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"God forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not for (your) faith, nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them, for God loves those who are just." [60:8]
It is one function of Islamic law
to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why
non-Muslim places
of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. Islamic
law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up
their own courts to implement family laws drawn up by the minorities
themselves and to govern their own affairs.
History provides many examples
of Muslim tolerance towards other faiths. When the great
leader and second Caliph, Umar, entered Jerusalem in the year
634, Islam guaranteed freedom
of worship to all religious communities in the city. In fact,
so careful was Umar in setting an
example for his people that he not only went to a church to pray,
he prayed outside in the courtyard, lest his followers after his
death be tempted to convert the church into a mosque.
Islam teaches that the closest to Allah and the most beloved of Allah are those who are the best in piety. Thus all people, male and female, and regardless of race, color, nationality or ethnicity, are considered and treated as equal before Allah and before the law. This concept of tolerance did not reach the West even in theory until the 18th century, and in practice not until the 20th century.
