Peanut Gallery: As events unfold in the Middle East, “dhimmitude” is a word you should understand- it directly affects Christians living in Islamic countries and explains why they are so often mistreated (see earlier post “Muslim Persecution of Christians”). 
“dhimmitude […] represents a behavior dictated by fear (terrorism), pacifism when aggressed, rather than resistance, servility because of cowardice and vulnerability. […] By their peaceful surrender to the Islamic army, they obtained the security for their life, belongings and religion, but they had to accept a condition of inferiority, spoliation (plundering) and humiliation. As they were forbidden to possess weapons and give testimony against a Muslim, they were put in a position of vulnerability and humility.”[9] (Wikipedia)
To put it simply, non-muslims (dhimmis) living in Islamic countries are second-class citizens with little, or no, protection under Sharia law. They are essentially at the mercy of the enforcing religious authority.
If you read the entire Wikipedia article you will find that my characterization of “dhimmitude” and “dhimmis” is disputed by some scholars as “past history” and could be described as Islamophobic. But disputed or not, there is growing evidence that Western observers of Islamic countries have turned a blind eye to the current wide-spread reality of “dhimmitude,” particularly in rural, or lawless, areas that are outside normal Western scrutiny. (I refer you again to “Muslim Persecuton of Christians.”)
This current post, however, was prompted by an article by Andrew G. Bostom posted on pjmedia.com, “Muhammad Morsi’s Islamic Jew-Hatred, Bernard Lewis’ Islamic Negationism” – asking the question: “Why do the media’s Middle East pundits ignore the Jew-hatred intrinsic to Islamic doctrine?”
The answer lies in the willful denial of the historic realities (past and present) of “dhimmitude.” Jew-hatred (and Christian persecution) are intrinsic to Muhammad Morsi’s Sharia inspired worldview. But it simply doesn’t fit the Western pundits’ “Arab Spring” narrative.
Here are two quotes from Bostom’s article –
…[C]aliphs destroyed churches to obtain materials for their buildings, and the mob was always ready to pillage churches and monasteries…dhimmis…always lived on sufferance, exposed to the caprices of the ruler and the passions of the mob…in later times..[t]hey were much more liable to suffer from the violence of the crowd, and the popular fanaticism was accompanied by an increasing strictness among the educated. The spiritual isolation of Islam was accomplished. The world was divided into two classes, Muslims and others, and only Islam counted…Indeed the general feeling was that the leavings of the Muslims were good enough for the dhimmis. (A.S. Tritton’s 1930, “The Caliphs and their Non-Muslim Subjects”)
Christians and Jews were not citizens of the state, not even second class citizens. They were outsiders under the protection of the Muslim state, a status characterized by the term dhimma, for which protection they had to pay a poll tax specific to them. They were also exposed to a great number of discriminatory and humiliating laws…As it lies in the very nature of such restrictions, soon additional humiliations were added, and before the second century of Islam was out, a complete body of legislation in this matter was in existence…In times and places in which they became too oppressive they lead to the dwindling or even complete extinction of the minorities. (Shlomo Dov [S.D.] Goitein (d. 1985)
How bad can “dhimmitude” get? Look no further than Saudi Arabia (#2 on the 2013 World Watch Persecution List). Here’s what Saudi “dhimmitude” looks like as described by Wikipedia –
In 2010, the U.S. State Department stated that in Saudi Arabia “freedom of religion is neither recognized nor protected under the law and is severely restricted in practice” and that “government policies continued to place severe restrictions on religious freedom”.No faith other than Islam is permitted to be practiced, although there are nearly a million Christians – nearly all foreign workers – in Saudi Arabia.There are no churches or other non-Muslim houses of worship permitted in the country.Even private prayer services are forbidden in practice and the Saudi religious police reportedly regularly search the homes of Christians.Foreign workers have to observe Ramadan but are not allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter.
Connversion by Muslims to another religion (apostasy) carries the death penalty, although there have been no confirmed reports of executions for apostasy in recent years.Proselytizing by non-Muslims is illegal, and the last Christian priest was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1985.There are some Hindus and Buddhists in Saudi Arabia. Compensation in court cases discriminates against non-Muslims: once fault is determined, a Muslim receives all of the amount of compensation determined, a Jew or Christian half, and all others a sixteenth.
So there you are. “Dhimmitude” is not simply some historic, or mythical, practice cited by Islamophobes to discredit Islam and the celebrated “Arab Spring.” “Dhimmitude” is a current painful, and sometimes deadly, reality for millions of Christians and Jews spread around the Muslim world. “Dhimmitude” is a concept you should understand.
Please read Bostom’s full article here: “Muhammad Morsi’s Islamic Jew-Hatred, Bernard Lewis’ Islamic Negationism”
See also Andrew Bostom’s book: Sharia versus Freedom: The Legacy of Islamic Totalitarianism
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