Treatment of Minorities through Law
by Rit NosotroComparative Essay
Contrast government regulations aimed at minorities such as the Dhimmi and Jim Crow laws.
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Thesis:
Summary:
Nations, governments and specific people groups over the last two thousand
years have instituted various minority laws to control, subjugate, eliminate,
or humiliate the targeted people. These laws treat a group of people unequally
based on a difference. This essay talks about two notorious groups of minority
laws, the Dhimmi and Jim Crow laws. We will observe the differences and similarities
of these two different types of laws. A Dhimmi means a “protected person”
in Arabic and was someone who had chosen to be a second-class citizen under
the protection of the Muslim army living on land within the borders of an/the
Islamic nation(s). The Jim Crow laws were laws used right after the Civil War
of the United States to limit the freedoms of the newly freed African-American
citizens. Though, during different time periods and for different reasons and
purposes, the comparison of these laws also shows remarkable similarities.
The Jizyah tax and other minority laws directed at Christians and Jews subjugated
them as second-class citizens with special obligations and limitations to their
actions. The first such laws appeared when Mohammed conquered the Jewish fortress
of Khaybar around 628 A.D. Mohammed offered the captives three options, similar
to the ones other Jews and Christians were offered in the decades to come: convert
to Islam, become a Dhimmi, or die. The tribe refused to convert to Islam and
so chose to become a Dhimmi. Dhimmis had to agree to (some of if not all of)
the following rules: not to intermarry with Muslims, not to hold any public
office, not to entice or convince a Muslim into another faith, not to ride the
“noble beasts” (camels and horses), not to have their churches higher
than the Mosques (Muslim worship building). They were not to carry weapons,
had to wear different clothing than the Muslims, build their homes with low
doors, and they were to give free labor for the Muslim community upon request.
Also, in certain places, they were not allowed to build or rebuild churches,
not meet publicly, hold parades or mourning ceremonies publicly or wear/carry
crosses. Also many small detail were added to show submission (i.e. such as
lowering their eyes in the presence of a Muslim). Though most of the time not
all of these rules were applied or enforced, they clearly set apart the Dhimmi
as a lower class of people. As many probably noticed earlier, I spoke of most
as “choosing” the Dhimmi status, you must understand they chose
it as the better choice than losing their life or converting to Islam, not very
favorable options.
Though these laws might seem very harsh, many chose to remain silent instead
of object because, at first, only the Christians and Jews had the privilege
of becoming a Dhimmi. All the other “foes” of Islam that were not
“People of the Book” did not have this option and either converted
or died. This status of Dhimmi also had some benefits, such as not having to
participate in the Jihad Wars, limited protection and not having to pay the
Alms tax, which other Muslims paid. This status encouraged the minority to become
Christians and to live as Dhimmi people, inferior compared to the Muslims. These
laws usually prevented religious “mixing” or “mingling”
so that there would be an obvious “elite” religion and people group.
Since the Muslims had Jihad Wars against all infidels (unbelievers), this status
of Dhimmi somewhat protected the Dhimmi minorities against raiding or invading
Muslim armies. In the culture and time period, there was so much killing over
power and so many harsh laws everywhere to control the people, that these laws
might have seemed similar to other minority laws and seemed normal.
If we leap ahead in time to somewhere around 1875 A.D., we start getting a glimpse
of the history behind the Jim Crow laws. The history of the nickname Jim Crow
is irrelevant for this essay and usually meant a synonym of Negro. The setting
is shortly after the Civil War, and the Emancipation Proclamation. According
to this proclamation, all slaves are [were] freed, something that destroyed
the economy of the South and left questions on how to “control”
these ex-slaves. During the Reconstruction of the South, many states desperately
tried to stop the African-Americans from voting or rising in status through
discriminatory Black Codes. These were like the state laws about slaves before
the Civil War, except a couple of improvements were added and it replaced the
word “slave” with the word “black”. Because the Union
Army still controlled the affairs of the Southern States, these failed to take
action. But once the Union Army left, the upper-class White southerners still
tried to control the blacks, using intimidation to keep them from voting and
later through (more acceptable) Jim Crow laws. Later, after a Supreme Court
decision to uphold “separate but equal” clauses in the famous Plessy
vs. Ferguson case, many states passed Jim Crow laws forbidding blacks use the
same public transport vehicles or sit separately. After a while many more such
laws were passed to segregate the blacks from the whites. This happened throughout
USA, not just in the Southern States. These type of laws started changing to
include not only prohibiting blacks and whites from using same facilities but
also to affect almost every aspect of life. There were different restrooms,
waiting rooms, and hotels. Most importantly, the schools were strictly segregated,
frequently leaving the black schools with much less funds, experienced teachers
and resources than a neighboring “white” school. This picture (?below?)
shows a segregated water fountain and a classic example of the different treatment
the different races got.
Later, laws developed to undermine the voting rights of blacks also. These
are the most known Jim Crow laws. Things such as the grandfather clause (laws
that restricted the right to vote to people whose ancestors had voted before
the Civil War), literacy tests, poll tax and white primary all were designed
to keep blacks or the poorer class in general from voting. These laws are both
similar yet unique compared to the Dhimmi laws. The prejudice was not based
on religion but race, yet the general ideas of not mixing (or intermarrying)
and of maintaining the dominance of one group over another still remain the
predominant concerns. Just like with Dhimmi laws, the Jim Crow laws prevented
the oppressed group from taking office positions (in this case by preventing
them from voting their own representatives into office). The Jim Crow laws generally
came from an existing prejudice by the general ruling population of the South,
while the Dhimmi laws seemed in general to be prescribed by the leaders but
not necessarily enforced by the people and local leaders over all. There is
another significant difference also. Whereas the Christians and Jews generally
constituted a small percentage of the population of the Arabic nation(s), the
African Americans in some areas comprised not the minority, but only the oppressed
group. The Dhimmi laws were very straightforward and the expected national policy,
but many of the Jim Crow laws had to be passed in a way to get around already
established anti-discrimination laws of the Nation. For example, to prohibit
blacks from voting, they had to make the literacy tests apply to whites as well,
but conveniently make a loophole for white poor farmers (illiterate), conditioning
that as long as they could read a portion of the Constitution to the satisfaction
of an overseer, they could vote. The Supreme Court had to also sidestep (but
in essence, contradict) a couple amendments such as the Civil Rights Act of
1875, in order to allow states to continue segregation.
In conclusion, Jim Crow laws were a backlash to the laws granting equality to
a freed minority group and lasted for only a century as the culture slowly changed
to accept them as equals rather than inferiors. Dhimmi laws however, were part
of the religion and laws governing Muslim lands and still exist today in some
Muslim lands.
Quick Quiz:
1. The Civil Rights Act of 1875, stated that a person could not be isolated
and treated worse because of race, colour, religion and so on. How did the Supreme
Court sidestep this Civil Rights Act to allow the States to segregate?
a. by arguing that segregation upheld *separate but equal* status
b. by calling the Civil Rights Act unconstitutional
c. by placing the Jyizah tax n all ex-slaves
d. By giving the Dhimmi people special benefits
2. According to the picture of the segregated water fountains, which of the
following is false?
a. Obviously the “separate” part was emphasized more than the “equal”
b. The Civil Rights movement started because of the segregation of water fountains
c. A classic example of how people promoted the mentality of inferior
d. The segregation is clearly based on color of skin
3. When rulers of the Muslim nations imposed special laws on the Dhimmi minorities,
most didn’t complain because:
a. They thought that it would be better to be quiet and then surprise the leaders
with a revolt
b. They liked the special laws, because it made them special
c. They knew the leader was nice and it was his law makers who were bad
d. They grew accustomed to harsh, control-freak rulers and so the laws were
nothing new for them as minorities
4. Dhimmi’s (sometimes) could not ride camels or horses because:
a. The Animal Rights Activists of Arabia reasoned it demoralizing to the psychological
structure of the animals
b. To make the Jews walk so there would be less traffic on the highways
c. To make the minorities feel inferior
d. To keep the Dhimmi’s from using the animals to move out of Muslim controlled
lands
e. To keep the Christians from ascending into heaven at the rapture on their
prized white horses (talked about in Rev. 19:14)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jim Crow Information:
Ronald L. F. Davis, Ph. D., “Creating Jim Crow: In-Depth Essay”, http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/home.htm (April 13-18, 2005)
© Dr. David Pilgrim, Professor of Sociology, Ferris State University,
“What Was Jim Crow?” Sept., 2000, http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/what.htm,
(April 14-18, 2005)
Lynn Jones, “Jump, Jim Crow”, What difference did emancipation make?,
3/17/03, http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/calheritage/Jimcrow/index.html, (April
15-17, 2005)
Unknown, “Creation of the Jim Crow South”, Segregation in the South,
http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa010201a.htm, (April 14-18, 2005)
Anonymous, “Jim Crow: the System of Segregation in the South” http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/edu/jimcrow.htm,
(April 14-18, 2005)
Anonymous, “THE ORIGIN OF "JIM CROW"”, YOUR INTERNET RESOURCE
FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, 1996, http://www.toptags.com/aama/docs/jcrow.htm,
(April 13-18, 2005)
Anonymous, “Jim Crow Laws”, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAjimcrow.htm, (April 13-18, 2005)
Dhimmi information:
Walter Short, “The Jizyah Tax”, Equality And Dignity Under Islamic
Law?, http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/xstnc-5.html, (April 14-18, 2005)
Mitchell Bard, “The Treatment of Jews in Arab/Islamic Countries”,
2005, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Jews_in_Arab_lands_(gen).html,
(April 14-18, 2005)
BAT YE'OR, “Dhimmitude Past and Present : An Invented or Real History?”,
October 10, 2002, http://www.dhimmitude.org/archive/by_lecture_10oct2002.htm,
(April 14-18, 2005)
Thomas F. Glick, “ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN SPAIN
IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES”, ETHNIC RELATIONS, http://libro.uca.edu/ics/ics5.htm,
(April 14-18, 2005)
Anonymous, “The Dhimmi: An Overview”, http://www.dhimmi.com/dhimmi_overview.htm, (April 14-18, 2005)
Bat Ye’or, “The Status of Non-Muslim Minorities Under Islamic Rule”, 2005, http://www.dhimmitude.org/, (April 14-18, 2005)
Andrew Bostom, “Jihad Conquest”, http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-yeor061902.asp, (April 14-18, 2005)
Shainool Jiwa, “Religious Pluralism in Egypt: The Ahl al-kitab in Early Fatimid Times”, http://www.iis.ac.uk/research/academic_papers/pluralism_egypt/pluralism_egypt.htm, (April 14-18, 2005)
Anonymous, “The Pact of Umar: The Rights of Non-Muslims in the Islamic Empire”, 2003, http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/03_educators/2003curbook/12-umar/umar.html, (April 15 -18)
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