Muslim rulers profitably tolerated dhimmi subjects because their jizya tax was lucrative

Evidence

It is a licit—indeed holy—part of the Muslim’s spiritual struggle (jihad) to expand the domain of Islam by war. The Christian and Jew may be forced to submit to the paying of a poll tax (jizya) from which Muslims are exempt: thus they acceded to the status of dhimmi, protected minorities This would help encourage Muslim rulers to be tolerant, for it was more lucrative for them to have dhimmi subjects than Muslim ones. Yet the dhimmi was a second-class subject, meant to “pay tribute” and be “utterly subdued.” — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 258 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Nobles protected Muslim cultivators because their labor was economically valuable; Christian rulers replicated the dhimmi system on conquered Muslims — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 117; Dhimmi status traded acknowledged subjugation for real religious freedoms — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 113 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Economic self-interest, not theology alone, drove Muslim rulers toward religious tolerance. #corroborates (0.95) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 258
• Nobles protected Muslim cultivators because their labor was economically valuable #complicates (0.75)