ABSTRACT
The essential pattern of the jihad war is captured in the great Muslim historian al-Tabari's recording of the recommendation given by Umar b. al-Khattab to the commander of the troops he sent to al-Basrah (636 CE), during the conquest of Iraq. Jihad was pursued century after century, because jihad, which means 'to strive in the path of Allah', embodied an ideology and a jurisdiction. The Muslim historian Baladhuri, maintained that 30,000 Samaritans and 20,000 Jews lived in Caesarea alone just prior to the Arab Muslim conquest; afterwards, all evidence of them disappears. Ultimately, enforced abrogation of the laws and social practices of dhimmitude required the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, which only occurred during the European Mandate period following World War I. The chapter presents a summary of the devastating consequences of the Arab Muslim conquest of Palestine during the fourth decade of the seventh century, directed by the first two Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar b. al-Khattab.
