CHARTER OF PRIVILEGES TO CHRISTIANS
LETTER TO THE MONKS OF ST. CATHERINE MONASTERY
Dr. A. Zahoor and Dr. Z. Haq
(Copyright 1990, 1997, All Rights Reserved)
In 628 C.E. Prophet Muhammad (s) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war.
An English translation of that document is presented below.
This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.No compulsion is to be on them.Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.
No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.
The Muslims are to fight for them.
If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.
Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).
This charter of privileges has been honored and faithfully applied by Muslims throughout the centuries in all lands they ruled.
This charter which the monks of St Catherine's love to display has been virtually ignored from the time of its inception – and many Muslims do not hold it as authentic. The internal inconsistency of the Qur'an, the testimony of the murderous life of Mohammed, the witness of the blood of hundreds of thousands of Christian martyrs spilled at the hands of Islamic invaders, and the millions upon millions of Christians who lived and continue to live under dhimmi status in Islamic lands confirm that there is no such code honored by Muslims, nor has there ever been.
Fr Thomas Soroka
St Nicholas Orthodox Church
McKees Rocks/Pittsburgh, PA