Actually Kareem there was one one. In fact Muhammed started it. Want to comment on this for us?
have you ever heard of the "dhimma pact"? so called protection pacts? Why is it that the "People of the Book" had to live under this type of pact, and be subjected to deprivation of many of the rights of society that Muslims enjoyed? Why is it today, that Christians in many Muslim countries face persecution, for being Christians, when the Qur'an forbids it.
(Please note here, I am not talking of westerners who are often called Christians.. there is a difference, and many Christians are appalled at things that happen in the name of Christianity, (such as the crusades and the inquisitions..even the civil war in present day Ireland) but which were and are done by people who do not submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
I am in no way wanting to re-ignite a debate on Muslim-Christian atrocities. We all agree i know, that things said and done in the name of our respective faiths, in no way reflect the truth as expressed in either the Qur'an or the Bible, but it's this very fact that makes me ask you this question about the Dhimma Pacts.)
The first recorded dhimma pact was offered by Muhammed in 628AD against a Jewish community besieged by his Islamic army at the oasis of Khybat, 140km from Medina.
Muslim legal contractors wrote that the prophet offered them a protection contract. Become Muslims, or pay special tribute tax and become a dhimmi (a protected minority). Although they lost ownership of their land, they were pemitted to stay and farm as tenants, however this could end at any time the Prophet commanded it. the Prophet was to receive half their harvest each year.
This Dhimmu was widely recognized as a land mark act and was replicated as the early muslim armies conquered Christian and Jewish towns in Arabia and then furthur abroad. Pay the tribute tax (Sura 9:29) as a symbol of submission and become dhimmis with a resulting major loss of rights, in return for protection and respect of their religion.
During these years, a clear pattern between Muslims and Non muslims is evident.. strategy of warfare (jihad), the rights of conquest and division of booty, and the fate of the vanquished.
Jews and Christians though, as People of the Book, could come under protectin by payment of the jiyza. The two religions were tolerated, granted in this 8th century practice, yet it amounted to a form of slavery.It also meant that
1. a dhimmi could not bear witness against a Muslim or defend himself against accusations of theft or abuse
2. blasphemy against islam was punishable by death (and still is)
3. Dhimmis are unable to have audible or visible expressions of their faith.
4. Dhimmis had to wear distinctive clothing that identified them as dhimmis.
5. Bat Ye'or, an Egyptian born historian writes in Islam and Dhiimitude, that 1/5th of all Christian children aged 14-20 were forcibally removed and converted to Islam, and borught up to be Janissaries in the Ottoman militia. children aged between 6 and 10 were forcibally removed and bourght up in the Sultan's palace, islamicised and trained to be government officials.
This status of dhimmi continued in many places until the 19th century and in Iran and Yemen into the 20th century.
Excuse me for shouting at this point, but I want to say something here that I want everyone to hear and not misunderstand me.
I AM NOT ATTEMPTING TO RE-IGNITE THE DEBATE ON ATROCITIES THAT HAVE OCCURED IN THE NAME OF RELIGION. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT ALL OF US LOOK AT OUR HISTORY, ACKNOWLEDGE THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN SAID AND DONE IN THE NAME OF THE RELIGION WE SAY WE BELIEVE IN AND RECOGNIZE THAT NONE OF THEM ARE INNOCENT OF THESE ACTIONS. ONLY THEN, CAN WE TRULY DIALOGUE AND SEE WHAT THE REAL DIFFERENCES ARE IN OUR RESPECTIVE FAITHS.
As has been said by one person coming out of a dhimmi situation "recognizing this should be the basis for building a peaceful co-existance between peoples and nations. To ignore the past is a sure recipe for repeating it's injuries and perpetuating oppressive conditions for minorities, who a millenium ago, were actually the majority in their homelands".