Minorities in an Islamic State — Page 40
40 according to these jurists, such restrictions are necessary in order to expose the Dhimm i s to humiliation and emphasize their impotence. This would protect the weak Muslims. Also, according to them, the Dhimm i s must be disgraced, as much as the Muslims have to be honoured. Therefore it is, that if there is no mark of distinction between the Muslim and Non-Muslims, there is every possibility that a Dhimm i might be confused with a Muslim and honoured and respected like him which according to them is dangerously illegal. Hence the necessity of such distinctions. But care should be taken to see that these restrictions and marks lower rather than enhance the self-respect of Dhimm i s. Because political expediency demands that these people are kept weak and suppressed. 50 Some apologists have tried to justify the imposition of such restrictions on the ground that it was meant to promote the interest of the Dhimm i s themselves. It was actually, they say, a protective measure for the safeguard of their culture and civilization. Such marks of distinction, for example, would help the Muslims recognize the Dhimm i s more readily and this according to them held the hands of the ordinary Muslims and obviated the chances of clash against the Dhimm i s. It is clear that justifications of this trend can satisfy only those