Why were Jews and Christians exempt from forced conversion?

Answer 1

It must be assumed that this question refers to forced conversions under Islamic Empires (since there were innumerable cases elsewhere of forcible Jewish conversions in Christian Europe and some Christian forced conversions in East Asia).

There were two main reasons that conversion to Islam was not forced.

(1) Islam recognizes the partial validity of Judaism and Christianity and considers them Divinely revealed religions, worthy of existence (as opposed to other religions which they believe to be false and worthy of elimination)

(2) Jews and Christians were one of the main sources of governmental tax revenue since they were taxed far more heavily than the Muslim population. As a result, forcibly converting the Jews and Christians would cause a drain on government finances and lead to increased taxes on the Muslim population, which would cause anti-government sentiment.

Answer 2

This is because Muslims believe in the Quran saying that no compulsion and religion. Refer to question below on Quran Golden Rules. In addition, Muslims believe in all prophets (including Abraham, Muhammad, Jesus and Moses; peace be upon them) as well as all God holy books (including the Torah, The Bible, and the Quran).

Answer 3

Answer 1

It's not that they didn't try. When Islam was young and weak, Mohammed said gentle things about other religions ("...there should be no compulsion in religion") but in regions when Islam was large and in charge, coercion to accept Islam was constant; extra taxes and public humiliations were the lot of Christians and Jews, as was blatant injustice in the law courts and discrimination in the better jobs. In short, the position of non-Muslims in Islamic countries is a lot like that of the African-Americans during Jim Crow days.

Answer 2: Cynical View

Part of the great design of Islam was to make joining the religion an act of choice, leading the chooser to have confidence and an interest in continuing his faith. Therefore, the entire Islamic experience has been put forward as just such an element. Islamic States have historically created a set of benefits that only Muslims could partake, making a choice to be Muslim tied to choices about economic viability (which trades you could work - especially in government) or tied to choices of social standing. These would strongly weight the choice and produce a steady stream of converts by their very nature. This also prevents widespread insurrection which did occur in Europe when forcible conversions took place. It's much harder to justify a rebellion against unequal treatment than to justify one against actual pogroms and outward persecution.

The reason Islam can afford to be acquire converts in this slower way than forcibly converting large swathes of territory, is that Apostasy (the conversion of out Islam to another faith or to Atheism) is an offense punishable by death. Therefore, a choice made by one person binds the hands of all of his descendants. Most religions have to worry about people leaving the faith as well, but Islam cleverly avoids this problem. No Muslim-majority country has established legislation protecting Apostates. Several, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia use the government to enforce the Apostasy Crimes, but many more do not interfere when tribal or regional groups execute a supposed Apostate. Islam can afford to wait until the majority of people make the choice to convert, because once you join, you can't leave, which leads to consistent positive growth.

Answer 3: Optomistic View

Islam calls for the faithful to respect that there is no compulsion in religion and that a person will turn to Islam when they realize its truth. In fact, many converts come to Islam specifically because it does not have the "covert-or-die" mentality. As it is said, you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.