There are hundred of examples in the life of prophet Muhammad SAW, where he demonstrate tolerance towards different religions in Mecca and Medina. At that time various faith believers were settled there in Mecca and Medina. In present arena of world, as a Muslim we really need to understand this conduct of prophet Muhammad SAW and also need to follow it.
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Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) And Tolerance Towards Various Religions


What do you want to say about that as a Muslim, what should be our conduct with minorities in Muslim countries?

Greetings and peace be with you ayesha.ansari;

Thank you so much for sharing, we are all created by the same God, and the same God hears all our prayers.

In the spirit of praying for a greater interfaith friendship,

Eric

Asalaamu Alaikum,

There is a great example in the Prophet(pbuh) and the Sahaba(ra) and some of the early Caliphates that followed.

I'd like to share some of these instances -

Saheeh Bukhari

Volume 4, Book 53, Number 391:

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr:

The Prophet said, "Whoever killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims, shall not smell the smell of Paradise though its smell is perceived from a distance of forty years."

In another instance, a Jewish man named Zayd bin Sana came to the Prophet of Islam to reclaim a debt. He grabbed the Prophet by his robe and cloak, pulled the Prophet close to his face, and said, 'Muhammad, are you not going to give me my due? You and your clan Banu Muttalib never pay debts on time!' Umar, one of the companions of the Prophet, got agitated and said, 'Enemy of God, am I really hearing what you just said to God's Prophet. I swear by the One who sent him with truth, if I were not afraid that he would blame me, I would have taken my sword and cut your head off!' The Prophet looked calmly at Umar and censured him gently: "Umar, that is not what we needed to hear from you. You should have counseled me to pay my debts in time and asked him to seek repayment in a respectful manner. Now take him, repay him his debt from my money and give him an extra twenty measures of date." The Jewish man was so pleasantly surprised by the Prophet's behavior that he immediately declared his acceptance of Islam! (Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya, Volume 2, p. 310)

Ibn Ishaq in his Sirah (biography of the Prophet) stated:

When the delegation of Najrani Christians came to the Prophet at Madinah, they entered his mosque in the afternoon to meet him. It was their prayer time, so they began to perform their prayer in the mosque. Some Muslims were about to prevent them from doing so, but the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said, 'Let them pray.' So they faced eastward and performed their prayer.

the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 'Whoever makes a snide comment to a dhimmi (Non-Muslim) has earned Hell.' (Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh)

Once, a dispute arouse between Ali bin Ali Talib, when he was the Caliph, and a Jewish man who went to Judge Shuray al-Kindi. Shuray tells the details of what happened:

"Ali found he was missing a suit of mail, so he went back to Kufa and found it in the hands of a Jewish man who was selling it in the market. He said, 'O Jew! That suit of mail is mine! I did not give it away or sell it!'

The Jew responded 'It is mine. It is in my possession.'

Ali said, 'We will have the judge rule on this for us.'

So they came to me and Ali sat next to me and said, 'That suit of mail is mine; I did not give it away or sell it.'

The Jew sat in front of me and said, 'That is my suit of mail. It is in my possession.'

I asked, 'O Commander of the Faithful, do you have any proof?'

'Yes,' Ali said. 'My son Hasan and Qanbar can testify that it is my suit of mail.'

I said, 'Commander of the Faithful, the testimony of a son in his father's favor is not admissible in court.'

Ali exclaimed, 'How Perfect is God! You cannot accept the testimony of a man who has been promised Paradise? I heard the Messenger of God saying that Hasan and Husain are the princes of the youth in Paradise.' (Al-Tirmidhi)



The Jewish man said,



'The Commander of the Faithful takes me before his own judge and the judge rules in my favor against him! I bear witness that no one deserves worship except God and that Muhammad is His Messenger [the Jewish man accepted Islam], and that the suit of armor is yours, Commander of the Faithful. You dropped it at night and I found it.' (Abu Bakr Hayyan, Tarikh al-Qudat, Volume 2, p. 200)

'In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This is the written statement of God's slave Abu Bakr, the successor of Muhammad, the Prophet and Messenger of God. He affirms for you the rights of a protected neighbor, in yourselves, your lands, your religious community, your wealth, retainers, and servants, those of you who are present or abroad, your bishops and monks, and monasteries, and all that you own, be it great or small. You shall not be deprived of any of it, and shall have full control over it.' (Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Kharaj, p. 79)

This is the protection which the servant of Allah, Umar ibn Al Khattab, the commander of the faithful extends to them (non-Muslims): 'The safeguarding of their lives, property, churches, crosses, and of their entire community. Their churches are not to be occupied, demolished, or damaged, nor are their crosses or anything belonging to them to be touched. They will not be forced to abandon their religion, nor will they be harmed. None of the Jews will live with them in Illiya' (Jersusalem). (Tarikh At-Tabari, Volume 3, p. 609)

Umar ibn Al Khattab once saw an old Jewish beggar whom he found to be destitute. Ordering the state authorities to pay for his livelihood, he observed, "It is unjust if we collect the capitation tax from him in his youth and abandon him in his old age. (Abu Yusuf, Al-Kharaj, p. 126)

The caliph Umar ibn Abdul Aziz ensured that those from the dhimmis who grew old and lost strength were provided with money from the treasury. (Al Amwaal, Volume 1, p. 170)

Once when Umar was on his way to Syria, he came across some Christian lepers at Jabia. He ordered the financial authorities to give them help from the Zakah funds and to provide for them. (Al-Baladhuri, Futuh Al-Buldan, p. 177)

Umar ibn Al Khattab right before he died said:

Saheeh Bukhari
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 475:
Narrated 'Amr bin Maimun Al-Audi:

I recommend him to abide by the rules and regulations concerning the Dhimmis (protectees) of Allah and His Apostle, to fulfill their contracts completely and fight for them and not to tax (overburden) them beyond their capabilities."

Umar said the above despite being stabbed by a Non-Muslim. Also see (Saheeh Bukhari Volume 004, Book 052, Hadith Number 287 & Volume 5, Book 57, Number 50)

It is stated in the Hanbali book of Fiqh, Matalib Ula An-Nuha:

"The ruler of the Muslim community is bound to protect the non-Muslims and to save them from aggression. Should they fall into captivity, the Imam must martial all the resources to secure their release and punish the transgressors against their lives and properties even if they were the sole non-Muslims living in a remote village." (Ibn Al Najaar Al Hanbali, Matalib Ula An-Nuha, Volume 2, p. 602-603)


In his book Al Furuq, Imam Al Qarafi al-Malaki, quoting from Maratib Al-Ijma' by Ibn Hazm, states:


"Muslims who have entered into a pact of dhimma, should fight until death with those who try to oppress non-Muslims in the Islamic state in order to abide by the guarantee given to them by Almighty Allah and His Messenger, upon whom be peace. Otherwise they will be considered as traitors."


The Maliki scholar Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi has stated in his book Al-Furuq,


"The contract of dhimma gives them certain rights over us because they are in our land under our protection and under the protection of Almighty Allah, His Messenger, and the Islamic religion. (Volume 2, p. 14)


In this conclusion, Imam Al Qarafi states:


"A contract whose fulfillment endangers the lives and property of Muslims who are protecting the subjects (non-Muslims) from harm is indeed a great one." (Al-Malaki, Imam Al-Qarafi, Al-Furuq, Volume 3, p. 15, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Matalib Ula An-Nuha, Volume 2, p. 602-603)

It is not only a matter of protecting the dhimmis from physical harm, but also from slander and backbiting. For it is not allowed for one to speak badly about the dhimmis for no justifiable reason as with towards the Muslims. (Al Furooq, Volume 3, p. 14)

The Arabs, to whom the Lord has given control over the world, treat us as you know; they are not the enemies of Christians. Indeed, they praise our community, and treat our priests and saints with dignity, and offer aid to churches and monasteries. (Arthur Stanley Tritton, The People Of The Covenant In Islam, p. 158)

In a letter to Simeon, the Archbishop of Rifardashir and leader of all the bishops of Persia, the Nestorian Patriarch Geoff III wrote:

'The Arabs, to whom God has given power over the whole world, know how wealthy you are, for they live among you. In spite of this, they do not assail the Christian creed. To the contrary, they have sympathy with our religion, and venerate our priests and saints of our Lord, and they graciously donate to our churches and monasteries.' (Sir Thomas Arnold, Invitation To Islam, p. 102)

One of the Muslims caliphs, Abdul-Malik, took the Church of John from the Christians and made it part of a mosque. When Umar bin Abdulaziz succeeded him as the new Caliph, the Christians complained to him about what his predecessor had done to their church. Umar wrote to the governor that the portion of the mosque that was rightfully theirs be returned to them if they were unable to agree with the governor on a monetary settlement that would satisfy them. (Yusuf Qaradawi, 'Ghayr al-Muslimeen fil-Mujtama' al-Islami,' p. 32)

The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is known to historians to be the one of the holiest places of worship in Judaism. Some time ago, it was completely buried under rubble and heaps of debris. When the Ottoman caliph Sultan Sulayman came to know of this, he ordered his governor in Jerusalem to remove all the rubble and debris, clean the area, restore the Wailing Wall, and make it accessible for Jews to visit. (Abdul-Latif Hussayn, 'Tasamuh al-Gharb Ma'l-Muslimeen,' p. 67)

There's ofcourse, alot of other examples, these are just a few.