Minorities
Minorities
This chapter analyzes both Muslim minorities under non-Muslim rule and non-Muslim minorities under Muslim rule. The issue of minorities in the Islamic world is complex. The minorities are not restricted to Jews and Christians, some minorities belong to religious communities that existed before the emergence of Islam (Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists). Others were related to Islam when they came into being but developed into distinct religions (Yazidis, Nusayris, Druzes, Babis, and Baha'is). Another group considers itself Muslim but has been placed beyond the pale of Islam by the Muslim mainstream (Ahmadis). It is important to note that whatever tolerance was practiced in most historical periods in relation to the Jews, the Christians, the Zoroastrians, and even the non-Arab polytheists were not accorded to adherents of religions that came into being after the emergence of Islam.
Keywords: Muslims, Islam, Muslim minorities, Muslim rule, Islamic political thought
Princeton Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.