Islam Principles and Dhimmi

"Invoking the [Holy] Koran and the hadith (both pillars of Islamic law), jihad places on the Muslim community the obligation to conquer non-Muslim countries, so as to bring them under Islamic law. Jihad can be waged either peacefully (through immigration and conversion), or through war. All resistance to the advance of Islam constitutes a casus belli [a just cause].

"The dhimmi is the non-believer who, submitting to the sovereignty of Islam without a fight, benefits from the protection of his life and his property. He is entitled to certain limited rights. In exchange, he pays a ransom-tax, the jaziya (Holy Koran 9, 29).

This payment is part of various humiliations. The refusal to pay the jaziya is equated to rebellion, and lifts protection, automatically restoring the state of jihad..." Bat Ye'or traces this system back to the earliest days of Islam, and lists the limitations the dhimmi were forced to live under: they were forbidden to carry arms; they were not permitted to repair or build their places of worship; they had to wear patches of coloured fabric on their clothes that identified them as non-Muslims; in the streets, the dhimmi had to walk quickly with downcast eyes, and pass to the left of Muslims; their religious rituals had to be followed soundlessly, and processions were not permitted. "The marriage of a dhimmi with a Muslim woman, as well as blasphemy against Islam, were obviously punished by death."