Dhimma: Difference between revisions

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The term '''Dhimmitude''' is derived from ''Dhimmi'', which means a non-Muslim living in an [[Islam|Islamic]] country. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary has defined it as "a person living in a region overrun by Muslim conquest who was accorded a protected status and allowed to retain his original faith".<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dhimmi|2=2012-05-12}} Dhimmi] - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, accessed May 12, 2012</ref> According to orthodox [[Shariah|Islamic law]] (Shari'ah), those who are qualified for Dhimmi status within the Muslim society are the free (i.e non-slave) [[Islam and the People of the Book|Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians]].  Adherents of other religions, as well as those without religion, are asked to convert to [[Islam]]; if they refuse, they are to be [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Forced Conversion|forced to convert (or face execution, ''en masse'')]]. <ref>[http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=34770&ln=eng There is no compulsion to accept Islam] - Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 34770</ref> However, historically, adherents of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and other religions, have lived as Dhimmis within Muslim states.

According to the [[Qur'an]] and [[hadith]], [[Jizyah]] tax must be paid by the dhimmis as a sign of submission. This gives dhimmis some legal protection in return. As established by [[The Pact of Umar|the Pact of Omar]], dhimmis usually are not allowed to carry arms to protect themselves, serve in the army or government, display symbols of their faith, build or repair places of worship, they must wear distinctive clothing which includes the Zunar (a kind of belt) wherever they go (which parallels the Nazi practice of making Jews wear yellow badges), etc. Many of these laws are still enforced today in Muslim countries, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which enforce various aspects of Shari'ah. If the conquered do not wish to pay or convert, their fate may very well be slavery (under which, [[rape]] is permitted) or death. The pact also declares that dhimmis are forbidden to ride horses and camels, and may only ride donkeys, and only on packsaddles.

The law professor [[Antoine Fattal]] offered the following analysis of dhimmitude after close study of Islamic law:

The dhimmi, we might say, is a second-class citizen. If they [the ruling Muslims] tolerate him it is a calculated step, whether because they cherish the hope of converting him or for material reasons, because they force him to shoulder virtually the entire burden of taxation. They provide a place for him in the state, but not without reminding him continually of his inferior status. They prevent him from occupying high positions in society, and if by merit or intrigue he manages to climb to such places everything conspires to relegate him once again to obscurity. If the dhimmi acquires an independent legal status or privileges associated with his personal position, if he is permitted even his own courts, it is only because he cannot share with the Faithful the advantages of their own justice, which is essentially religious. In no case is the dhimmi the equal of a Muslim. He is condemned to social inequality and forms part of a despised caste: inequality so far as his personal rights are concerned, inequality in taxation, and inequality before the law, since his testimony is neither accepted by the Muslim courts of justice nor even, for the same minor crime, is the punishment the same ... No social relationship, no fellowship is possible between Muslims and dhimmis.<ref>[http://www.aina.org/news/20100603122400.htm The Grand Jihad] - AINA, March 6, 2010</ref>}}

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==See Also==