Non-Muslims have lived in Muslim countries for centuries. In fact, the history shows the world has never seen a civilization where people of diverse faiths and ethnicities lived, worked and flourished.

 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was the one who established the precedent for a nation where Muslims and Jews and others could live as citizens with equal rights and opportunities. He wrote the first written constitution in the world as one scholar referred to it where he stated that Muslims and Jews and those who are allied to the pact of peace and co-existence would be one nation but two distinct communities, each one enjoying the freedom to practice and govern themselves with their laws.

 

Islam does not believe in imposing its laws on those who do not share the same faith. In other words, under the rule of Islam as demonstrated by the Prophet and followed by his successors and the Muslim rulers throughout centuries Jews, Christians and other religious minorities were free to practice their religion and govern themselves by their laws. Islamic law did not apply to them.

 

That is Islamic dietary laws or prohibitions of alcohol, etc. do not apply to non-Muslims. Rather they are only applicable to Muslims; that is why in Malaysia Muslims cannot buy alcohol; while non-Muslim can do so without any issue.

 

Thanks to Islam’s recognition of other religions, the Jews were saved by Muslims, who were persecuted by the Christians; it was the Muslim Ottoman ruler who sent a ship to bring the Jews who were persecuted during the Spanish Inquisition thus settling them in Turkey providing them shelter and land.

 

Furthermore, it is a historical fact that under the Muslim rule  Muslims, Christians and Jews not only lived peacefully but also worked together in advancing scientific knowledge and scholarship.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.