Durga Puja, Maghi Purnima, Buddha Purnima, Ashari Purnima, Moharram, Christmas etc.

In Syria, there are about 1.8 million Christians (10% of the population) from about 15 different religious and ethnic sects, as well as a few thousand of Jews, and they have many hundreds of independent privately-owned churches and some 15 synagogues. The freedom of religion is well observed by the state law as well as the historical long record of tolerance since the Ummayde caliph days. Christmas and Easter days are official holidays for both the Catholic or Orthodox calendar.

Some predominantly Muslim countries are more intolerant of non-Muslims:[opinion needs balancing]

Pakistan has different electorates for Muslims and non-Muslims, and limits the public positions a non-Muslim can hold.

Saudi Arabia limits religious freedom to a high degree, prohibiting public worship by other religions.

The now-overthrown Taliban regime in Afghanistan was considered intolerant by many observers. Some ancient Buddhist monuments, like the Buddhas of Bamyan, were destroyed as idolatrous.

The Islamic government of Iran recognizes Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians as minorities- although all three groups are subjected to some severe discrimination in practice - while the situation of Bahá’ís, considered by the government as a pro-Zionist, un-Islamic heresy, is far worse. See Persecution of Bahá’ís.

In Sudan, there was extensive use of the rhetoric of religious war by both parties in the decades-long battle between the Muslim North and the largely non-Muslim South (see Second Sudanese Civil War.)

In Egypt, a 16 December 2006 judgement of the Supreme Administative Council created a clear demarcation between "recognized religions" - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - and all other religious beliefs; the ruling effectively delegitimatizes and forbids the practice of all but these aforementioned religions. The ruling leaves members of other religious communities, including Bahá’ís, without the ability to obtain the necessary government documents to have rights in their country, essentially denying them of all rights of citizenship. They cannot obtain ID cards, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, and passports; they also cannot be employed, educated, treated in public hospitals or vote among other things. See Egyptian identification card controversy.

According to Islamic law, jizya (poll tax) is to be paid by all non-Muslims, excluding the weak and the poor, living in a Muslim state, to the general welfare of the state. Also, in his book "Al-Kharaj," Abu Yusuf says, "No Jizya is due on females or young infants." In exchange for the tax, the non-Muslims are required to be given security, provided compensation from the Muslim Exchequer when they are in need, treated on equality with Muslims, and enjoy rights as nationals of the state. Al-Balathiri comments on this saying, "Khaled Ibn Al-Walid, on entering Damascus as a conqueror, offered a guarantee of security to its people and their properties and churches, and promised that the wall of the city would not be pulled down, and none of their houses be demolished. It was a guarantee of God, he said, and of the Caliph and all believers to keep them safe and secure on condition they paid the dues of the Jizya." This poll tax is different from the alms tax (Zakah) paid by the Muslim subjects of a Muslim state. Whereas jizya is compulsory and paid by the tolerated community per head count, zakat was paid only if one can afford it. Muslims and non-Muslims who hold property, especially land, were required however to pay Kharaj.

Territorial disputes

One of the open issues in the relation between Islamic states and non-Islamic states is the claim from hardline Muslims that once a certain land, state or territory has been under ’Muslim’ rule, it can never be relinquished anymore, and that such a rule, somewhere in history would give the Muslims a kind of an eternal right on the claimed territory. This claim is particularly controversial with regard to Israel and to a lesser degree Spain and parts of the Balkan and it applies to India as well.

Forced conversion

Many Muslim scholars believe that Quranic verses such as "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error" (Qur’an 2:256) and (Qur’an 18:29) show that Islam prohibits forced conversion towards people of any religion.

However, some Wahhabi scholars such as the controversial Ibn Baaz believe that 2:256 was (partially) abrogated by later verses such as Qur’an 9:5, and so the verse only applies towards Christians, Jews, and Magians (People of the Book) and not towards polytheists:

Then, when the sacred months are drawn away, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.

The meaning of verse 9:5 is subject to some discussion. Sura 9 was received in the historical context of a broken treaty between Muslims and a group of "idolaters". Regarding verse 9:5, Quranic translator M. A. S. Abdel Haleem writes: "in this context, this definitely refers to the ones who broke the treaty" rather than polytheists generally.

Forced conversions played a role especially in the 12th century under the Almohad dynasty of North Africa and Andalusia as well as in Persia where Shi’a Islam is dominant.

Incidents of forced conversions have been rare in Islamic history. Bernard Lewis adds that "In the early centuries of Islamic rule there was little or no attempt at forcible conversion, the spread of the faith being effected rather by persuasion and inducement." Despite this, there have been examples of forced conversion, such as:

Anusim of Meshhad, Jewish community forced on pain of death to convert in 1839 under Safawid rule. Most continued Jewish practices in secret and many of their descendents returned to Judaism in the early 20th century.

Francis Bok - Sudanese-American activist, from Christianity; later returned to his Christian faith.

Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig - forced to convert at gunpoint by terrorists of the Holy Jihad Brigades.

Sabbatai Zevi - convert from Judaism, 17th century mystic, pseudo-Messiah and the self-proclaimed "King of Jews". Converted ostensibly of his own free will, while in prison. Although, some speculate that he may have been executed for treason had he not converted, Muslim authorities were opposed to his death.