Islamic law frames conversion legitimacy through the dominant faith of a territory

Evidence

It might have been predicted that there would be objections from some pious Christians. The completion of the Conquest/Reconquest of Granada and the fundamental switch of sovereignty that that entailed meant that the “inherent” religion of that place had changed. When the terms of surrender were still being negotiated, in protracted talks, the converts (from Christianity to Islam) concerned did not pose any problem in terms of the rules as just set out. They had converted to the dominant faith of the city of Granada. But once the Castilian forces had taken over there, once the frontier between Christendom and dar al-islam shifted and the converts now found themselves on the wrong side of the religious divide, they would not be tolerated. Yet the Catholic Monarchs had promised to leave these converts unmolested. A logical, political and religious impasse had been created. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 163

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the principle that converts were tolerated or not depending on which religion held sovereignty over the place where they converted.
• XREF: Connects to the general pattern across the Mediterranean of religious identity being tied to territorial sovereignty rather than individual conscience — echoes of the whole reconquest framework.