Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Some Muslim-majority countries are open to freedom of religion, but some are not. The Qur'an prescribes that the People of the Book â i.e. Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians â have a special status.
The Qur'an distinguishes between the monotheistic People of the Book (), i.e., Jews, Christians, Sabians and others on the one hand and polytheists or idolaters on the other hand. There are certain kinds of restrictions that apply to polytheists but not to "People of the Book" in classical Islamic law. One example is that Muslim males are allowed to marry a Christian or Jew, but not a polytheist. Muslim women, however, may not marry non-Muslim men.
The Quran told Muslims to discuss the common points between Muslims and non-Muslims. It directs Muslims not to fight with people of the Book.
The idea of Islamic infallibility is encapsulated in the formula, "Islam is exalted and nothing is exalted above it."
Abraham, Moses, Hebrew prophets, and Jesus were all prophets of Islam, but according to Muslim tradition their message and the texts of the Torah and the Gospels were corrupted.
Apostasy in Islam can be punishable by death and/or imprisonment, according to some interpretations. Still, they are only found in hadiths and there is nothing in the Quran that commands the death penalty for apostasy, so the issue of apostasy is controversial. W. Heffening states that Shafi'is interpret verse as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in the Qur'an. Wael Hallaq states the death penalty was a new element added later and "reflects a later reality and does not stand in accord with the deeds of the Prophet." He further states that "nothing in the law governing apostate and apostasy derives from the letter of the holy text." There are also interpretations according to which apostates are not executed nor punished, and there is freedom of religion.
In the 7th-century text Concerning Heresy, the Christian scholar John of Damascus named Islam as Christological heresy, referring to it as the "heresy of the Ishmaelites". The position has remained popular in Christian circles well into the 20th century, by theologians such as the Congregationalist cleric Frank Hugh Foster and the Roman Catholic historian Hilaire Belloc, the latter of whom described it as "the great and enduring heresy of Mohammed."
Some Jews generally rejected Muhammad's status as a prophet. According to Watt, "Jews would normally be unwilling to admit that a non-Jew could be a prophet." In the Constitution of Medina, Muhammad demanded the Jews' political loyalty in return for religious and cultural autonomy. In every major battle with the Medinans, two local Jewish tribes were found to be treacherous (see ). After Badr and Uhud, the Banu Qainuqa and Banu Nadir (the latter being an ethnic Arab tribe who converted to Judaism, according to the Muslim historian al-Yaqubi), respectively, took up arms against the ummah and were subsequently expelled "with their families and possessions" from Medina.
The Syriac Patriarch Ishôyahb III wrote in his correspondence to Simeon of Rewardashir, "As for the Arabs, to whom God has at this time given rule (shultãnâ) over the world, you know well how they act toward us. Not only do they not oppose Christianity, but they praise our faith, honour the priests and saints of our Lord, and give aid to the churches and monasteries."
After Muhammad's death in 632, Islamic rule grew rapidly, encompassing what is now the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa, and Iran. Most of the new subjects were Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian, the first two being considered People of the Book. (After some argument, the Zoroastrians were considered People of the Book as well.)
From historical evidence, it appears Tokharistan was the only area of Iran heavily colonized by Arabs, where Buddhism flourished when they arrived and the only area incorporated into the Arab empire where Sanskrit studies were pursued up to the conquest. The grandson of Barmak was the vizier of the empire and took a personal interest in Sanskrit works and Indian religions. When the Barmakids were removed from power and their influence disappeared, no further translations of Sanskrit works into Arabic is known until that of Al-Biruni.
After the Arab conquest of the Buddhist center of Balkh, a Quranic commentator was denounced for anthropomorphism, a standard attack on those sympathetic to Buddhism. Hiwi al-Balkhi had attacked the authority of the Quran and revealed religions, reciting the claims of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Judaism.
In the early 11th century, the Islamic scholar Abà « RayhÃÂn Bërà «në wrote detailed comparative studies on the anthropology of religions across the Middle East, Mediterranean and especially the Indian subcontinent. Biruni's anthropology of religion was only possible for a scholar deeply immersed in the lore of other nations.
According to Arthur Jeffery, "It is rare until modern times to find so fair and unprejudiced a statement of the views of other religions, so earnest an attempt to study them in the best sources, and such care to find a method which for this branch of study would be both rigorous and just." Biruni compared Islam with pre-Islamic religions, and was willing to accept certain elements of pre-Islamic wisdom that conformed with his understanding of the Islamic spirit.
In the introduction to his Indica, Biruni himself writes that his intent behind the work was to engage dialogue between Islam and the Indian religions, particularly Hinduism as well as Buddhism. Biruni was aware that statements about a religion would be open to criticism by its adherents, and insisted that a scholar should follow the requirements of a strictly scientific method. According to William Montgomery Watt, Biruni "is admirably objective and unprejudiced in his presentation of facts" but "selects facts in such a way that he makes a strong case for holding that there is a certain unity in the religious experience of the peoples he considers, even though he does not appear to formulate this view explicitly." Biruni argued that Hinduism was a monotheistic faith like Islam, and in order to justify this assertion, he quotes Hindu texts and argues that the worship of idols is "exclusively a characteristic of the common people, with which the educated have nothing to do."
Biruni argued that the worship of idols "is due to a kind of confusion or corruption." According to Watt, Biruni "goes on to maintain that in the course of generations the origin of the veneration of the images is forgotten, and further that the ancient legislators, seeing that the Veneration of images is advantageous, made it obligatory for the ordinary. He mentions the view of some people that, before God sent prophets, all mankind were idol-worshippers, but he apparently does not presumably held that, apart from the messages transmitted by prophets, men could know the existence and unity of God by rational methods of philosophy." Biruni argued that "the Hindus, no less than the Greeks, have philosophers who are believers in monotheism." Al-Biruni also compared Islam and Christianity, citing passages from the Qur'an and the Bible which state that their followers should always speak the truth.
Some countries are predominantly Muslim and allow freedom of religion, adhering to democratic principles. Of particular note are the following countries:
Other Islamic nations are not so tolerant of minority religions:
According to Islamic law, (poll tax) is to be paid by all non-Muslims living in a Muslim state, excluding the weak and the poor, for the general welfare of the state. Also, in his book "Al-Kharaj," Abu Yusuf says, "No is due on females or young infants." In exchange for the tax, the non-Muslims are required to be given security, provided compensation from the Muslim Exchequer when they are in need, treated equally with Muslims, and enjoy rights as nationals of the state. Al-Balathiri comments on this, saying, "Khaled Ibn Al-Walid, on entering Damascus as a conqueror, offered a guarantee of security to its people and their properties and churches, and promised that the wall of the city would not be pulled down, and none of their houses would be demolished. It was a guarantee of God, he said, and of the Caliph and all believers to keep them safe and secure on condition they paid the dues of the ."
Surah Al-Ma'idah verse 48 states:
Surah Al-Ankabut verse 46 states:
The Quran criticizes Christians and Jews who believed that their own religions are the only source of truth:
Surah Al-Baqara verse 113 states:
Surah 3 verse 64 states:
Islam's fundamental theological concept is the belief in one God. Muslims are not expected to visualize God but to worship and adore him as a protector. Any kind of idolatry is condemned in Islam. ()
Muslims believe that Allah sent the Qur'an to bring peace and harmony to humanity through Islam (submission to Allah). Religious persecution is also prohibited.
Various sects became intolerant when gaining favour with the rulers, and often work to oppress or eliminate rival sects, for example, the contemporary persecution of Muslim minorities in Saudi Arabia.
The 14th century Sufi saint Abd al-Karim al-Jili stated that all principal religions actually worship Allah in their own way:
Although there are different ways to worship God, those who do not worship like it was ordinated by a prophet will suffer in the afterlife. This suffering causes pleasure, because they feel spiritual delight in the way of their worship until they repent and take refuge in God.
The Sunni scholar and mystic Mahmoud Shabestari holds that every religion is in some way worshipping Allah. Even idol-worshippers actually would unconsciously worship him.
The Quran Al-Baqara 256 says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error" ( and ).
Quranic translator M. A. S. Abdel Haleem wrote of the Sword Verse, verse 9:5 of At-Tawba 5: "In this context, this definitely refers to the ones who broke the treaty" between Muslims and a group of idolaters during the time of Muhammad.
According to historian Bernard Lewis, forced conversions played a role, especially in the 12th century under the Almohad dynasty of North Africa and Andalusia. He is also of the opinion that other incidents of forced conversions have been rare in Islamic history. He adds that "In the early centuries of Islamic rule, there was little or no attempt at forcible conversion, the spread of the faith being effected rather by persuasion and inducement." A few well-known examples of forced conversion are: