Page 309 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

Harun Yahya - Adnan Oktar

… if Allah had not driven some people back by means of
others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques,
where Allah's name is mentioned much, would have been
pulled down and destroyed. Allah will certainly help those
who help Him … (Surat al-Hajj: 40)
The People of the Book were free to celebrate their festivities
as part of their religious tradition in their places of worship as they
wished, and Muslim leaders often joined these celebrations. The

Nestorian Patriarch Isho'yab III (650-60 CE) wrote a letter to the
Bishop of Persia following the Muslim conquest that voices the
Muslim leadership's compassion toward the People of the Book
from a Christian perspective:
The Arabs to whom God has given at this time the government of
the world … do not persecute the Christian religion. Indeed, they
favour it, honour our priests and the saints of the Lord and con-
fer benefits on churches and monasteries. 39
Besides these freedoms and respect, the justice and fairness

with which these non-Muslim communities were treated is re-
markable too. The Muslim leaders' sense of justice was renowned,
and many Christians brought their cases to the Islamic courts even
though they had their own courts. At one time, the number of
Christians using Islamic courts reached such high numbers that the
Nestorian patriarch Mar Timothee I (780-825 CE) issued a declara-
tion warning Christians.

The People of the Book living in Muslim-ruled lands were not
considered captives, but dhimmis, which gave them a legal status:
non-Muslim people who recognized Muslim authority paid a jizya
tax. In return, their lives and property were protected, they enjoyed
freedom of thought and religion, were exempted from military ser-
vice, and allowed to resolve their internal affairs by their own laws.
From time to time, the jizya tax was even returned to them. A ma-

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