Dhimmitude: Difference between revisions
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heavily biased article, seems to have been written entirely by Muslims feeling personally attacked by the concept. Minor edits to make more neutral, but large problems remain and I doubt it's even worth an article for the term. |
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{{about|a neologism|the traditional Islamic legal concept|Dhimmi}} |
{{about|a neologism|the traditional Islamic legal concept|Dhimmi}} |
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'''Dhimmitude''' is a [[neologism]] borrowed from the [[French language]] and popularized as a polemical term by writer [[Bat Ye'or]]. It |
'''Dhimmitude''' is a [[neologism]] borrowed from the [[French language]] and popularized as a polemical term by writer [[Bat Ye'or]]. It was formed from [[dhimma]] by analogy with ''servitude'' in order to draw an implicit comparison. <ref> ''Muslims, multiculturalism and the question of the silent majority'', S. Akbarzadeh, J.M. Roose, Journal of muslim minority affairs, 2011, Taylor & Francis.</ref> |
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The term has several distinct, but related meanings depending on the author; its scope may be historical only, contemporary only, or both. It may encompass the whole system of dhimma, look only at its subjects (dhimmis), or even apply it outside of any established system of [[dhimmi|dhimma]], often polemically. The term has been criticised by some academic scholars as misleading and [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]]. |
The term has several distinct, but related meanings depending on the author; its scope may be historical only, contemporary only, or both. It may encompass the whole system of dhimma, look only at its subjects (dhimmis), or even apply it outside of any established system of [[dhimmi|dhimma]], often polemically. The term has been criticised by some academic scholars as misleading and [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]]{{citation needed}}. |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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Revision as of 17:54, 21 August 2016
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for neologisms. (August 2016) |
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Dhimmitude is a neologism borrowed from the French language and popularized as a polemical term by writer Bat Ye'or. It was formed from dhimma by analogy with servitude in order to draw an implicit comparison. [1]
The term has several distinct, but related meanings depending on the author; its scope may be historical only, contemporary only, or both. It may encompass the whole system of dhimma, look only at its subjects (dhimmis), or even apply it outside of any established system of dhimma, often polemically. The term has been criticised by some academic scholars as misleading and Islamophobic[citation needed].
Origin
The term was coined in 1982 by the President of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, in reference to perceived attempts by the country's Muslim leadership to subordinate the large Lebanese Christian minority. In a speech of September 14, 1982 given at Dayr al-Salib in Lebanon, he said: "Lebanon is our homeland and will remain a homeland for Christians… We want to continue to christen, to celebrate our rites and traditions, our faith and our creed whenever we wish… Henceforth, we refuse to live in any dhimmitude!"[2]
The concept of "dhimmitude" was introduced into Western discourse by the writer Bat Ye'or in a French-language article published in the Italian journal La Rassegna mensile di Israel in 1983.[3] In Bat Ye'or's use, "dhimmitude" refers to allegations of non-Muslims appeasing and surrendering to Muslims and discrimination against non-Muslims in Muslim majority regions.[4]
Ye'or further popularized the term in her books The Decline of Eastern Christianity[5] and the 2003 followup Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide[6] In a 2011 interview, she claimed to have indirectly inspired Gemayel's use of the term.[7]
Associations and usage
The associations of the word "dhimmitude" vary between users:
- Bat Ye'or defined dhimmitude as the condition and experience of those who are subject to dhimma, and thus not synonymous to, but rather a subset of the dhimma phenomenon: "dhimmitude [...] represents a behavior dictated by fear (terrorism), pacifism when aggressed, rather than resistance, servility because of cowardice and vulnerability. [...] By their peaceful surrender to the Islamic army, they obtained the security for their life, belongings and religion, but they had to accept a condition of inferiority, spoliation and humiliation. As they were forbidden to possess weapons and give testimony against a Muslim, they were put in a position of vulnerability and humility."[8] The term plays a key role in the Islamophobic[9] conspiracy theory of Eurabia.[10]
- A more recent pejorative usage variant of "dhimmi" and "dhimmitude" divorces the words from the historical context and applies them to situations where non-Muslims in the West and India are championing Islamic causes above others. "Dhimmi" is treated as analogous to "Quisling" within this context.[citation needed]
- Sidney H. Griffith states that it "has come to express the theoretical, social condition" of non-Muslims "under Muslim rule".[11]
- According to Bassam Tibi, dhimmitude refers to non-Muslims being "allowed to retain their religious beliefs under certain restrictions". He describes that status as being inferior and a violation of religious freedom.[12]
Criticism
Mark R. Cohen, a leading scholar of the history of Jewish communities of medieval Islam, has criticized the term as misleading and Islamophobic.[13]
Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, states,
If we look at the considerable literature available about the position of Jews in the Islamic world, we find two well-established myths. One is the story of a golden age of equality, of mutual respect and cooperation, especially but not exclusively in Moorish Spain; the other is of “dhimmi”-tude, of subservience and persecution and ill treatment. Both are myths. Like many myths, both contain significant elements of truth, and the historic truth is in its usual place, somewhere in the middle between the extremes.[14]
See also
References
- ^ Muslims, multiculturalism and the question of the silent majority, S. Akbarzadeh, J.M. Roose, Journal of muslim minority affairs, 2011, Taylor & Francis.
- ^ As reprinted in Lebanon News 8, no. 18 (September 14, 1985), 1-2
- ^ Bat Ye'or, "Terres arabes: terres de 'dhimmitude'", in La Cultura Sefardita, vol. 1, La Rassegna mensile di Israel 44, no. 1-4, 3rd series (1983): 94-102
- ^ Griffith, Sidney H., The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude, Seventh-Twentieth Century, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 30, No. 4. (Nov., 1998), pp. 619-621, doi:10.1017/S0020743800052831.
- ^ Bat Ye'or (1996). The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam. From Jihad to Dhimmitude. Seventh-Twentieth Century. Madison/Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press/Associated University Presses. ISBN 0-8386-3688-8.
- ^ Bat Ye'or (2003). Islam and Dhimmitude. Where Civilizations Collide. Madison/Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press/Associated University Presses. ISBN 0-8386-3943-7.
- ^ "I founded the word dhimmitude and I discussed it with my Lebanese friends [...] My friend spoke about this word to Bashir Gemayel who used it in his last speech before his assassination." in An Egyptian Jew in Exile: An Interview with Bat Ye’or[1], newenglishreview.org, October 2011
- ^ John W. Whitehead, An interview with Bat Ye'or. Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, 5 September 2005
- ^ Carr, M. (2006). "You are now entering Eurabia". Race & Class. 48: 1. doi:10.1177/0306396806066636.
- ^ Færseth, John (2011). "Eurabia – ekstremhøyres konspirasjonsteori" (PDF). Fri Tanke (3–4). Human-Etisk Forbund: 38. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
- ^ Sidney H. Griffith (2010). The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691146284.
- ^ Tibi, Bassam (April 2008). "The Return of the Sacred to Politics as a Constitutional Law The Case of the Shari'atization of Politics in Islamic Civilization". Theoria: 98.
- ^ Cohen, Mark R. (2011). "Modern Myths of Muslim Anti-Semitism". In Ma'oz, Moshe (ed.). Muslim Attitudes to Jews and Israel: The Ambivalences of Rejection, Antagonism, Tolerance and Cooperation. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 1845195272.
- ^ Bernard Lewis, 'The New Anti-Semitism', The American Scholar Journal - Volume 75 No. 1 Winter 2006 pp. 25-36.