Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition

This book examines the Sunnı̄ juristic tradition for its views on the relations between Muslims and adherents of other faiths living under Muslim rule. Its focus is on what the tradition tells us about the attitudes and ethos of medieval Muslims, not on the actual laws governing the lives of their non-Muslim subjects, let alone on how they worked out in practice. The book covers Sunni views on topics such as the relative validity of the revealed religions, the classification of unbelievers and its implications for their rights and duties under Islam, the interpretations of the qur’ānic verse, ‘There is no compulsion in religion’, the regulation of apostasy, and interfaith marriages. It deals with the period up to about 1100 CE, but modern views are also mentioned from time to time, and the preface briefly discusses modern debates in interfaith relations. Ample attention is paid to the diversity of views in the material. As one would expect from this author, the level of scholarship is high. The book is probably too dry to appeal to general readers, and academics in other disciplines may also find it a hard read, but all specialists will appreciate it. Their main complaint is likely to be that the author’s approach is rather old-fashioned, in the sense that he allows the medieval tradition to dictate his understanding of both the Qur’ān and the tradition itself. Early doctrines are explained in the time-honored fashion with reference to events in the time of the Prophet and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and little attempt is made to relate the later material to historical contexts or to trace developments, except in the sense that some very general observations on overall trends are offered at the end. (The author finds the ancient layer in the tradition to be more considerate toward Christians and Jews than the later material, the other way round in its attitude to Zoroastrians and pagans.) It is, however, easier to criticize than to suggest remedies here for, once formed, the tradition does indeed convey the impression of perpetuating itself in virtual isolation from the world around it, so that it becomes natural to present it in the form of a survey of the diverse stances attested in it, wherever or whenever, rather than to explore the meaning that the stances in question may have had at particular times and places.