These rules listed below are not inventions of the Islamic State. They are as old as the concept of dhimmitude itself. Compare the Islamic State’s rules to the rules for dhimmis enunciated in Umdat al-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller), a classic manual of Islamic law:
O11.4: The Non-Muslim Poll Tax
The minimum non-Muslim poll tax is one dinar (n: 4.235 grams of gold) per person (A: per year). The maximum is whatever both sides agree upon.
It is collected with leniency and politeness, as are all debts, and is not levied on women, children, or the insane.
O11.5
Such non-Muslim subjects are obliged to comply with Islamic rules that pertain to the safety and indemnity of life, reputation, and property. In addition, they:
-1- are penalized for committing adultery or theft, thought not for drunkenness;
-2- are distinguished from Muslims in dress, wearing a wide cloth belt (zunnar);
-3- are not greeted with “as-Salamu ‘alaykum”;
-4- must keep to the side of the street;
-5- may not build higher than or as high as the Muslims’ buildings, though if they acquire a tall house, it is not razed;
-6- are forbidden to openly display wine or pork, (A: to ring church bells or display crosses,) recite the Torah or Evangel (The Bible) aloud, or make public display of their funerals and feastdays;
-7- and are forbidden to build new churches.
O11.6
They are forbidden to reside in the Hijaz, meaning the area and towns around Mecca, Medina, and Yamama, for more than three days when the caliph allows them to enter there for something they need).
O11.7
A non-Muslim may not enter the Meccan Sacred Precinct (Haram) under any circumstances, or enter any other mosque without permission (A: nor may Muslims enter churches without their permission).
O11.8
It is obligatory for the caliph (def: o25) to protect those of them who are in Muslim lands just as he would Muslims, and to seek the release of those of them who are captured.
