Understanding the status of Jews, Christians and other protected Religious Communities under Muslim state
Table of Contents
Understanding the term dhimmi(s) (i.e.,
the status and treatment of Jews, Christians, and other protected religious
communities) and its usage in the Qur’an will help us understand the levels of
tolerance, acceptance, and pluralism in the Qur’an especially when it comes
to Ahl al-Kitab (that is, the people of the book). Arguably
and theologically though, mere possession of sacred Books, practising monotheism, and claiming the faith of Abraham already mark them (Muslims, Jews,
Christians) as people of (one) the book.
Examining the term dhimmis and
the Qur’anic stipulation will throw some light on the relationship between
Muslims and other bodies of the people of the book. Some clarifications are
required here, especially with the term, the people of the book.
The People of the Book
The people of the book as referred to in the Qur’an are the Muslims (by
default), the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians (by their sacred
books). To have a sacred book: the Torah, the Gospel, and the Psalms single out
the adherents to these books as a people with a common word but without an
identical belief system.
The concept of the people of the book indicates that these people have
been marked out as ‘Followers of the Holy Books.’ The Qur’an in Medinan
revelation noted two other Scriptures that were before the Qur’an:
“And who believe in (the Qur’an and the Sunnah) which has been sent
down (revealed) to you (Muhammad...) and in that which were sent down before
you [the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and they believe with
certainty in the hereafter. (resurrection, recompense of their good and bad
deeds, Paradise and Hell)” (Al-Baqarah 2:4).
The citation above suggests three Books: the Qur’an, the Torah, and the
Gospel and their adherents, namely the Muslims, the Jews, and the Christians.
Latterly, in the same Madinan revelation, the Sabians were included among the people of the book. “Verily, those who believe and those who are
Jews and Christians and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and
does righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them
shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve” (Al-Baqarah 2:62). The
Sabians were included because they professed La ilaha illallah and
used to read Az-Zabur (the Psalms of the Sabians) and they
were neither Jews nor Christians.
The question that needs an answer is:
What are the statuses of Jews, Christians, and other protected religious
communities under the Muslim state?
Freedom of Worship – The Legal Tradition
As a backdrop, the Qur’an described
Islam as primordial, a din al-Fitrah and an Abrahamic religion
and of course, the religion of Allah (cf. Al-‘Imran 3:67; Al-Baqarah 2:135; Al-Ma’idah 5:19).
It is however emphatic that religion should be freedom-based: “Let there be no
compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error: whoever rejects Evil
and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never
breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things” (Al-Baqarah 2:256).
It is argued that verse 2:256
denotes the Islamic legal and theological traditions to mean that the followers
of other religions should not be forced to adopt Islam. And verse 109:6 “…To
you your religion, to me my religion…” has been used as a “proof-text for
pluralism and coexistence” and that verse 2:62 “has served to justify the
tolerated position accorded to the followers of Christianity, Judaism, and
Sabeanism under Muslim rule.” [i]
Based on the interpretation of the (At-Taubah 9:29),
there is a consensus among Muslim scholars that non-Muslims who happened to
live within Muslim authority should pay tribute. [ii]
Fight those who believe not in God nor
the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by God and His
Apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the
people of the book, until they pay the Jizya with willing
submission, and feel subdued.
An important remark about (At-Taubah 9:29)
is that it recognizes the qualities shared by the monotheistic religions.
Generally, Prophet Muhammad himself cautioned that “whoever oppresses any dhimmi (non-Muslim
peace-covenanter within the Islamic state) I shall be his prosecutor on the Day
of Judgment.” [iii]
Jews, Christians and other Protected Communities under the Muslim State
Religious tolerance and Islamic
pluralism are echoed as Islamic cooperation with the people of the book.
Islam does not permit discrimination in the treatment of other human
beings because of religion or any other criteria…it emphasizes neighbourliness
and respect for the ties of relationship with non-Muslims…[iv] Within this human family, Jews, and Christians, who share many
beliefs and values with Muslims, constitute what Islam terms Ahl
al-Kitab. [v]
Dhimmis
The parameter of legal rights marks out who is a dhimmi;
however, such an individual is in contradistinction to a Muslim. The people of the
book (Christians for example) were allowed to practice their religion (Al-Kafirun 109:6),
but there were serious restrictions imposed upon them as they practised their
faith. Such restrictions can be found in this text of the convention, referring
to al-Turtushi’s (d. 1126) Siraj al-muluk:
The conquered Christians of Syria address a letter to the Caliph ‘Umar,
reminding him of the promises they made when they surrendered to him. They
present a long list of prohibitions that they promise to respect: against the
construction of new churches and monasteries, against teaching the Qur’an to
their children, against wearing “Muslim” clothes or turbans, bearing arms, etc.
Some of these measures seek to limit or prohibit the public expression of
Christianity. Hence the Christians promise not to place crosses on the exterior
of their churches, show their sacred texts in public, make public religious
processions, or pray noisily or ostentatiously.[vi]
The ringing of Church Bells
Further restrictions include the ringing of church bells as their sounds
were said to be offensive to Prophet Muhammad “and he even said that
angels avoided coming to places where bells could be heard.”[vii]
Comparatively, bells were noted by Muslims as an audible
symbol of Christianity as the adhan is a similar audible
symbol of Islam. The politics of the church-mosque construct could be seen as an
offspring of the ideology of the bell-adhan concepts.
Arguably, the first Muslims had no minarets, and as such their muezzins, such as
Bilial would call out the adhan from the mosque roofs before the first minarets were eventually constructed during the time of Mu’awiya
(661-80), the first Umayyad caliph.[viii]
No doubt, the springing of minarets tends to emphasize and show
the competition going on between Islam and Christianity as the minarets and
church bell towers compete for the conquest of the urban skyline as well as
towering for the perfect height from which the adhan can be heard.[ix] To avoid or shun this
competition or prevent the Christians from being informed by their bells,
“‘Umar decreed that the Christians “will not sound the naqus (bell)
before the Muslims’ call to prayer”” and the treaty of Damascus, as noted by
Ghazi b. Al-Wasii (d. After 1292), stipulated that the Christians “will not
ring the naqus outside of their churches.”[x] The Christians' insistent
on the use of the bells resulted in some conflicts and the destruction of churches
and the bells. “When Musa ibn Nusayr invaded Spain in 712, he destroyed all its
churches and broke all the naqus that he found.”[xi]
Conclusion
The foregoing analysis seems to contradict the statement: “To you be
your religion, to me my religion” (Al-Kafirun 109:6). The name of a
Christian or a Jew means segregated and dominated group under the Muslim State,
hence, the ‘Covenant of ‘Umar’. Unless they have the designation and character
of a dhimmi, only then their rights are established and defended.
The title of the people of the book has legal parameters. This means that there
are 'people of the book' that are differentiated from other 'people of the book';
because they do not profess the Shahadah or by birth are not
Muslims. The concept of the people of the book theologically accommodates all
the people of the book because of their individual sacred books. But legally,
the people of the book, even though, categorized as dhimmis, are
separated and made to give up some of their religious practices.
[i] Lewis B., The Jews in Islam, Princeton University Press,
Princeton. 1984. P.14
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Al-Faruqi IR., Islam and other faiths, Ataullah Siddiqui (ed),
Islamic Foundation, Leicester. 1998. P. 91
[iv] Haneef S., What Everyone should know about Islam and Muslims, Kazi
Publications, Lahore. 1979. P. 173
[v] Ibid.
[vi] Tolan JV., Sons of Ishmael: Muslims through European Eyes in the
Middle Ages, University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida. 2008. P. 149
[vii] Ibid. p. 148
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] Ibid.
[x] Ibid. p. 149
[xi] Ibid. p. 150
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