Dhimmi
Dhimmi (Arabic: ذمي) (often pronounced "Zimmi") are Christians, Jews, and
sometimes Zoroastrians and people of other faiths living in a
Muslim state and enjoying special protection
not afforded to other non-Muslims. Dhimmi are supposed to wear special
dress and pay the jizyah tax. They are exempt (or rather forbidden) from fighting and from paying the Muslim Zakah tax.
The dhimmi were often forced to wear special dress. These laws are not applied in modern
Muslim countries, though Christians and Jews
often have reduced rights, as is the case of the
Copts in Egypt and the Assyrians and Jews in Iran.
In the context of medieval Muslim society, the Dhimmi laws were relatively progressive. The word dhimmi
(plural dimam) means "protection, care, custody, covenant of protection, compact; responsibility, answerableness;
financial obligation, liability, debt; inviolability, security of life and property; safeguard, guarantee, security;
conscience" and ahl-dhimmi are "the free non-Muslim subjects living in Muslim countries who, in return for paying
the capital tax [Jizya] , enjoyed protection
and safety. The practice was codified in the Covenant of Omar (or
Umar), but that document is probably written later than the actual reign of
Umar. The dhimmi laws probably evolved from
similar Christian Byzantine laws regarding Jews, and non-orthodox Christians. The Muslims deemed that the payment of the
Jizya was fair in view of the fact that
Dhimmi did not participate in the army or pay the
Zakah tax. In practice, the inability to
fight in the army meant that Dhimmi could not participate in spoils including rewards of land, and usually could not
hold important places in government. As Muslim charity in practice often did not extend to non-Muslim poor or was
insufficient for them, the minorities had to pay their own poor-relief in addition to the
Jizya. A dhimmi could not testify against a
Muslim in a court of law, meaning that non-Muslims had virtually no legal relief against injustice by Muslims. Many
Dhimmi converted, usually because of the social pressure, but also because of forced conversions under various Muslim
rulers.
Synonyms and alternate spellings:
Further Information: See
History of Islam and the Arabs
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