Christians in Islamic Tradition & Law

a) The Dhimmi Doctrine

The roots of the disadvantaged position of Egypt's Christian community lie in the Qur'anic concept of Islamic conquest. The relationship between Muslim and non-Muslim in the Qur'an is one of conqueror and conquered, or conqueror and those destined to be conquered. The Qur'an commands Muslims to:

"fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given (i.e. Christians and Jews) as believe neither in God nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His apostle (i.e., Mohammed) have forbidden, and do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay tribute out of their hand and are utterly subdued". (Surah 9:29; The Koran, Dawood)

The Muslim conquests under Mohammed bear witness to the fact that the founder of Islam not only preached but practiced this injunction. The Qur'an also instructs Muslims to "take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends", warning that those who do "shall become one of their number." (Surah 5:51, The Koran, Dawood) According to the Qur'an, mercy towards Christians and Jews is dependent upon their submission to the will of the ascendant Muslims.

Islamic law negatively distinguishes Christians and Jews from Muslims by classifying them as a separate group of citizens within the realm of Islam (al-Jinsiyyah al Islamiyyah). Christians and Jews are collectively designated as dhimmis by Islamic law. Dhimmis are non-Muslims who accept the hegemony of the Islamic state and the terms of the law that regulate their relations with it. Dhimmis have no inviolable rights. Whatever freedom they enjoy is dependent on their acceptance of the sovereignty of Islam. Dhimmis are at best a tolerated minority.

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The distinguished Islamicist and champion of Christian-Muslim dialogue, Prof. Kenneth Cragg, describes the historical implications of the dhimmi doctrine for the Christian communities as follows:

"Dhimmi, 'tolerated minority,' status under Islam has long made for a pattern of quiescence in ancient, local Christianity around the mosque. Traditional tolerance allowed only a freedom to remain, to teach the faith only within the family, so that adherence became a circumstance of birth, and continuity that of a closed community. There was no freedom to express faith, still less to recruit to it, outside that circle of one's origin." (Cragg, p. 205)

Unable to express and propagate freely their faith in public, Christian communities under Islamic jurisdiction can at best hope to survive as an ever diminishing disadvantaged minority or perish.

The origins of the dhimmi doctrine are to be found in the tradition of the treaty concluded between the conqueror Muhammad and the defeated Jews of Khyber. After a long siege, the Jewish inhabitants surrendered. The peace treaty offered the dhimmis protection - from whence comes the name dhimmi - and permitted them to continue to have their own local government and worship according to their tradition. But in return the dhimmis had to accept the supremacy of the Muslim conquerors, pay a tribute (Jizya) and make space available to them in the synagogues for Islamic prayer. Subsequently, all the Jewish and Christian communities of Arabia submitted to the Muslims under the terms of protection similar to those granted at Khyber. Failure to accept these conditions meant extinction for conquered Christian and Jewish communities.

b) The Regulations of Omar

The discriminatory status imposed upon the dhimmis at Khyber was comprehensively institutionalized throughout the Arab Empire in the form of regulations attributed to the Caliph Omar II. These regulations have provided the basic pattern for the institutionalized discrimination against the Christians in Egypt to the present day.

Church Buildings: The ringing of church bells; the sounding of the shofar; the public exhibition of crosses, icons, banners and other religious objects on the outside of church buildings or in processions were prohibited. Christians were prohibited from raising their voices while singing or chanting in churches. The construction of new synagogues and churches was strictly forbidden. The repair of pre-Islamic churches was permitted upon the approval of the Emir. All churches had to be lower than the surrounding Mosques as a sign of humiliation.

Social Discrimination: Dhimmis were obliged to dress differently from Muslims - including the wearing of ill-fitting and ridiculous head-dresses, belts and shoes - so as to be easily recognized and humiliated in the streets. Christians were forbidden to ride "noble" animals - i.e. horses and camels, which were reserved for Muslims. They were, however, permitted to ride their donkeys. Marriage or sexual intercourse with Muslim women was punishable by death. Christian dwellings and tombs had to appear inferior to those of Muslims. Blasphemy against Islam or any form of insult to its Prophet or the Qur'an was punishable by death. Dhimmis were forbidden from exercising any authority over a Muslim. Christians were required to speak in low, humble tones when addressing Muslims. When meeting a Muslim on the street Christians had to grant them right of way. Christians were not permitted to group together to talk in the street.

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Legal Action: Every legal case involving a Muslim and a Christian was to be judged according to Islamic law. Christians were deemed to be incapable of recognizing the truth. Therefore they were not recognized as credible witnesses in court cases involving Muslims. The punishment that a guilty Muslim received for a crime would be greatly reduced if the victim were a Christian.

Taxes: The dhimmis were required to pay the protection tax known as the Jizya. The Jizya had to be paid at a public ceremony during which the dhimmi was issued with a receipt, which had to be worn for public inspection as an identity tag. A special tax known as the kharaj had to be paid for the right to cultivate land.

c) Apostasy

Conversion from Islam to Christianity or any other faith is punishable by death, according to all the schools of Islamic law. The procedure for dealing with male apostates is as follows:

1) An attempt at persuading the apostate back into the Muslim fold is desirable though not mandatory.
2) The apostate should be incarcerated for three days.
3) If at the end of the three days the apostate does not repent, he should be executed by the sword.

Some Muslim jurists argue that the three day waiting period is not necessary before execution. Women apostates are not to be executed but should be imprisoned until such time as they re-embrace Islam. Male minors should be imprisoned until they recant or reach the age of seven or eight. They are then to be executed if the apostasy persists. Apostates also lose property rights and are regarded as divorced from Muslim spouses from the moment of apostasy. Upon return to Islam, the apostate may repossess property from his heirs.