Pact of Umar - islam

Muslims always try to downplay the the 'Pact of Umar'. Read this from tafsir.com regarding it:

Do not initiate the Salam to the Jews and Christians, and if you meet any of them in a road, force them to its narrowest alley.) This is why the Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his well-known conditions be met by the Christians, these conditions that ensured their continued humiliation, degradation and disgrace. (source)

http://www.annaqed.com/english/is/pact_of_umar.html -

http://www.annaqed.com/english.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pact-umar.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pact_of_Umar

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2002/jul26.html

The pact of Umar is an agreement between the Christians of Syria (whom fell under the occupation of the Muslim invaders) and Umar Ibn Al-Khattab the second successor (khalifa) of Muhammad.

In this pact, Umar agreed to allow the Christians to keep practicing their faith with several conditions. Muslims claim that this pact shows how tolerant Islam was in dealing with non-Muslims in newly invaded territories.

Contrary to that claim, this pact was very humiliating to Christians, clearly showing how arrogant and oppressive the Muslims were in dealing with non-Muslims who fell under their rule. Although the pact was written to seem like the Christians themselves had drafted it, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the terms were actually dictated on them!

Sadly, there are some naïve Christians who reiterate the Muslims' propaganda without ever bothering to read the details of the pact. In fact, some Christians are so stupid that they brag about it more than the Muslims do! A recently elected Christian Orthodox patriarch praised the pact in his speech during a reception held in his honor in Jordan!

The "Pact of Umar" reflects the general teaching of Islam concerning non-Muslims, and accordingly, millions of Christians continue to live as second class citizens in Islamic countries.

The following is a translation of the pact:

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The Status of Non-Muslims Under Muslim Rule We heard from 'Abdul-Rahman Ibn Ghanam [died in year 78 H. 697 AD.] as follows: When Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, accorded a peace to the Christians of Syria, we wrote to him as follows:

In the name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. This is a letter to the servant of Allah Umar [ibn al-Khattab], Commander of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such a city. When you came against us, we asked you for safe-conduct (aman) for ourselves, our descendants, our property, and the people of our community, and we undertook the following obligations toward you:

ARTICLES OF THE PACT OF UMAR
We Christians:
1 - We shall not build, in our cities or in their neighborhood, new monasteries,
2 - churches,
3 - convents,
4 - or monks' cells,
5 - nor shall we repair, by day or by night, such of them as fall in ruins
6 - or are situated in the quarters of the Muslims. . . .
7- We shall not give shelter in our churches or in our dwellings to any spy,
8 - nor hide him from the Muslims. We shall not teach the Quran to our children.
9 - We shall not manifest our religion publicly
10 - nor convert anyone to it.
11 - We shall not prevent any of our kin from entering Islam if they wish it.
12 - We shall show respect toward the Muslims, and
13 - we shall rise from our seats if they wish to sit.
14 - We shall not seek to resemble the Muslims by imitating any of their garments, the headgear, the turban, footwear, or the parting of the hair.
15 - We shall not speak as they do,
16 - nor shall we adopt their honorific names.
17 - We shall not mount on saddles,
18- nor shall we gird swords nor bear any kind of arms nor carry them on our persons.
19 - We shall not engrave Arabic inscriptions on our seals.
20 - We shall not sell fermented drinks. . . .
21 - We shall not display our crosses or our books in the roads or markets of the Muslims.
22 - We shall only use clappers in our churches very softly.
23 - We shall not raise our voices in our church services or in the presence of Muslims,
24 - nor shall we raise our voices when following our dead.
25 - We shall not show lights on any of the roads of the Muslims or in their markets.
26 - We shall not bury our dead near the Muslims.
27 - We shall not take slave who have been allotted to the Muslims.
28 - We shall not build houses over-topping the houses of the Muslims. . . .
(When I brought the letter to Umar, he added, "And we shall not strike a Muslim. We accept these conditions for ourselves and for the people of our community, and in return we receive safe-conduct.

If we in any way violate these undertakings for which we ourselves stand surety, we forfeit our covenant [dhimma], and we become liable to the penalties for contumacy and sedition.

Umar Ibn Al-Khittab replied: Sign what they ask, but add two clauses and impose them in addition to those which they have undertaken. They are: "They shall not buy anyone made prisoner by the Muslims," and "Whoever strikes a Muslim with deliberate intent shall forfeit the protection of this pact."

From Al-Turtushi's book, Siraj al-Muluk.