Tolerance and Coercion in Islam

Yohanan Friedmann's study of tolerance in Islam sheds light not only on medieval attitudes to interfaith relations, but on the approach of some radical Islamic movements today. Muslim rulers encountered other religious communities throughout much of their history and dictated the nature of that relationship, in accordance with their particular beliefs. Friedmann uses the Qur'an and classical Muslim sources to reveal that, while attitudes were usually tolerant, coercion was employed on occasions against marginal elements.