Zunar

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Zunār (زنار) was a wide yellow belt made of cloth. It was part of the clothing that non-Muslims under Dhimmitude were required to wear in order to differentiate themselves from Muslims.

The requirement to wear it were dictated by Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, the second Rightly-guided Caliph, and formed one of his many "well-known conditions" in the Pact of Umar (637 AD).[1]

The yellow badge that was to be eventually used by the Nazis as a badge of shame against the Jews was actually first introduced by a Muslim caliph in Baghdad in the 9th century as a variant of the zunār. This then spread to the western world during medieval times.[2]

As recently as 2001, Afghanistan's Hindus were required to wear yellow badges to segregate "un-Islamic" and "idolatrous" communities from Islamic ones.[3][4][5]

See Also

  • Pact of Umar - A hub page that leads to other articles related to the Pact of Umar

Translations

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References

  1. Tafsir ibn Kathir - Paying Jizyah is a Sign of Kufr and Disgrace
  2. Bernard Lewis - The Jews of Islam - Princeton University Press, June 1, 1987, pp. 25-26.
  3. Taliban to mark Afghan Hindus - CNN, May 22, 2001
  4. Jack Kelley - Taliban: Hindus must wear identity labels - USA TODAY, June 19, 2001
  5. T.C. Malhotra - US Lawmakers Condemn Taliban Treatment Of Hindus - CNS News, July 7, 2008