Historical persecution by Muslims
Disagreements between followers of Islam and people of other beliefs, or between different Muslim groups, have at times resulted in the persecution of non-Muslims or other Muslims in Muslim ruled areas. Persecution in this sense refers to any arrest, imprisonment, beating, [...], torture, [...], execution or ethnic cleansing based on belief in a contrary religious practice, or on lack of religious belief. This persecution can extend to confiscation and/or destruction of property, or incitement to hate.
Conversely Muslims have been persecuted in non-Muslim ruled areas because of their beliefs or birth status as Muslims.
Historically there has been ongoing conflict and persecution between various groups of Muslims, e.g. the Sunni, Shiite, Mu'tazilite and Kharijite sects of Muslims and the Druze and Ahmadiyya groups which are considered non-Muslim by mainstream Sunni and Shi'a clergy, as well as conflict between Muslims and non-Muslim groups such as Hindus, Jews, Christians, Sikhs or Yezidi.
Theological arguments
The Qur'an and hadith serve as Sunnah (Sunnah is what the Prophet said (i.e. Hadith), did, and approved of. It does not include the Qur'an. The Qur'an stands on its own - so 'Qur'an and Sunnah' is GeneRally referenced), the model for conduct, for Sunni and Shi'a Muslims in all matters of life, and thus Muslims are compelled to consider the way these texts describe the historic treatment of non-Muslims, as their guidelines. This makes the authorised version of Muhammad's life, known as the sirah, and the collection of his sayings - the hadith - of paramount importance, except for the minority of Muslims who reject Sunnah, and accept the Qur'an alone.
Several sura present a less than positive picture of Judeo-Christian religions - At-Tawba:30 states that their understandings of certain historical genealogies are inaccurate and deluded. Sura 3:118 continues the theme claiming that such persons desire to harm you severely and hatred has already appeared from their mouths.
Some go further, reflecting Islamic views on the subject of religious idols - Sura 9:5 explicitly states slay the idolaters wherever ye find them. However, it goes on to say if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free.Sahih Bukhari:5.59.522 however condones marriage between Muslim men and non-Muslim women, describing the marriage between Mohammed and Safiya bint Huyai bin Akhtaq, whose husband had been killed in a preceding battle.
Missionary activity was historically an important matter, and several sura address the issue, in particular, An-Nahl:125 - Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair admonition, and argue with them in the kindest way - and Al Imran:20 - If [non-Muslims] turn away, your duty is only to convey the Message - advocate gentle and non-violent discourse rather than forcing conversion. Indeed Yunas:99 actively condemns forced conversion - If it had been your Lord's will, all of the people on Earth would have believed. Would you then compel the people so to have them believe?
With regards to converts from Islam, conservative interpretations read Al Imran:85 - Of such the reward is that on [apostates falls] the curse of Allah, of His angels, and of all mankind, and its more extensive counterpart in the Sunnah - Sahih Bukhari:9.83.17 - The blood of a Muslim ... cannot be shed except ... for ... one who reverts from Islam ... as supporting the death penalty, known as murtadd. (A murtadd is an apostate, not the death penalty) However, unlike the holy books of many religions, the Qur'an contains an explicit instruction that people should not be forced to obey religious rule - one of the most celebrated passages amongst moderates and liberals is al-Baqarah:256 - Let there be no compulsion in religion.
Persecution during Muhammad's reign
Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Quraiza and Banu Nadir
After Muhammad's entry in Medina and the subsequent Battle of Badr, a member of the Banu Qaynuqa was alleged to have murdered a Muslim woman, and was killed in retaliation by a Muslim, leading to a chain of revenge killings. Arbitration failed, and full scale war broke out, until Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, an old ally of Qaynuqa, interceded on their behalf and persuaded Mohammed to send the entire Banu Qaynuqa into exile, consequently confiscating their land and property. The intersession of ibn Salul saved the Jewish tribe but gained him the enmity of Muhammad. The conflict led to a ruling that such future action by any of the other parties to the Constitution of Medina would constitute a voiding of their benefits under the system, and subsequent punishment. The punishment was legally left up to the amir - the leader of the Islamic army - as to whether it should be execution, slavery, exile, or simply merciful forgiveness.
Muhammad later stated that he had received a premonition of his own assassination by the Banu Nadir, leading to a tense situation, which was ultimately settled by negotiation. The Banu Nadir were sent into exile, but allowed to leave with their possessions.
The remaining third Jewish party to the constitution - the Banu Qurayza - took part in the Battle of the Trench, but according to the Bukhari hadith, on the opposing side to the Muslims, thus breaking the constitution. According to one well-regarded hadith collection, the Sahih Bukhari, this was the second time Bani Qurayza had broken the peace treaty and allied with Banu Al-Nadir against the Muslims; the first time, Banu Qurayza suffered no loss and were allowed to stay in Medina. It was said by one early historian, Ibn Ishaq, that their decision to betray Medina was a reluctant one, only deciding to support Mecca after persuasion by the Banu Al-Nadir.
When the Muslims laid siege to their fortifications, they surrendered, and, according to the Bukhari hadith, their males were subsequently executed for treason, and the females and children put into slavery . Some Orthodox Muslim scholars have claimed this event is a precedent justifying [...] prisoners of war . Nevertheless, such execution was common practice at the time, e.g the execution of 2,700 prisoners of war by Richard I of England during the siege of Acre in this manner, on a single occasion and that several maddhab of islam favour release or enslavement of prisoners above [...].
War with Mecca
In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca after which Mecca surrendered immediately. Muhammad in turn promised a general amnesty, though excluding certain specific individuals, which were put to death, and most people in Mecca converted to Islam, leading Muhammad to destroy idols in the ancient Kaaba. The importance of Mecca to Mohammed, and the treatment it had meted out to Islam before his return, led to him exiling non-Muslims, a situation that has remained to this day in Mecca and Medina. Conservative schools of Shari'ah would like to extend this ban to all Arabia, although allowing guests to be present on a temporary basis.
Persecution in the early Caliphate
During the reign of the four "Righteous Caliphs" the Islamic empire went into a phase of rapid conquests which as a result led to the subjugation of large non-Muslim populations. As a result, the dhimmitude system was developed. This system offered a limited protection towards dhimmi non-Muslims, but contained a number of discriminatory injunctions against non-Muslims.
Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, states that in most respects their position was "was very much easier than that of non-Christians or even of heretical Christians in medieval Europe": for example, in CONTRAST, Dhimmis rarely faced martydom or exile, or forced compulsion to change their religion, and with certain exceptions they were free in their choice of residence and profession.
Persecution of Hindus in the Moghul Empire
The initial invasion of South Asia by Muslim armies led to widespread carnage as Muslims regarded the Hindus as infidels.
Many temples were looted and destroyed. One such example is the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid, which was the birth place of Lord Rama, according to Hindus. The temple was destroyed by Babar and a mosque was built over it. The Hindu Right wing in India is fighting to get it back as a temple.
The Moghul Empire was marked by periods of tolerance of non-Muslims, such as Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, as well as violent oppression and persecution of those people. Large scale conversions were carried out at the tip of the sword in most places where Muslim emperors ruled.
The Moghul emperor Shah Jahan was famous for his religious tolerance and conflicts with the Islamic clergy.
Persecution of Christians in the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was marked by periods of limited tolerance and periods of often bloody repression of non-Muslims. Many Jews fled from Spain to more tolerant states, such as the Netherlands and the Ottoman Empire to escape persecution. The Janissary army corps consisted of young men who came to Istanbul as children (and were often from Christian households) which were educated and later employed by the Sultan (the devshirme system). At the end of the Ottoman Empire, between 10,000 and 2,500,000 Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks perished as a result of direct [...] and starvation, see Armenian [...] or Assyrian [...]. Not to be overlooked was the [...] of Muslims by Armenians et al. in their hopes of getting land to form their own countries - backed by the enemy of the Ottomans: Russia. In the nineteenth century, there were several campaigns of ethnic cleansing against non-Muslims, such as the Assyrian Christians and Yezidi in contemporary Iraq.
Persecution of liberal and secular Muslims in South Asia
Many secular and liberal Kashmiris have been harassed and killed by Kashmiri Islamist militants, which consider them traitors. Several incidents are reported in which Kashmiri girls which did not wear a hijab were attacked with sulphuric acid. The list of South-Asian former Muslims against whom fatwas with a death sentence have been issued includes Taslima Nasreen and Salman Rushdie. Ahmadiyyas are persecuted by several Islamist groups, especially in Bangladesh and Pakistan . Persecution includes personal harassment, looting and burning of mosques and [...].
Indian Muslim women face discrimination in everyday life because The INDIAN civil code for Muslims favors Muslim man above Muslim women.
Persecution of secularized Muslims in the West by Islamists
Secular and liberal Muslims living in Western countries report an increased repression by Islamist elements, at times even culminating in death threats. On rare occasions, women refusing to wear traditional Islamic clothes like the hijab or burqa suffer from intimidation and abuse. Disturbed by the position of immigrant women in French society, a group of Maghreb feminists began the campaign "ni putes, ni soumises", although they would be more than reluctant to speak of a so-called "historical persecution by Muslims" in France.
Persecution of those converting away from Islam
Muslims who convert to other religions face persecution in Muslim majority countries. An example of this is in Afghanistan where Abdul Rahman, who was faced with the death penalty for apostasy after he converted to Christianity; following significant pressure from external governments, the case was eventually dropped because of "technical and legal flaws".
Forced conversion
Although it is widely acknowledged that most conversions to Islam were and are voluntary, there have been some instances where they were forced. In the recent open letter to the Pope even the scholars admit that "As with the rules of war, history shows that some Muslims have violated Islamic tenets concerning forced conversion and the treatment of other religious communities, but history also shows that these are by far the exception which proves the rule."
See also
- Historical persecution by Christians
- Criticism of Islam