How did Muslims treat other religions other than Islam living in their land?

Answer 1

It entirely depends on the situation. Muslim-Jewish Interactions changed in a fundamental way with the advent of modernity. As a result, this answer is split into Muhammad's Life, Medieval, and Modern History Sections.

Muhammad's Life (570-633 C.E.)

While Muhammad was alive, there was a very interesting and constantly changing relationship n the city of Medina between Muhammad and the Muslim Community on the one-hand and the Jewish Tribes of Banu Nadir, Banu Qurayza, and Banu Qaynuqa on the other-hand. According to the Sirat an-Nabi, the Islam's Biography of Muhammad's Life, Muhammad wrote the "Constitution of Medina". This document made Muhammad Chief Arbitrator of the city but reserved a number of rights to the Jewish and Polytheist Tribes in Medina. As time progressed, Muhammad and the Muslims became more central to Medina and consolidated their power. This created unease between the Muslims and the Jewish Tribes which increased to the point where Muhammad ordered the expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa and slaughtered all of the males of Banu Qurayza in retaliation for perceived grievances. Conversely, there are also stories from the Sirat an-Nabi and the Hadiths that demonstrate Muhammad's respect for Jews and interaction with them. While it would be improper to say that the Jews and Muslims were equals during Muhammad's Life, the Jews of Arabia had much more control over their own destiny than Jews would have again until the Modern Period.

Medieval Period (633-1850 C.E.)

Throughout the entire medieval period, there was never a situation where Jews were equal to or superior to Muslims. There were occasions where Jews were charged as Prime Ministers to Muslim Kings, but those were always temporary assignments conditioned on good behavior. In the Medieval Period, in almost all cases where Jews and Muslims interacted, Muslims were politically superior to Jews. This usually manifested in the Dhimmi System, but, on rare occasions, would blossom into regimes that focused attention on exterminating Jews.

(1) Dhimmi System

For most of Islamic History, relations between Jews and Muslims were determined by the Dhimmi System. Under this system, there was a clear inequality between religious groups that would today be considered a form of apartheid. The Dhimmi, or non-Muslim under Muslim occupation, (of which Jews were a sub-group) was required by the Pact of Omar to pay a number of taxes that were connected with his Dhimmi status. The most famous was the jizya, which was a tax that Dhimmi had to pay for Muslims for the right to not be killed where they stood for not acknowledging Mohammed's Prophecy; it was a form of humiliation. Additional taxes included the kharaj, which was a tax on non-Muslim land-holdings in the Muslim World. While the kharaj was also charged to Muslims, the rate on Dhimmis was much higher and so untenable that most Dhimmi were forced to live in the cities where the tax would not be applicable. On paper, a Christian or Jew could testify against a Muslim, but in reality, such testimony was not acceptable and the attempt to defame a Muslim would receive retribution, creating a thoroughly unjust system. Christians and Jews were not allowed to build new houses of worship, restore old houses of worship, proselytize in any way (this included religious debate or dialogue), or allow wine or pigs to be shown in public. Dhimmi were also prohibited from serving in the government (except for certain particular positions) and were denied the ability to serve in the military or maintain weapons for self-defense. An additional, unique part of the Ottoman System that was different from the Dhimmi System elsewhere was the practice of devşirme whereby Christian young boys and girls would be taken from their families to be converted to Islam and raised in the palace with the Sultan in Istanbul. The men would become soldiers (Janissaries) and ministers in the government. The women would join his harem.

(2) Jewish Extermination Regimes

While the Dhimmi System was the prevailing form of Jewish-Muslim interaction, there were several Muslim Empires that actively targeted the Jews for extermination. The most famous of these empires was the Almohad Empire of Morocco and Spain. The Almohads conducted several campaigns throughout Morocco and Spain to slaughter various communities of Jews. The Almohads killed 120,000 Jews in Marrakesh, 100,000 in Fez, and liquidated a number of smaller communities throughout their territories.

Modern Period (1850-Present)

The Modern Period changed the dynamic between Jews and Muslims one more time. With the advent of new concepts of citizenship based on nationality extrinsic of religion, Jews and Muslims began to be able to see each other as equals in some place. In other places, the failure of the medieval Islamic societal structure to survive modernity led to numerous different splinterings of modern Islamic political thought, all of which had vastly different implications for Jewish-Muslim relations.

(1) Ottomanism

In the mid-1800s, Ottomanism, the movement to modernize and Westernize the Ottoman Empire began. The Tanzimat Reforms, as these changes were collectively known, had implications for Jewish-Muslim Relations. In 1839, Caliph Abdülmecid I issued the Hatt-ı Şerif of the Gülhane. In this document the equality of rights was generally recognized. Later in the Islahat Hatt-ı Hümayun of 1856, Abdülmecid I, reaffirmed and clarified the guarantees of the equality to all subjects regardless of religion. This was supposed to create relative equality between Muslims and Non-Muslims. While it was not successful in that endeavor, it did abolish jizya and Dhimmi System up to the present day. While it created legal equality for the Jews within the Ottoman Empire, the first time that Jews and Muslims had true legal equality under an Islamic government, it did not create de facto equality as these laws did not change the man-on-the-street's view of a former Dhimmi person.

(2) Secular Nationalism

Albania has been majority-Muslim since the mid-1700s, but there is no difference in legal or social rights between Muslims and the small Jewish community. Even though Albania is a member of the OIC, there is no official religion in Albania. There have been no recorded serious violations of religious rights in Albania by other religious groups. Some have credited this to the nearly fifty years of Communist Rule during which religion was banned, but others credit it to the historical lack of animosity in Albania between religious groups during both the Ottoman and independent Albanian period.

(3) Arab Nationalism

Arab Nationalism made a link between Arab Identity and Muslim Practice. Jews and other religious minorities in the Arab World were branded by this system to be "the Other" and were regarded as traitors, spies, thieves, and fifth columns, leading to increasingly negative treatment and views of Jews. This alienated the minority religions, especially the Jews, from really participating. The anti-Semitic nature of Arab Nationalism was only increased when Nazism became prominent in Europe (1933-1945). Arab Nationalists opposed British and French Imperialism and saw the Nazis (who also opposed British and French interests) as an ally and ideological equivalent. As a result of the increasing Anti-Semitism, many Jews in the Arab World felt uncomfortable and a small wealthy minority of them were bullied, stolen from, and executed.

(4) Jewish Nationalism or Zionism

Jewish Nationalism or Zionism saw a reversal in the historic Jewish-Muslim relations because it created an ascendant Jewish State where Muslims were the minority. Naturally, during the 1920s and 1930s, as Zionism was gaining traction, Muslims became more violent towards the nascent Jewish communities. However, during the latter part of 1948, when a newly-independent Israel was making key advances in the heavily Muslim Galilee region, Muslims became willing to submit to a Jewish authority, at least temporarily. A number of Muslim groups were willing to accept citizenship as Israeli Arabs, either begrudgingly (like most of the ethnic Palestinians) or patriotically (like most of the Bedouins and Circassians). Because of the Jewish ascendance in Israel, Muslims give Jews a wider berth in Israel and their behavior is reminiscent of other ethnic groups in primarily lower classes, such as Hispanics in the United States.

(5) Islamism

Islamism has vile and violent hatred towards Jews, so there is no surprise that, with the exception of Iran, no Islamist regime has any Jewish population. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban, and other Islamist groups have declared their intentions to commit a second mass genocide of the Jews. The unique case of Iran is only special in that it has chosen to revile and permit violence against "Zionists", but not "Jews", although it is unclear what the difference is between one and the other. Iranian politics creates an unnatural divide between being a Jew and wanting a country to represent that uniqueness. The Iranian government makes impossible for Iranian Jews, if they wished, to advocate on Israel's behalf. Additionally, the Iranian government requires every Jewish school to have a Muslim principal. This way they can control what Judaism looks like. That is not religious freedom or acceptance.

(6) In Foreign Lands:

A result of modernity is that Jews and Muslims now can also interact under Non-Jewish and Non-Muslim sovereigns, such as Anglo-America, Latin America, Europe, and East Asia. There seems to be good relations between Jews and Muslims in these countries whenever the Muslim population is small and/or feels primary loyalty to the local state as opposed to various forms of Islamism. When the Muslim population gets larger, such as is the case in parts of France and Sweden, Jewish-Muslim relations can, at times become violent, with attacks on synagogues and Jewish persons in "retaliation" for Israeli foreign policy.

Answer 2

With hate. They Say; they are only righteous people on the earth. If you speak logically, reasonably and based evidences that Qua ran (the holy book of Muslims) is not said or dictated by Allah , it discriminate and order to kill other human belonging to other faiths (the human race on the basis of their faith ) then become irritate or violent or started fighting with you . The have no tolerance and have no capacity to bear other people's faith.

They are very cruel to other people. You can study the history of India Where in the name of Allah they had shed lot of blood. Ask Any Hindu or Sikh What type of cruelty they did in the past. In my opinion They are most brainwashed religion in the world.

Answer 3

Muslim Answer

Muslims respect all religions. Muslims do not kill non-Muslims. Allah orders them to be kind-hearted and tolerant. The prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings be upon him) went to ask about his Jewish neighbor when he hadn't seen him for some time though this Jewish neighbor had hurt the prophet many times before. Please read with justice about Islam. Do not mix between Islam and politics. Be logical and reasonable and you will know the truth. If Islam was a bad religion, then ask yourself why most of people on the earth are Muslims?

Muslims treat non Muslims on the basis of equal human rights and with mutual respects. refer to question below.

Non-Muslim Answer

Muslims treated non-Muslims in a way that was superior to contemporaneous civilizations and introduced the concept of religious tolerance (as opposed to Europe which was practicing the exact opposite at the time). However, it is nothing close to equality or Rights. An important thing to note is that the concept of Rights comes out the Enlightenment. Prior to this point, there was a system of privilege wherein the Ruler would provide privileges (out of the kindness of his heart) to a certain group of people to do acts. A person did not have the "right" to anything and this was the mentality worldwide.

It is important to discuss the Pact of Omar, which was a document of submission signed by the Caliph Omar and defeated Christians and Jews during one of Omar's Wars. While the factual accuracy of that story may be doubted, there is no doubt that the Pact of Omar formed the basis for the treatment of non-Muslims in the conquered territories. The Pact of Omar set out a number of regulations that will be described in this answer.

The Dhimmi, or non-Muslim under Muslim occupation was required by the Pact of Omar to pay a number of taxes that were connected with his dhimmi status. The most famous was the jizya, which was a tax that dhimmi had to pay for Muslims for the right to not be killed where they stood for not acknowledging Mohammed's Prophecy; it was a form of humiliation. Additional taxes included the kharaj, which was a tax on non-Muslim land-holdings in the Muslim World. The kharaj was so untenable that most dhimmi were forced to live in the cities where the tax would not be applicable. On paper, a Christian or Jew could testify against a Moslem, but in reality, such testimony was not acceptable and the attempt to defame a Moslem would receive retribution. Christians and Jews were not allowed to build new houses of worship, restore old houses of worship, proselytize in any way (this included religious debate or dialogue), or allow wine or pigs to be shown in public.

Polytheists were forced to convert to Islam with some rare exceptions (such as the Hindus in some parts of India). Zoroastrianism was the majority faith in Iran until Islam almost completely extinguished it, both by sword, economic inequality, and brutal repression of Zoroastrian customs (unless they could be Islamicized like Nourouz).

As to the question of why there are so many Muslims in the world in the above answer: Firstly, they are not a majority, but around 23% of the world. Secondly, I doubt that writer would claim that Christianity is a "good religion" since he is clearly not Christian and there are more Christians than Muslims (nearly 35% of the world). Islam as a religion expanded for numerous reasons and its "goodness" is only one of many reasons why it became popular. To read more on that please see the Related Question below.

Muslim Answer 2

If we don't shut our eyes completely and refuse to see the light of Truth and Reason, the history will bear witness that the Jews, the Christians and the followers of many other religions lived in peace under Muslim Rule. Had the Muslims used SWORD, not a single Jew or Christian had lived in the West, Africa, Spain, Jerusalem, and India. The Muslims ruled India for many centuries, but India is still a Hindu majority country. Indonesia was never attacked by any Muslim ruler, Why is this country a Muslim country? re there armed Muslims in America or Europe who are forcing the local people to convert to Islam? Isn't Islam the fastest growing religion in America and Europe? Is it happening through the use of sword?

Jerusalem was conquered by the Muslims during the Caliphate of Hazrat Omar (RAU). Open the books of history written by Christian Historians and find for yourself how Muslim forces treated the local Population.

Once again open the books of history and see the Christian Forces butchering the Muslim civilian population. Even today see with our own eyes, if you have been blessed with, what the Followers of Hazrat Jesus Christ (may peace be upon him) have done in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries of the wold.

The non-Muslims were asked to pay Jizia because they were exempted from military service. That used to be the only tax payable by non-Muslims. Kharaj is not an Islamic Tax. It is still payable by all Muslims and non-Muslims who are the farmers. Don't European governments collect taxes? Let us pray to Almighty God to guide to the right path and be just in our ideas and beliefs.

[See comments on this answer in the Discussion Section.]