The studies brought together in this volume provide an important contribution to the history of dimmi-s in the medieval dar al-islam, and more generally to the legal history of religious minorities in medieval societies. The central question addressed is the legal status accorded to dimmi-s (Jews and Christians) in the Muslim law in the medieval Muslim west (the Maghreb and Muslim Spain).The scholars whose work is brought together in these pages have dealt with a rich and complex variety of legal sources. Many of the texts are from the Maliki legal tradition; they include fiqh, fatwa-s, hisba manuals. These texts function as the building blocks of the legal framework in which jurists and rulers of Maghrebi and Peninsular societies worked.The very richness and complexity of these texts, as well as the variety of responses that they solicited, refute the textbook idea of a monolithic dimmi system, supposedly based on the Pact of 'Umar, applied throughout the Muslim world.In fact when one looks closely at the early legal texts or chronicles from both the Mashreq and the Maghreb, there is little evidence for a standard, uniform dimmi system, but rather a wide variety of local adaptations.The articles in this volume provide numerous examples of the richness and complexity of interreligious relations in Medieval Islam and the reactions of jurists to those relations.

The fruit of a sustained and close collaboration between historians, linguists and jurists working on the Christian, Muslim and Jewish societies of the Middle Ages, this book explores the theme of religious coexistence (and the problems it poses) from a resolutely comparative perspective. The authors concentrate on a key aspect of this coexistence: the legal status attributed to Jews and Muslims in Christendom and to dhimm's in Islamic lands. To what extent are the rights of the minorities to reside in their communities distinct from, or similar, to those of the majority community? What role did the law play in the segregation of religious groups? In limiting, combating, or on the contrary justifying violence against them? What specific treatments and procedures in the courtroom were reserved for plaintiffs, defendants or witnesses belonging to religious minorities? Through these questions, and through the innovative comparative method applied to them, this book offers a fresh new synthesis to these questions and a spur to new research.

The first monograph devoted to the legal status of religious minorities status accorded to dimmī-s ( Jews and Christians) in the Muslim law in the medieval Muslim west (the Maghreb and Muslim Spain). The articles in this volume provide numerous examples of the richness and complexity of interreligious relations in Medieval Islam and the reactions of jurists to those relations. The studies brought together in this volume provide an important contribution to the history of ḏimmī-s in the medieval dār al-islām, and more generally to the legal history of religious minorities in medieval societies. The central question addressed is the legal status accorded to ḏimmī-s (Jews and Christians) in the Muslim law in the medieval Muslim west (the Maghreb and Muslim Spain). The scholars whose work is brought together in these pages have dealt with a rich and complex variety of legal sources. Many of the texts are from the Mālikī legal tradition; they include fiqh, fatwā-s, ḥisba manuals. These texts function as the building blocks of the legal framework in which jurists and rulers of Maghrebi and Peninsular societies worked. The very richness and complexity of these texts, as well as the variety of responses that they solicited, refute the textbook idea of a monolithic ḏimmī system, supposedly based on the Pact of 'Umar, applied throughout the Muslim world. In fact when one looks closely at the early legal texts or chronicles from both the Mashreq and the Maghreb, there is little evidence for a standard, uniform ḏimmī system, but rather a wide variety of local adaptations. The articles in this volume provide numerous examples of the richness and complexity of interreligious relations in Medieval Islam and the reactions of jurists to those relations

This book investigates how minorities contributed to medieval society, comparing these contributions to majority society’s perceptions of the minority. In this volume the contributors define ‘minority’ status as based on a group’s relative position in power relations, that is, a group with less power than the dominant group(s). The chapters cover both what modern historians call ‘religious’ and ‘ethnic’ minorities (including, for example, Muslims in Latin Europe, German-speakers in Central Europe, Dutch in England, Jews and Christians in Egypt), but also address contemporary medieval definitions; medieval writers distinguished between ‘believers’ and ‘infidels’, between groups speaking different languages and between those with different legal statuses. The contributors reflect on patterns of influence in terms of what majority societies borrowed from minorities, the ways in which minorities contributed to society, the mechanisms in majority society that triggered positive or negative perceptions, and the function of such perceptions in the dynamics of power. The book highlights structural and situational similarities as well as historical contingency in the shaping of minority influence and majority perceptions. The chapters in this book were originally published as special issue of the Journal of Medieval History.

There is a widespread concern today with the role and experiences of ethnic and religious minorities, and their potential for conflict and harmony with 'host communities' and with each other, especially in towns. Interest in historical aspects of these phenomena is growing rapidly, not least in studies of the long and complex history of the towns of Central and Eastern Europe. Most such studies focus on particular places or on particular groups, but this volume offers a broader view covering the period from the tenth to the sixteenth century and regions from Germany to Dalmatia and from Epirus to Livonia, with an emphasis on the territory of medieval Hungary. The focus is on the changing nature of identity, perception and legal status of groups, on relations within and between them, and on the ways in which these elements were affected by the external political regimes and ideologies to which the towns were subjected. Many of the places examined were notable for the complexity of their ethnic and religious composition, and for their exposure to a wide range of external influences, including long-distance trade and tensions between settled and semi-nomadic ways of life. Overall the volume illustrates the variety of ways in which minorities found a place in towns - as citizens, outsiders, or in some other role - and how that could vary according to local circumstances and over time. Dealing with the formative period for modern European towns, this volume not only reveals much about medieval society and urban history, but poses questions still relevant today.

"Judaism, Christianity and Islam have coexisted in Europe for over 1300 years. The three monotheistic faiths differ in demography, in the moment of their arrival on the continent and in the unequal relations they maintain with power: Christianity was chosen by a large number of inhabitants and became — in spite of important differences according to place and time —a religion of state. The organization of the continent into states and the divisions within Christianity often placed minorities in an unstable and at times painful situation. This partially explains the fight against "heresies", the wars of religions, the expulsion of Jews from several European kingdoms (as well as the expulsion of Muslims from Sicily and the Iberian peninsula), the "Jewish question" in the 19th century up until the Holocaust. Since the 20th century, the debates concerning Islam and concerning public expression of religion are shaped in part by this past. The 13 studies gathered in this volume explore the ways in which states have treated their religious minorities. We study various policies — repression, supervision, integration, tolerance, secularization, indifference — as well as the many ways in which minorities have accommodated the majority’s demands. The relation is by no means one-sided: on the contrary, state policies have created resistance, negotiation (on the legal, political, and cultural fronts) or compromise. Through these precise and original examples, we can see how the protagonists (states, religious institutions, the elite, the faithful) interact, try to convince or influence each other in order to transform practices, invent and implement common norms and grounds, all the while knowing the confessional dimension of "religious" majority and minority does not fully embrace the identity of each citizen in full."--

An innovative study which explores how the presence of Muslim communities transformed Europe and stimulated Christian society to define itself.

Canon law touched nearly every aspect of medieval society, including many issues we now think of as purely secular. It regulated marriages, oaths, usury, sorcery, heresy, university life, penance, just war, court procedure, and Christian relations with religious minorities. Canon law also regulated the clergy and the Church, one of the most important institutions in the Middle Ages. This Cambridge History offers a comprehensive survey of canon law, both chronologically and thematically. Written by an international team of scholars, it explores, in non-technical language, how it operated in the daily life of people and in the great political events of the time. The volume demonstrates that medieval canon law holds a unique position in the legal history of Europe. Indeed, the influence of medieval canon law, which was at the forefront of introducing and defining concepts such as 'equity,' 'rationality,' 'office,' and 'positive law,' has been enormous, long-lasting, and remarkably diverse.

In the book of Genesis, God bestows a new name upon Abram--Abraham, a father of many nations. With this name and his Covenant, Abraham would become the patriarch of three of the world's major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Connected by their mutual--if differentiated--veneration of the One God proclaimed by Abraham, these traditions share much beyond their origins in the ancient Israel of the Old Testament. This Very Short Introduction explores the intertwined histories of these monotheistic religions, from the emergence of Christianity and Islam to the violence of the Crusades and the cultural exchanges of al-Andalus. Each religion continues to be shaped by this history but has also reacted to the forces of modernity and politics. Movements such as the Reformation and that led by seventh-century Kharijites have emerged, intentioned to reform or restore traditional religious practice but quite different in their goals and effects. Relationships with states, among them Israel and Saudi Arabia, have also figured importantly in their development. The Abrahamic Religions: A Very Short Introduction brings these traditions together into a common narrative, lending much needed context to the story of Abraham and his descendants. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.