Viewpoints: Islam and the People of the Book

As monotheists, Jews and Christians living in Muslim lands were considered “protected peoples.” They were not forced to convert to Islam, were allowed to maintain churches and synagogues in Muslim towns and cities, and faced no undue restrictions on their social and economic activities. Without question, the experience of Jews and Christians living in Muslim society compared favorably to that of Jews and other religious minorities living in Christian Europe. Nonetheless, toleration was not the same as full equality. Christians and Jews were seen as members of distinct communities, separate from and inferior to the larger Islamic community, and their protected status was contingent on their acknowledgment of Muslim political authority. Moreover, their religious views and practices, while tolerated, were seen by the Muslim majority as corrupted versions of their own much purer truth. The documents included here offer an opportunity to further explore Islamic views of other “people of the book.” As you read them, consider what they reveal about the scriptural foundations of Islamic policies toward religious minorities.