The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians Under Islam is an essay on the dhimmi peoples—the non-Arab and non-Muslim communities subjected to Muslim domination after the conquest of their territories by Arabs by Bat Ye'or. The book was first published in French in 1980, and was titled Le Dhimmi: Profil de l'opprimé en Orient et en Afrique du Nord depuis la conquête Arabe (The Dhimmi: Profile of the oppressed in the Orient and in North Africa since the Arab conquest). It was translated into English and published in 1985 under the name The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians Under Islam.
Summary Bat Ye'or's extensive research examines the conditions of non-Muslim minorities across history in Muslim-majority societies. The book highlights the differences between time periods and geographical regions. It includes a research and use of historical sources (Jew, Christian and Muslim). The book traces how the status of minorities deteriorated over centuries under discriminatory rules that became part of the dhimmi system of 'protected' minorities. Dhimmis faced exclusions from public office, restrictions on building synagogues, and limitations on testimony in Islamic courts. They were required to wear distinctive clothing and show public deference to Muslims. The book documents decrees ordering the destruction of synagogues in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Cases of forced conversion to Islam are also noted in Yemen, Morocco and Baghdad.
Structure In the first part of the book, the author provides a historical survey of the effects and consequences that living under Islamic rule, or using the term coined here, in "dhimmitude", had on the Jewish and Christian communities in the Middle East.
The second part contains correspondence and testimonies from inside and outside observers over the centuries, "Obviously the principal part of the book is the documentary section, which offers to the reader the original views of Muslim theologians and jurists on the general relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, and on how non-Muslim minorities should be treated, as well as the testimony of both non-Muslim minority individuals and foreign observers as to what the Dhimmi's life was actually like. One might conceivably disagree here and there with Mme. Bat Ye'or's conclusions drawn from these documents, but one cannot challenge the original Muslim texts, or characterize all the factual accounts of both Dhimmis and foreign observers (some-if not most-of the latter were not exactly philosemites) as a pack of lies from beginning to end. These pièces justificatives are essentially highly reliable testimonies by eyewitnesses on the actual circumstances of non-Muslim life under Muslim rule throughout the medieval and modern periods of history." including speeches from various influential Arabs, texts from various middle-age sources, and eyewitness reports by British consuls. Some of these were made available in European languages for the first time with the publication of the book. It also contains rare pictures and photographs depicting religious minority community under Islamic rule.Steven B. Bowman, Review of The Dhimmi, Jews and Christians Under Islam by Bat Ye'or, published in CHOICE (Association of College and Research Libraries, United States ), September 1985, page 187 Through these documents, Bat Ye'or gives her representation of the views of Islamic theologians and jurists on the treatment of non-Muslim populations in lands ruled by Muslims from the 7th century onwards.
Contents
Part 1
Chapter 1: Historical Outline, Origins of the Dhimma. This chapter examines the early relations between Muhammad and the Jewish tribes of Medina. It notes that when the Jews of Medina refused to convert to Islam, two major Jewish tribes were expelled by Muhammad's followers. In 627, between 600 and 900 Jewish men were killed and the surviving women and children were divided among Muhammad's followers, after the Jewish tribes rejected Muhammad's authority.
Chapter 2: Aspects of the Dhimmi condition The chapter documents restrictions and regulations imposed on dhimmi communities under the dhimmi system, including exclusions from public office and military service, limitations on constructing synagogues and houses, and bans on riding horses, bearing arms or drinking wine in public. Dhimmis were required to show public deference to Muslims and faced restrictions in the Islamic court system, such as inability to testify against Muslims. These discriminatory conditions severely limited the legal rights and recourses available to non-Muslim minorities living under Islamic rule. The chapter argues that the inability of non-Muslims to testify against Muslims in Islamic courts inevitably resulted in denying justice to non-Muslim minorities living under Islamic rule. The chapter also documents decrees ordering the destruction of synagogues in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen over various periods. It also notes instances of forced conversion of Jews to Islam in Yemen, Morocco and Baghdad, despite Quranic prohibitions on forced conversion.
Chapter 3: Foreign Protection This chapter is about commercial and political protections, interfaith relations, political manipulations, economic and religious rivalries and nationalism.
Chapter 4: Emancipation This chapter is about the Muslim reaction and national independence.
Part 2
Chapter 5: Jihad and Dhimma: Modern formulations This chapter is about the Jihad, Arab nationalism and Dhimmi condition, Arab Umma and Dhimmi state and opprobrium as a necessity
Chapter 6: The Dhimmi archetype in modern Arab nationalism This chapter is about Dhimmi archetype in Arab-Palestinian consciousness, toleration or oppression, fundamentalism and the challenge of the present and the future.
Chapter 7: Psychological aspects This chapter is about the superego of the dominating group, alienation of the Dhimmi, the Dhimmi syndrome, exclusion of the Dhimmi from history, the existential significance of the Dhimmis' condition and the community ties.
Part 3: Documents
Chapter 1: Jurists' texts on the following subjects
Jihad Conquest Fate of the annexed territories and conquered people Dhimmi taxation and its usage Jizya and Kharaj (11th century) Expulsion of the natives from state administration Constraints on Dhimmis Decree of Caliph al-Mutawakkil Zoomorphic discriminatory badges (9th century) Dhimmis servitudes in Seville (circa 1100) The Jizya's meaning (1101–1130) Forced conversions Prestige and honor forbidden to Jews and Christians (circa 1220) Dhimmis in the Maghreb and Egypt (1301) Synagogues and Churches Dhimmis distinctive clothing Dismissal of Christian officials Jewish dietary laws The manner of collecting the Jizya Traditions and attitudes towards Dhimmis (18th century)
Chapter 1: Aspects of the Dhimmis existence as observed, including
A courageous Copt in 12th century Egypt Conversion of Christians A Jewish Vizier in Baghdad (1290) Travelers Visit to the Jews of Hebron 19th Ottoman Palestine Abduction of Christian children Massacres in Aleppo (1850) Protestants in Nablus (1853) Slaughter of Christians at Hasbeya and Rasheya (1860) Exodus of Christians from Damascus Extinction of the Dhimmi peasantry, Armenia (1869) Jews and converts in Morocco (1790) Dehumanization in Tunisia (1800) Sack of the Jewish quarter of Fez (1820) Algeria and Morocco (19th century) The sultan of Morocco defines Jewish rights (1841) Purity of Arab land Economic importance of Dhimmis and their exploitation The Dhimmis as parasite or scapegoat
Thesis Bat Ye'or argues that the category of the "dhimmi" is an inferior status and compares dhimmitude to the ill-treatment of minorities in Christian lands (Muslim and Jewish). The book also contends that the safety of dhimmis in Arab lands has been fragile and at constant risk for centuries. To bolster her case, Ye'or provides a selection of primary sources describing cruel treatment of non-Muslims by Muslims.
Reception Paul Fenton, in his 1981 review of the French edition of Le Dhimmi, noted the importance of both works, stating: Leon Nemoy, curator of Hebrew literature and Arabic literature at Yale's Sterling Memorial Library, affirmed the credibility of Ye’or’s sources, writing wrote that while one might disagree "here and there" with the major thesis propounded by Bat Ye'or, it cannot be dismissed as "a pack of lies" since her documented evidence comes from "highly reliable testimonies". Allan Harris Cutler and Hellen Cutler (H, in a 1985 review, described the book as a "documentary history of Islamic antagonism toward Christians and Jews." They also recognized that Ye’or's perspective aligned with historical evidence of dhimmi status under Islamic rule. In 1986, Vera Bash Moreen, a scholar specializing in the history and culture of pre-modern Jewry, stated in a review published in the MESA Bulletin that Writing in 1986 for Jerusalem Quarterly, Mark R. Cohen described the book as "a classic example" of what he identified as a "revisionist trend" by certain scholars to depict Islam as inherently antagonistic to other religions, creating a "'neo-lachrymose' conception of the Jewish past". Professor of Medieval Islamic history, David Waines, in a 1987 review of an English edition, writes In a 2006 review article discussing antisemitism in Muslim lands, Gudrun Krämer notes that in contrast to the "white myth" of continuous peaceful coexistence between different religious groups under Islamic rule, the portrayal offered in Ye'or's book is that of the "black myth". Krämer describes both positions as irrelevant. Quote:"(...) the old debate of whether non-Muslims were generally oppressed under Islamic rule, "second-class citizens" suffering from Muslim fanaticism and oriental despotism, or whether, on the contrary, tolerance was the distinguishing mark of Islam and non-Muslims its prime beneficiaries, need not detain us long (...)" For his part, Bernard Heyberger, one of the most knowledgeable scholars of Eastern Christians, explains the resonance of this book in light of the context of its publication:
In 2022, Raphael Israeli the historian, professor emeritus of Middle Eastern, Islamic and Chinese history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote in The Rebellion of the Dhimmis: The Break-up of Slavery of Christians and Jews under Islam
Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, whose scholarly research focuses on Shiite Islam, specifies: 'The study of texts is one thing, their interpretation is another. Bat Ye’or is someone who knows the classical texts, but like many colleagues (in one direction or another), she tends to read them in a way that is both anachronistic and one-sided. Martin Gilbert, In Ishmael's House: A History of the Jews in Muslim Lands. (The book The Dhimmi is cited there at least five times) Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam: "Two other works, which emphasize the negative aspects of the Muslim record, are Bat Ye’or (pseudonym), Le Dhimmi: Profil de ľoprimé en Orient et en Afrique du nord depuis la conquête arabe (Paris, 1980),epuis la conquête arabe (Paris, 1980)", p = 264 In the collective volume led by Abdelwahab Meddeb and Benjamin Stora, A History of Jewish-Muslim Relations: From the Origins to the Present Day, it is cited once
Notes
References
External links Introduction to The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians Under Islam by Bat Ye'or Preface to The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians Under Islam by Bat Ye'or