How did the Umayyad treatment non-Muslims and non Arabs affect the empire?

Answer 1

Dhimmi (Non-Muslims)

The Dhimmi, or non-Muslim under Muslim occupation was required during the Umayyad Period 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 Muslim, but in reality, such testimony was not acceptable and the attempt to defame a Muslim 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.

Mawali (Non-Arab Muslims)

Mawali were traditionally excluded from political and social affairs. The Umayyad in particular treated them as second-class Muslims. The evidence of this treatment was that Mawali were not allowed to have many government positions and that they were taxed whereas Arab Muslims were not taxed at all. Mawali made up an important component of the Umayyad Caliphate, especially Persians. Persia was always a high seat of culture in the Islamic Empire. As a result, ideas moved quite freely throughout Persia and Persians considered themselves to be of equal worth to Arabs.

Result

Since they treated both rather horrendously, it is not surprising that the Umayyad Caliphate fell around 100 years after its foundation due to internal strife and localized rebellion. However, most of the rebellion came out of Persian and Moroccan Mawalis who were angered over their disenfranchisement rather than the Dhimmi who did not wish to receive retribution for offending Muslims.

Answer 2

In the Middle Ages, and especially under the Umayyads, Muslim rulers treated non-Muslim subjects 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.

The Pact of Omar 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. There was also inequality concerning the justice system. 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. 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 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).

*Although Muslims also had to pay the kharaj in theory, in practice the tax rate for kharaj on Muslims was slight compared to the amount required by the Dhimmi peoples.

Answer 3

Yazid I and several other Umayyad Caliphs were relatively intolerant of those who were not Arab and Sunni Muslim. In addition to the Dhimmi, the non-Muslims like Jews and Christians in an Islamic State, the Umayyads systematically disenfranchised and weakened the Mawali (Muslims who were not Arab - like Persians, Amazigh/Berbers, and Iberians), directly attacked and tortured Shiite Muslims (regardless of whether they were Arab or Mawali), and enslaved Turks to create their Mamluk (Slave) Armies. Of course, more enlightened leaders did not engage in Muslim-on-Muslim repression, but to pretend it did not happen betrays the lives of the Muslims who paid dearly for their ethnicity and beliefs at the hands of cruel Muslim rulers.

However, some general principles were adhered to throughout the Middle Ages. Even with all of the repression previously mentioned, the Caliphs were tolerant conquerors for the time-period (think of Catholic Spain with its Inquisitions), but there was no concept of equal rights (especially since the concept of "rights" did not exist until the Enlightenment in Europe). Dhimmi lived in Muslim territories at the will of the sovereign. It is also important to note that polytheists such as the Zoroastrians and the Hindus were treated belligerently by their Muslim conquerors at several critical moments.

The Dhimmi had to pay the Jizya, or tax for not believing in Islam. Dhimmi also had to pay additional taxes on land-holdings and these taxes where called Kharaj. In addition, Dhimmi could not sell wine or pork in the public marketplace. They were not allowed to build new places of worship, restore old places of worship, or perform any act which could be viewed as proselytization. In many jurisdictions, a Dhimmi could not trust law enforcement to protect him, a judge to accept his testimony (especially against a Muslim). The Dhimmi was a humiliated second-class citizen.

Muslims argue that the taxes that the Dhimmi were compelled to pay are similar to Alms or Zakat in Islam. However, Muslims pay the Zakat as an act of faith and belief in the same way that Christians paid tithes to the Church in the Middle Ages. This argument is flawed. Paying the Zakat is a privilege and an honor and a pillar of faith. Paying the Jizya is a form of repression. The money expended by each party is irrelevant, it is the purpose behind the tax that is important. In the case of the Kharaj, while Muslims did have to pay it, it was often used as a tool to extort more money from Dhimmis. Since the court system was unbalanced, Dhimmis would be unable to properly contest the higher rates charged to them concerning the Kharaj.

Answer 4

During the Umayyad Caliphate, 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.

The Pact of Omar 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. There was also inequality concerning the justice system. 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. 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.

This system of inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims persisted up to the colonial period, when it reversed. As a result of colonization, the segregated Dhimmi System gave way to a new, modern bureaucratic system where Europeans were the dominant class and natives, regardless of their religion were second-class, unless they became part of the bureaucracy. To do this, a person would require an education in order to become literate and be able to successfully perform functions in the Arab World. As Jews and Christians sought education, they were able to ascend the hierarchy and become relatively powerful compared to the Muslim majority. When the Islamic World became independent, only the Lebanese Christians were able to maintain this dominant position (and only until the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-1991). In other countries, the end of colonization saw a brief rise in Anti-Semitism followed by a mass exodus of Jews from majority-Muslim countries for Israel, UK, France, the United States and Canada. Those Jews and Christians who remained garnered a more equal status than anything that they had previously had under Muslim leadership, but still are unequal in terms of their inability to proselytize, the unofficial "requirement" to avoid offending Islam in public, and the need to seek the authority of high government officials to build new houses of worship or to repair existing ones.

*Although Muslims also had to pay the kharaj in theory, in practice the tax rate for kharaj on Muslims was slight compared to the amount required by the Dhimmi peoples.

Answer 5

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