Does “Dhimmi status” still exist in some Islamic countries, and is it beginning in Western Europe?
Dhimmi status does still exist in some Islamic countries, at least in practical terms.
Dhimmitude, the status of a dhimmi, is rooted in one of the most important verses in the Quran, found in the last major sura (chapter). Quran (9:29) commands that Muslims must fight the non-believers until they submit to Islam, pay a special tax, and are made to feel humble.
Sharia Law, in this case from the Shafi’i school of jurisprudence, is shown here under the section on Jihad, o9.8:
At the bottom of the text is the actual verse from the Quran.
This is the basis for dhimmitude, and it essentially means that non-Muslims are tolerated while living in an Islamic country, as long as they submit to Islam and on condition they follow specific rules relating to them, that impose a system that subordinates them to Muslims, as second, or many would consider, third class citizens.
Egyptian historian Bat Ye’or explains in her book, The Dhimmi, the harsh realities of life as a non-Muslim:
“The Jizya was paid in a humiliating public ceremony in which the non-Muslim while paying was struck in the head. If these taxes were not paid women and children were reduced to slavery, men were imprisoned and tortured until a ransom was paid for them. The Jewish communities in many cities under Muslim Rule was ruined for such demands. This custom of legalized financial abuses and extortion shattered the indigenous pre-Arab populations almost totally eliminating what remained of its peasantry… In 1849 the Jews of Tiberias envisaged exile because of the brutality, exactions, and injustice of the Muslim authorities. In addition to ordinary taxes, an Arab Sheik that ruled Hebron demanded that Jews pay an extra five thousand piastres annually for the protections of their lives and property. The Sheik threatened to attack and expel them from Hebron if it was not paid.”
The Muslim rulers used such tactics, in order to control the populations of non-Muslims through discriminatory taxes and harsh treatment, they also increased the Muslim population by providing incentives for Muslim colonists to settle in the area.
The dhimmi rules under which non-Muslims were tolerated, were set out in the infamous 7th century Pact of Umar. Dhimmis were forced to shave the fronts of their heads to identify themselves, could not ride horses, could not carry swords or any weapons, had to wear clothes identifying them as dhimmis, and were not allowed to build new churches, nor to repair them, and were not allowed houses that “overtopped “ the houses of Muslims.
Of course, in this day and age, no Islamic country would ever admit to a system even worse than apartheid, targeted against Christians, Jews and others. They would, and do insist that such treatment does not exist in their country, whatever the evidence is brought before them.
Samuel Tadros, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and the Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at the Hoover Institution, recently wrote an article about the subjugation and persecution of Christians in Egypt in the left-leaning but prestigious Atlantic magazine. He writes that, despite proclamations of equality by the State,
- A Copt has never been an equal Egyptian citizen in the eyes of the law.
- Egyptian laws are, in fact, designed to remind him of his second-class nature.
- For him, building a church remains a herculean task.
- He must follow Islamic inheritance laws, and cannot adopt children.
- Egypt’s blasphemy laws almost exclusively target him.
- Legally, he is not barred from being appointed to any position, but functionally, this is the reality.
- The exclusion of Copts from important government positions is pervasive.
- The current government has only one Coptic minister, and not a single Copt serves as a governor, university president, or university dean.
- An unofficial one percent quota for Copts (they compose 10% to 15% of the population) is maintained in the military, police, judiciary, and foreign service.
- No single Copt is allowed in the state security or intelligence services.
- Coptic history and the contributions of Copts to Egypt through the centuries excluded from the country’s textbooks.
In Egypt and also in different ways, some other Islamic countries, the status of dhimmi for non-Muslims, is the reality.
It’s worth considering that Egypt used to be a majority Christian country, but between the 11th and 14th century most Christians converted to Islam due to persecution of Islamic conquests, and particularly the subjugation of non-Muslims utilising the dhimmi system. It has worked exactly as it is designed to do. It aims to make life hard, restrictive and humiliating for any non-Muslims, while offering an escape via conversion to Islam, or to emigrate. It’s a form of gradual and slow ethnic cleansing, and has been remarkably effective, since the Khaybar Jews were forcibly subjected to it in the 7th Century, by Muhammad himself.
It’s concerning that as rapid demographic change in most Western European countries, that de facto dhimmitude of the incumbent non-Muslim populations seems to have started, aided by political correctness, which has also introduced new laws, for example, so-called hate crime legislation, which many believe is mainly only enforced against the incumbent populations, while also not enforcing laws against certain ethnic minorities, for fear of “upsetting community sensibilities” (is the term often used). This varies from the most serious and sexually heinous crimes, to bye-laws, for example:
- Failure to take action for four decades against mostly Muslim (of predominantly Pakistani heritage but others too) child grooming and rape gangs (CEOP Type 1 Child Sex abuse) in towns and cities across England, most recently Telford, where the estimated 1,000 child victims related to the most recent prosecutions, were said by the main prosecutor to be “just the tip of the iceberg” in a population with only about 1,000 male Muslims (2011 census). BBC news: UK-England-Shropshire
- Not a single prosecution of Female Genital Mutilation for over 30 years, since the law was first introduced to counter the threat to young female victims, as a result of large swathes of immigration from countries where it is very common, such as Somalia.
- Lack of enforcement by the police of bye-laws in London’s Royal Parks, which do not allow any religious activities, and have been strictly enforced against other religions. Hyde Park in London is now used for mass outdoor praying by Muslims. The police know this is not permitted, but when questioned, first feign ignorance, and then refuse to take any action. Praying outdoors en masse, is a show of dominance, and is a highly political act. The complete lack of action, despite numerous complaints, shows the dhimmi status of the London Metropolitan police. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaTWaX9Aslg&feature=youtu.be
- During a Eucharist service at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow to mark the feast of the Epiphany, a passage from sura 19, which specifically denies that Jesus was the Son of God and says He should not be worshipped, was sung by a Muslim student invited to do so by Very Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth. A video of the recital was posted on YouTube showing the student singing the passage in a typical Islamic style. It narrates the Islamic account of the birth of Jesus, which includes the claim that Mary was “ashamed” after giving birth, and the infant Christ miraculously spoke from the cradle — something not found in Christian scripture. Telegraph: Cathedral-Koran-reading-row
All of these are highly dangerous precedents, which would be serious enough as a slippery slope, but combined with rapid demographic changes, one wonders where Western Europe is headed this century.
