Can Anyone Give An Example Of A Muslim Country Treating Members Of Another Religion Appropriately?

On and after October 7 the world has been treated to images of Hamas terrorists engaging in the most horrific acts against Israeli civilians, including even elderly people and babies. Surely all civilized people would react to these crimes with revulsion and outrage? To the contrary, the last several weeks have seen massive pro-Hamas demonstrations around the world, including on campuses of elite universities and in major cities like London, Paris, Washington, D.C., and New York.

Rationales that I have seen to justify Hamas’s conduct have included that Israel is supposedly an “apartheid state,” that Israel engages in “genocide,” and that the Israelis are “settler colonialists.” In each case the words used as accusations against Israel are completely detached from their usual meaning, or indeed from any meaning. Certainly, much that Israel has done over the years could be subject to fair criticism. But “apartheid”? “Genocide”? Ridiculous. “Settler colonialism”? I have no idea what that even means.

Here in the U.S. we have a well-established constitutional order of freedom of religion. People practice dozens of different religions, and members of one religion, and also the government, do not prevent or restrict the practice of other religions by other people. That was not an easy order to establish, but we have established it (at least for now), and it enables people who have come from all over the world and from many different religions to live among each other in peace.

The Muslim countries have no such principles. As far as I can determine, the record of Muslim countries with regard to treatment of members of other religions is universally abysmal, in every case far worse than anything Israel can possibly be accused of. Yet somehow in the torrent of criticism of Israel for “apartheid” or “genocide,” this subject never comes up.

So I thought it would be useful to put together a small round-up of treatment of members of minority religions in Muslim countries. I will focus on the countries of North Africa, and on their treatment of their Jewish populations, because that information is particularly relevant to the situation involving Israel today. The North African countries once had substantial and thriving Jewish communities, none of which exist any more. Nor was the abysmal treatment by the Muslims limited to Jews. Similar (if perhaps not quite as bad) treatment has befallen members of other religions like Christians or Baha’is by Muslims both in North Africa and also in places like Pakistan or Iran or Nigeria.

The website Jewish Virtual Library has a series of pages on the status of “Jews in Islamic Countries.” Here is their page for Libya, updated to 2023. For starters, the number of Jews in Libya is given as 38,000 in 1948. Today the number is 0. How did that come about?

A savage pogrom in Tripoli on November 5, 1945, killed more than 140 Jews and wounded hundreds more. Almost every synagogue was looted. On June 12, 1948, rioters murdered another 12 Jews and destroyed 280 Jewish homes. Thousands of Jews fled the country after Libya was granted independence and membership in the Arab League in 1951. . . . When Muammar Gaddafi came to power in 1969, all Jewish property was confiscated, and all debts to Jews were canceled.

It goes on from there. In short, the Jews were forced out down to the last person by absolutely despicable treatment.

The U.S. State Department has a country-by-country report on religious freedom. Here is their page for Libya, updated to 2021. A few excerpts:

[T]he circulation of non-Islamic religious materials, missionary activity, or speech considered “offensive to Muslims” is banned. The criminal code effectively prohibits conversion from Islam, according to scholars and human rights advocates. . . . Human rights activists said freedom of conscience for converts to Christianity, atheists, and Muslims who deviated from Salafist interpretations of Islam was not respected.

Population numbers from Jewish Virtual Library: 1948 - 140,000; 2020 - fewer than 200. Excerpt:

In 1955, there were 140,000 Jews in Algeria. After being granted independence in 1962, the Algerian government harassed the Jewish community and deprived Jews of their economic rights. As a result, almost 130,000 Algerian Jews immigrated to France. Since 1948, 25,681 Algerian Jews have immigrated to Israel.

And here are a few tidbits from the State Department’s religious freedom page on Algeria, updated to 2022. Ill treatment of minority religions extends not only to Jews and Christians, but also even to branches of Islam other than the dominant Sunni branch:

Christian leaders and congregants stated that non-Muslims faced social pressure for practicing a non-Muslim faith. Some individuals who engaged in religious practice other than Sunni Islam reported they had experienced threats and intolerance. Some local media outlets occasionally criticized Ahmadi Islam and Shia Islam as “sects” or “deviations” from Islam or as “foreign” and demonstrated a bias against these groups. . . . The law does not prohibit religious conversion, including from Islam, but proselytizing to Muslims by non-Muslims is a criminal offense. . . . The law criminalizes blasphemy. The penal code provides punishment of three to five years in prison and/or a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 dinars ($366-$733) for offending the Prophet Muhammad or other messengers of God or disparaging the dogma or precepts of Islam.

It’s the same story of complete eviction during the 1950s and 60s of a once-thriving Jewish community. From the Jewish Virtual Library Egypt page, updated to 2020: number of Jews in 1948 - 75,000; 2020 - fewer than 10. Excerpt as to how that came about:

In 1956, the Egyptian government used the Sinai Campaign as a pretext for expelling almost 25,000 Egyptian Jews and confiscating their property. Approximately 1,000 more Jews were sent to prisons and detention camps. On November 23, 1956, a proclamation signed by the Minister of Religious Affairs, and read aloud in mosques throughout Egypt, declared that “all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state,” and promised that they would be soon expelled. Thousands of Jews were ordered to leave the country. They were allowed to take only one suitcase and a small sum of cash and forced to sign declarations “donating” their property to the Egyptian government. Foreign observers reported that members of Jewish families were taken hostage, apparently to insure that those forced to leave did not speak out against the Egyptian government.

In more recent years Egypt has reached an accommodation with Israel, and the two countries have even exchanged ambassadors. However, the Jewish community has been completely eliminated, so there are no Jews left to persecute. As to treatment of other minority religions in Egypt, the State Department Egypt religious freedom page paints a relatively bright picture of at least the formal legal framework. But that may well not reflect conditions on the ground. Here is a summary from something called For the Martyrs (a site that collects information on persecution of Christians around the world). Excerpt:

[T]he Egyptian constitution . . . establishes Islam as the official state religion. . . . Christians are barred from holding jobs and prominent positions in Egyptian academia, which often require their faculty to study the Quran or adhere to tenants of Islam. . . . Within society, apostasy from Islam is not tolerated. . . . Human rights activist and Coptic Christian, Ramy Kamel has been in prison since 2019. Kamel has defended the rights of Coptic Christians in Egypt by documenting attacks on Christian churches by Islamic extremists. . . .

For one example from outside North Africa, consider Israel’s neighbor to the northeast, Syria. They also have a page at Jewish Virtual Library, updated to 2022. Here are the numbers: Jewish population in 1948 - 40,000; in 2022 - 4. In some respects the history of how that came about in Syria is even worse than the story of the North African countries, because Syria actually prohibited the Jews from leaving even as it treated them abominably:

In 1944, after Syria gained independence from France, the new government prohibited Jewish immigration to Palestine, and severely restricted the teaching of Hebrew in Jewish schools. Attacks against Jews escalated, and boycotts were called against their businesses. When partition was declared in 1947, Arab mobs in Aleppo devastated the 2,500-year-old Jewish community. Scores of Jews were killed and more than 200 homes, shops, and synagogues were destroyed. Thousands of Jews illegally fled Syria to go to Israel. Shortly after, the Syrian government intensified its persecution of the Jewish population. Freedom of movement was severely restricted. Jews who attempted to flee faced either the death penalty or imprisonment at hard labor. Jews were not allowed to work for the government or banks, could not acquire telephones or driver's licenses, and were barred from buying property. Jewish bank accounts were frozen. An airport road was paved over the Jewish cemetery in Damascus; Jewish schools were closed and handed over to Muslims.

So can anyone give a single example of a Muslim country treating members of minority religious communities in a manner that we would consider appropriate?

I can’t come up with one. Perhaps the most honorable example is Morocco. An ex-partner of mine — a Jew born in Morocco whose family left for France in the 1970s — has only good things to say about current King Mohammed VI and his predecessors, who have been very supportive and protective of the Jewish community. However, even support from the top does not prevent Jews and other religious minorities from being treated like second class citizens, in areas like ownership of property, ability to conduct business (enforcement of contracts), and right to intermarry. The Jewish community in Morocco has shrunk from about 265,000 in 1948 to only about 2,100 in 2019.

Do we really understand the mental and behavioral anomalies from a region with a longstanding incestuous culture?

It has NOTHING to do with their intelligence or lack thereof.

It is what the Holy Koran commands them to do.

The smartest, best educated ones are the most dangerous.

If you have Muslim friends, here's an interesting thing to do.

Be alone with one, in a friendly, relaxed situation. Disarm him or her with friendly banter.

Then this or similar:... "[their name], I know you are a Muslim, and I would never think of trying to convert you to anything else. But do you, as a Muslim, believe that other people should be free to believe in their religions too, whatever they may be, Catholic, Jew, Hindu, Presbyterian, Baptist, and so forth? Watch their eyes. Listen to their response.

The first Muslim I asked the question regarding other religions had been a friend for around six months. He was about as "moderate" and a friendly Muslim as you'll ever meet.

He was well educated, a Colonel in the Egyptian army, his wife a surgeon.

When I asked him the question, you should have seen the look of pure chilling hatred that came across his face. He looked me right in the eye. His response: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammed is his messenger".

Then he went right back to normal.

Every non Muslim (infidel) needs to read a true translation of the Holy Quran or Koran. Then they might understand why this is happening and why it will never stop happening.

IMHO these are probably the most accurate translations, and they are FREE. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16955

From around 2011:

As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens.

At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs.

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves — along with threats for failure to comply.

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris, we are already seeing car burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam, with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam.

After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues.

At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare.

From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia law as a weapon, and jizya, the tax placed on infidels.

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some state-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim.

100% will usher in the peace of ‘Dar-es-Salaam’ — the Islamic House of Peace. Here there’s supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word.

“Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat,” written by Dr. Peter Hammond

So can anyone give a single example of a Muslim country treating members of minority religious communities in a manner that we would consider appropriate?

I am sure there were individuals, and Muhammad when a minority in Mecca ("There is no compulsion in religion" Quran 2:256) but once a in power in Medina, the Quran exhorts (with little interpretive context, unlike the Bible): O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk. Sura 5:51 (Yusuf Ali)

They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper. Sura 4:89 (Shakir)

Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors.

And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. 2:190-192 (Pickthal)

And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers. 2:193 (Pickthal)

Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them). 8:38 (Yusuf Ali)

And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they cease, then lo! Allah is Seer of what they do. 8:39 (Pickthal)

Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject Faith Fight in the cause of Evil: So fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan. 4:76 (Yusuf Ali)

The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter... 5:33 (Yusuf Ali)

And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people (assembled) on the day of the Great Pilgrimage,- that Allah and His Messenger dissolve (treaty) obligations with the Pagans. If then, ye repent, it were best for you; but if ye turn away, know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah. And proclaim a grievous penalty to those who reject Faith.

(But the treaties are) not dissolved with those Pagans with whom ye have entered into alliance and who have not subsequently failed you in aught, nor aided any one against you. So fulfil your engagements with them to the end of their term: for Allah loveth the righteous.

But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. 9:3-5 (Yusuf Ali)

But (even so), if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practise regular charity,- they are your brethren in Faith: (thus) do We explain the Signs in detail, for those who understand. '

But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt you for your Faith,- fight ye the chiefs of Unfaith: for their oaths are nothing to them: that thus they may be restrained. 9:11,12 (Yusuf Ali)

O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque...Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, 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 themselves subdued. 9:28,29 (Yusuf Ali)

O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites! Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end. 9:73 (Pickthal)

O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him). 9:123 (Pickthal)

Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, then making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom till the war lay down its burdens. That (is the ordinance). And if Allah willed He could have punished them (without you) but (thus it is ordained) that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He rendereth not their actions vain. 47:4 (Pickthal)

The Pact of Umar

The Pact (Covenant) of Umar (c. 717 A.D.) is a fundamental document in prescribing the treatment of conquered people, or "dhimmi", by Muslims. According to Islamic tradition, the Pact is a treaty formulated for the treatment of the "ahl al-kitab", ("People of the Book") - Jews and Christians - living on the lands newly conquered and colonized by Muslims. Due to the rapid growth of Islamic domination during 7th century, Muslims leaders were required to work out a way of dealing with Non-Muslims, who remained in the majority in many areas for centuries. The solution was to develop the notion of the dhimma, people who were allowed to basically keep their religion, but but were kept under submission by repressive rules. Violation of the terms of the pact by Dhimmi rendered them "liable to the penalties for contumacy and sedition."

Sometimes the Pact was repromulgated as a reminder to forgetful dhimmi, and in so doing Mamluk sultans during the latter Middle Ages specified that dhimmi could not be in service to the State.

The author of the Pact, which exists in several somewhat varied textual forms, is generally understood by many to be the Muslim caliph Umar ibn AbdulAziz (682 - 720), or Umar II, though it has been attributed to the first Caliph, Umar ibn-al-Khattab (586 - 590). Some modern scholars believe it is the product of later jurists who attributed it to the caliph Umar in order to lend greater authority to their own opinions, and it is assumed that it's present form dates to around the ninth century (Sources: David J. Jonsson, “The Clash of Ideologies”, pp. 526-29. Mark R. Cohen, “Under Crescent and Cross”, pp. 72,73, 163-5. Overview from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pact_of_Umar_II)

Regardless of its author, the Pact of Umar served as one model for Muslims on how to govern conquered non-Muslims, a roles it continues to the present day. Inspiration for this treatment may have come from non-Islamic sources, as well as the overall moderate first Caliph, Umar ibn-al-Khattab (author of the less restrictive "Umari Treaty" for dhimmi in Jerusalem). The 11th century, A.D. book, "Rules and Regulations Governing the People of the Book", by Muslim theologian “ Ibn Hazm (994-1064), states,

“These are the Rules and Regulations that were imposed by ‘Umar ibn-al-Khattab' [634–44] on the Christians of Syria, after conquering their land. The purpose of these rules was to make them submissive and contemptible. Christians were in no way to exhibit any sign of their unbelief, or anything forbidden in Islam; since Allah, the supremely Glorified and Honored, had said:

And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they cease, then lo! Allah is Seer of what they do.” Qur'an 8:39 (Pickthall’s Translation) (Source: Jacob Thomas, The Onerous Rules & Regulations Imposed on the People of the Book”, answering-islam.org)

See here on contradictions between the teaching of the Bible and the Qu'ran regarding this and other doctrines.

Pact of Umar

We heard from Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanam [died 697 A.D.] as follows: When Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, accorded a peace to the Christians of Syria, we wrote to him as follows:

In the name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. This is a letter to the servant of Allah Umar [ibn al-Khattab], Commander of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such a city. When you came against us, we asked you for safe-conduct (aman) for ourselves, our descendants, our property, and the people of our community, and we undertook the following obligations toward you:

We shall not build, in our cities or in their neighborhood, new monasteries, Churches, convents, or monks' cells, nor shall we repair, by day or by night, such of them as fall in ruins or are situated in the quarters of the Muslims.
We shall keep our gates wide open for passersby and travelers. We shall give board and lodging to all Muslims who pass our way for three days.
We shall not give shelter in our churches or in our dwellings to any spy, nor bide him from the Muslims.
We shall not teach the Qur'an to our children.
We shall not manifest our religion publicly nor convert anyone to it. We shall not prevent any of our kin from entering Islam if they wish it.
We shall show respect toward the Muslims, and we shall rise from our seats when they wish to sit.
We shall not seek to resemble the Muslims by imitating any of their garments, the qalansuwa, the turban, footwear, or the parting of the hair. We shall not speak as they do, nor shall we adopt their kunyas.
We shall not mount on saddles, nor shall we gird swords nor bear any kind of arms nor carry them on our- persons.
We shall not engrave Arabic inscriptions on our seals.
We shall not sell fermented drinks.
We shall clip the fronts of our heads.
We shall always dress in the same way wherever we may be, and we shall bind the zunar round our waists
We shall not display our crosses or our books in the roads or markets of the Muslims.
We shall use only clappers in our churches very softly. We shall not raise our voices when following our dead.
We shall not show lights on any of the roads of the Muslims or in their markets. We shall not bury our dead near the Muslims.
We shall not take slaves who have been allotted to Muslims.
We shall not build houses overtopping the houses of the Muslims.

(When I brought the letter to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, he added, "We shall not strike a Muslim.")

We accept these conditions for ourselves and for the people of our community, and in return we receive safe-conduct.
If we in any way violate these undertakings for which we ourselves stand surety, we forfeit our covenant [dhimma], and we become liable to the penalties for contumacy and sedition.
Umar ibn al-Khittab replied: Sign what they ask, but add two clauses and impose them in addition to those which they have undertaken. They are: "
"They shall not buy anyone made prisoner by the Muslims," and
"Whoever strikes a Muslim with deliberate intent shall forfeit the protection of this pact."

(from Al-Turtushi, Siraj al-Muluk, pp. 229-230)

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