Page 314 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

A CALL FOR A TURKISH-ISLAMIC UNION

when he is young and

disgrace him when he is
old." 43 Taking the jizya
only from non-Muslims is
not unjust, because Muslims
had to serve in the army; non-
Muslims were exempt from
military service.
For centuries, Muslims lived
side by side with Jews and

Christians in peace and security.
Those Jews and Christians who lived in
Muslim-ruled lands engaged in free
trade and acquired property, chose their
desired profession, held offices in the state
bureaucracy, and even worked in the
ruler's palace. They benefited from the offi-

cial policy of freedom of thought, were part
of their society's scientific and cultural life,
and wrote books that we still have today.
The exercise of their rights was not chal-
lenged or prevented. Considering that at
the same time in Europe people belonging
to other religions or non-Orthodox sects
were cast out, persecuted, and killed, and
books that published different views were

burned in piles, the freedoms and peace
that reigned in the Islamic world becomes
even more significant.

312