"And this is my command. No Moslem shall molest a follower of
Christ; and if he dispute with him it shall be with good manners.
And if a Christian do any man wrong it shall be a duty with Moslems
to stay the avenger and make peace between them, paying the ransom
if the wrong demand a ransom. And it is my wish that Christians
should not be disregarded by my followers, for I have pledged my
word unto them before God that they shall be as Moslems in my
sight, sharing and partaking of all things with the rest. And in
their marriages they shall not be troubled No Moslem shall say to a
Christian, 'Give me thy daughter,' nor take her unless he be
willing. And if a Christian woman become a slave to a Moslem he
shall be bound by this covenant to leave her her religion, nor
shall he compel her to disobey her religious chiefs. This is the
command of God, and whosoever shall deny it and disobey God shall
hold him for a liar.
"Moreover it shall be a duty with my followers to repair the
churches of the Christians, rendering them the service not as a
debt, but for God's sake and for the keeping of the covenant, made
to them by the Apostle of God.
"No Christian shall be compelled to go forth in time of war as an
envoy or spy against his people.
"These are the privileges which Mohammed, the Apostle of God, hath
granted to the followers of Christ. In return he requested them to
deal with him and with the Moslems as follows:--
"1. None of them in time of war shall give assistance, either
openly or in secret, to the enemies of Islam.
"2. They shall not give asylum in their churches or in their houses
to the enemies of Islam.
"3. They shall not help them with arms, or rations, or horses, or
men.
"4. They shall not keep counsel with the declared enemies of Islam,
nor receive them in their houses, nor deposit money with them.
"5. They shall grant to all Moslems seeking their hospitality
entertainment for at least three days. But no Moslem shall require
of them to make special cooking for him, and he shall eat of the
common food with his host.
"6. If a Moslem seek asylum with a Christian, the Christian shall
not refuse to shelter him, and shall not deliver him to his
enemies.
"What Christian soever shall refuse these my requests, he shall not
partake of the privileges of this covenant which I have made with
the bishops, monks, and the rest, the followers of Christ. And I
call God to witness with my followers and command them to keep
faithful to this my precept, now and till the day of judgment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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