Page 303 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

Harun Yahya - Adnan Oktar

Christian communities in southern Arabia. Therefore, from the

very beginning of Islam, Muslims, Jews, and Christians maintained
a dialogue.
With the spread and strengthening of Islam, the region's Jews
and Christians came under Muslim rule. Relations based upon
compassion and mutual understanding continued, and various
agreements made at the time of our Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) granted the Jewish and Christian communi-
ties certain privileges that guaranteed their rights and existence.

The privileges granted to the monks of the St. Catherine Monastery
at Mt. Sinai are examples of this. These documents guaranteed the
legal, religious, and social rights of those Jews and Christians who
came under Muslim rule or acknowledged Islam's sovereignty.
Problems were resolved by referring to these documents. For ex-
ample, the history books mention that the Christians in Damascus
presented the documents recording their privileges to Caliph Umar

when they encountered a problem and asked him to resolve the
issue accordingly. 35
The caliphs who succeeded the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) practiced Allah's justice according to the
prophetic Sunnah. In the conquered lands, both the native popula-
tion and the new arrivals lived in peace and security. For example,
Abu Bakr, the first caliph, gave the following command to his army
before sending them toward Syria:

Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules to keep by heart:
Do not commit treachery nor depart from the right path. You must
not mutilate, nor kill a child or an aged man or woman. Do not
destroy a palm tree, nor burn it with fire, and do not cut any
fruitful tree. You must not slay any of the flocks or herds or
camels, save for your subsistence. You are likely to pass by peo-
ple who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them

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