Jizya in the context of "Islamized"

The Islamization of Egypt occurred after the seventh-century Muslim conquest, in which the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate seized control of Egypt from the Christian dominated Byzantine Empire. Egypt and other conquered territories in Africa gradually underwent a large-scale conversion from Christianity to Islam, motivated in part by a jizya tax for those who refused to convert. Islam became the faith of the majority of the population at some point between the 13th and 14th centuries, and Arabic became the main language, replacing Coptic and Greek, which had previously served as the vernacular and governmental languages, respectively.

Sunni Islam was the official religion of the Ottoman Empire. The highest position in Islam, caliphate, was claimed by the sultan, after the defeat of the Mamluks which was established as Ottoman Caliphate. The sultan was to be a devout Muslim and was given the literal authority of the caliph. Additionally, Sunni clerics had tremendous influence over government and their authority was central to the regulation of the economy. Despite all this, the sultan also had a right to the decree, enforcing a code called Kanun (law) in Turkish. Additionally, there was a supreme clerical position called the Sheykhulislam ("Sheykh of Islam" in Arabic). Minorities, particularly Christians and Jews but also some others, were mandated to pay the jizya, the poll tax as mandated by traditional Islam.

Dhimmī (Arabic: ذمي ḏimmī, IPA: [ˈðimmiː], collectively أهل الذمة ʾahl aḏ-ḏimmah/dhimmah "the people of the covenant") or muʿāhid (معاهد) is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection and certain restrictions. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligation under sharia to protect the individual's life, property, as well as freedom of religion, in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of the jizya tax, in contrast to the zakat, or obligatory alms, paid by the Muslim subjects. Dhimmi were exempt from military service and other duties assigned specifically to Muslims if they paid the poll tax (jizya) but were otherwise equal under the laws of property, contract, and obligation. Dhimmis were subject to specific restrictions as well, which were codified in agreements like the Pact of ʿUmar. These included prohibitions on building new places of worship, repairing existing ones in areas where Muslims lived, teaching children the Qurʾān, and preventing relatives from converting to Islam. They were also required to wear distinctive clothing, refrain from carrying weapons, and avoid riding on saddles.

The persecution of Zoroastrians is a significant aspect of the later part of the community's history. It is speculated that religious strife existed between Zoroastrians and early Christians, particularly within the context of the Roman–Persian Wars, though the extent of this phenomenon remains unclear. While it was a widespread religion in West Asia for over a millennium, Zoroastrianism began to decline drastically in the aftermath of the Muslim conquest of Persia. The annexation of the Sasanian Empire by the Rashidun Caliphate marked a monumental shift for the former's Zoroastrian-majority society, which was eventually subsumed by the ensuing process of Islamization. During this period, discrimination and harassment against Zoroastrians typically took place in the form of forced conversions and sparse violence. Early Muslims who arrived in the region are recorded to have destroyed Zoroastrian temples or repurposed them as mosques. Zoroastrian practices gradually became circumscribed under Islamic law, which included the levying of the jizya, a tax on non-Muslims.

Early Muslim behaviour with Zoroastrians may have been motivated in part by the fact that they are not explicitly classified as "People of the Book" in the Quran. Although some interpretations do extend this status to the community, the wider consensus among Muslim scholars is that "People of the Book" only identifies the followers of pre-Islamic Abrahamic religions—chiefly Judaism and Christianity—and consequently excludes Zoroastrianism, which is classified as an Iranian religion. Thus, the relative lack of amnesty and privileges for Zoroastrians at this time prompted a large part of the community to flee from Persia to neighbouring India, where they were granted asylum by local kings. The descendants of these Zoroastrian refugees of the early Muslim conquests are known as the Parsi people, who comprise the most prominent community of Indian Zoroastrians today.

Akbar (Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar, (1542-10-15)15 October 1542 – (1605-10-27)27 October 1605), also known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in the Indian subcontinent. He is generally considered one of the greatest emperors in Indian history and led a successful campaign to unify the various kingdoms of Hindūstān or India proper.

Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include much of the Indian subcontinent through Mughal military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a centralised system of administration and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy. To preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his non-Muslim subjects, including abolishing the sectarian tax and appointing them to high civil and military posts.