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Book cover of Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition
Religious Pluralism & Religious Tolerance, General & Miscellaneous Islam, Islamic Law, Religion - General & Miscellaneous

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

by Yohanan Friedmann, David Morgan
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Overview

Since the beginning of its history, Islam has encountered other religious communities both in Arabia and in the territories conquered during its expansion. The most distinctive characteristic of these encounters was that Muslims faced other religions from the position of a ruling power. They were, therefore, able to determine the nature of that relationship in accordance with their world-view and beliefs. Yohanan Friedmann's original and erudite study examines questions of religious tolerance and coercion as they appear in the Qur'an and in the prophetic tradition, and analyses the principle that Islam is exalted above all religions, discussing the ways in which this principle was reflected in various legal pronouncements. The book also considers the various interpretations of the Qur'anic verse according to which 'No compulsion is there is religion ...', noting that, despite the apparent meaning of this verse, Islamic law allowed religious coercion to be practiced against Manichaeans and Arab idolaters, as well as against women and children in certain circumstances.

Synopsis

Friedmann's study sheds light on medieval attitudes to religious tolerance.

About the Author, Yohanan Friedmann

Yohanan Friedmann is Max Shloessinger Professor of Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His publications include Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and its Medieval Background (2002).

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Book Details

Published
April 1, 2006
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Pages
248
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780521026994

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