Minorities in an Islamic State — Page 6
6 ethical standards. He advised them to help the needy and the poor. In all this there was nothing that could have aroused their anger. But in spite of the peaceful atti- tude of the Prophet sa towards them and the reasonableness of his teachings, the Meccans would not let him live in peace. They tried to stop Muslims from practicing Islam freely by the use of brute force. The Muslims were denied the fundamental human right namely the freedom to profess and practice their faith. Now with the coming of Muslims in power, the non-Muslims were naturally anxious for their future under the new regime. They were anxious because they knew that the war between them and the Mus- lims was fought on the question of religious freedom. They knew that in their days of power they had de- nied this right to the Muslims and now they were afraid that living under a Muslim government they might not be allowed to practice their faith. The point was the same, only the balance of power had shifted in favour of the Muslims. But the Holy Prophet sa told the non-Muslims that although he had won the victory yet he would uphold the principle for which he fought with them. He declared that the Muslims would feel it obligatory upon them to protect the right of freedom of religion of every individual. He told them that they would be Dhimm i s of the Muslims and that Allah and