In the Umayyad period, Muslim society was distinctly hierarchical. At the top of the hierarchy were the caliph’s household and the ruling Arab Muslims. Descended from Bedouin tribespeople and composed of warriors, veterans, governing officials, and townsmen, this class constituted the ruling elite. It was a relatively small group, greatly outnumbered by Muslim villagers and country people.

Converts constituted the second class in Islamic society, one that grew slowly over time. Converts to Islam had to attach themselves to one of the Arab tribes in a subordinate capacity. Many resented having to do this, since they believed they represented a culture superior to that of Arab tribespeople. From the Muslim converts eventually came the members of the commercial and learned professions — merchants, traders, teachers, doctors, artists, and interpreters of the shari’a. Second-class citizenship led some Muslim converts to adopt Shi’ism (see “The Caliphate and the Split Between Shi’a and Sunni Alliances”). Even so, over the centuries, Berber, Copt, Persian, Aramaean, and other converts to Islam intermarried with their Muslim conquerors. Gradually, assimilation united peoples of various ethnic backgrounds.

Dhimmis (zih-MEEZ) — including Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians — formed the third stratum. Considered “protected peoples” because they worshipped only one God, they were allowed to practice their religions, maintain their houses of worship, and conduct their business affairs as long as they gave unequivocal recognition to Muslim political supremacy and paid a small tax. Because many Jews and Christians were well educated, they were often appointed to high positions in provincial capitals as well as in Damascus and Baghdad. Restrictions placed on Christians and Jews were not severe, and outbursts of violence against them were rare. However, their social position deteriorated during the Crusades and the Mongol invasions, when there was a general rise of religious loyalties. At those times, Muslims suspected the dhimmis, often rightly, of collaborating with the enemies of Islam.

How did the experience of Jews under Islam compare with that of Jews living in Christian Europe? Recent scholarship shows that in Europe Jews were first marginalized in the Christian social order and then completely expelled from it. In Islam Jews, though marginalized, participated fully in commercial and professional activities, some attaining economic equality with their Muslim counterparts. (See “Viewpoints 9.1: Jews in Muslim Lands.”) The seventeenth Sura (chapter) of the Qur’an, titled Bani Isra’il, “The Children of Israel,” accords to the Jews a special respect because they were “the people of the Book.” Also, Islamic culture was urban and commercial and gave merchants considerable respect.