ewx:
Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) when he settled in Medina with his followers was to constitute a city-state in which Muslims, Jews, Christians, pagan Arabs all entered into a social contract. The constitutional law of the first Muslim state succeeded in was a confederacy as a sequence of the multiplicity of the population groups which meant: To Muslims their religion and to the Jews their religion; to Christians their religion, and there would be benevolence and justice to all. This also meant that the non-Muslims possessed the right to vote in the election of the head of the state as they elected Prophet Mohammed as their political head. In Islamic states, non-Muslim communities had always enjoyed a judicial autonomy, not only for personal status but also for all affairs of life including civil, penal and others. Judicial powers were delegated to Christian priests and the Jewish hakham in the reign of many caliphs. In the time of Prophet Mohammed, the Jews of Medina had their synagogue and educational institute and in the treaty with the Christians of Narjan, Prophet gave a guarantee not only for the security of person and property of the inhabitants but left the nomination of bishops and priests to the Christian community itself.
In an Islamic state, non-Muslims constitute a protected community and it is therefore the duty of the governments to protect their legitimate interests and only thing that they are not permitted is to interfere in the Islamic jurisprudence.
The spirit finds its opportunity in the natural, the material and even in the secular; there is no such thing as a profane in the world. As Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) so beautifully put it: The Whole world is a mosque. The available record show that Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) was always especially tolerant of Christians and in 628 in Median, he granted a Charter to the Monastery of ST. Catherine, guaranteeing the safety of their persons, houses and in places of worship. They were not to be converted to Islam by force as conversion is forbidden and was detested by the Prophet. Christian women married to Muslims could follow their own religion and Muslims were encouraged to help in the repair of their churches. The Jews however received a different treatment since they had always conspired, created insidious troubles (fitna) and sided with the Querish of Mecca and supported them in contravention of earlier treaty obligation with Prophet (pubh) in attacking Muslims settled in Medina. These Jews were deeply distrusted and strongly resented for their inherent hatred and treachery against Islam and Muslims. But they were free In the 7th century because of Islams magnanimity and equity in justice to all its citizens of the expanding caliphate, Nestorians and Monophysite Christians of Egypt and Syria embraced Islam because of the prejudicial and racist treatment of the treatment of the Romans.
The Qur'an, in fact, directly encourages pluralism in the Ayat 5:48. It clearly states that every people have their own law and a way i.e. every nation is unique in its way of life, its rules etc. It also says that if Allah had pleased, He would have created all human beings a single people but He did not do so in order to test them (whether they can live in harmony with each other despite their differences in laws and way of life). Thus it is clear assertion of pluralism. One must respect the others faith and live in harmony with him/her.
If you are a student of history; you must study the glorious and magnificent period of the rule of our beloved Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) and of the Khulfai-Rashdeen and say with utmost honesty and sincerity that it was not the best the world had ever seen. Through out the Islamic empire, not a single subject whether Muslim or zami went hungry and was provided with every amenity of life by the Islamic State. The only thing that a zami is not allowed in an Islamic state is to participate in the Islamic juriprudence and be included in the judiciary. It is the state's duty to give zamis civil and judicial protection as provided to every other citizen in the land.
