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| Liturgical Procession, by Lambert de Vos, c. 1574, Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Muslim rulers in the 8th century AD were the first to introduce "identification badges" for Jews and Christians among the Muslim population.
The design and style of the badges for Jews varied.
Under the rule of Caliph Harun al-Rashid (807 CE), Jews in Baghdad were required to wear yellow belts or armbands.
During the reign of Caliph al-Mutawakkil, Jews (847-861) wore a patch shaped like a donkey, while Christians wore a mark in the shape of a pig.
In 1005, Jews in Egypt were ordered to wear bells on their clothing.
These are Islamic innovations, before the world witnessed the Nazis.There is no purpose in revisiting these dates except for the sake of knowledge initially, and for self-critique of practices in our history that were not characterised by justice. And advocating for equality for all people without any discrimination.
Historians attribute the interest of Muslim leaders in the attire of "Dhimmis" (non-Muslim subjects living under Muslim sharia) whether for political considerations or religious interpretations, to some Prophetic traditions, such as:
'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. al-As reported:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saw me wearing two clothes dyed with safflower. whereupon he said: "These are the clothes of the disbelievers, so do not wear them."
[Sahih Muslim 2077a]
[Sahih Muslim 2077a]
'Umar wrote to us when we were in Adharba'ijan saying: "beware of the life of pleasure, and the dress of the polytheists".
Sahih Muslim 2069c | Book 37, Hadith 26
Moreover, through what was reported about Caliph Umar ibn Abdul Aziz: "Christians should not resemble Muslims in anything, such as their dress, tiaras, turbans or shoes or parting of the hair. They must wear long hats."
As mentioned in the manuscript of Ibn Zabr al-Qadi, "Conditions of the Christians أحوال النصارى": "And they should not resemble Muslims in their clothing, nor in their appearance, nor in their saddles, nor in the engraving of their seals."
As much as the clerical attire carries spiritual or religious connotations, it also bears a legacy of the rigidity practiced by the state and rulers during the caliphate eras since the "Islamic conquest."
The same applies to the attire of "dhimmis," the term used for Christians and Jews during the caliphate eras, as they were not allowed to wear attire resembling that of Muslims. Discrimination against them was practiced, and many restrictions were imposed through regulations and rules concerning their clothing and movements.
At the time, laws of differentiation, or ghiyar, existed concerning the dress of non-Muslim subjects, called dhimmis.
The laws and their enforcement varied during the reigns of different caliphs. Most notably, al-Mutawakkil issued strict edicts about dress regulations.
He required that Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians wear yellow shawl-like head-cloths, called taylasans, and a distinguishing belt, called a zunnar. If they wore turbans, then those were also required to be yellow in colour. The slaves of non-Muslims also had to wear identifying clothing. Among other regulations, they had to attach yellow-coloured "yellowish-brown or golden colour" patches to their garments. It is not definitively known for how long these explicit set of laws put forth by al-Mutawakkil were enforced.
The caliph al-Muqtadir (r. 908-932) did follow suit by issuing similar regulations early in his reign.
It is said that the 8th Umayyad caliph, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, renowned in Islamic history for "his justice", when he observed the non-compliance of the "dhimmis" in adhering to the aforementioned conditions, he instructed the governors of Egypt to prohibit them from wearing turbans, cloaks, hoods, and Arabian sandals, and their belts should be worn over their garments, not concealed, according to the book "Evolution of Clothing تطور الملابس".
The conditions also extended to colours and were not limited to the nature of clothing alone.
Muslims often refrained from wearing bright colours, while it was required for "dhimmis" to wear clear colours such as yellow, blue, and green.
Despite these restrictions, many Jews and Christians displayed grandeur in their available attire, which was rejected by the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil (836-861).
He issued an order compelling the dhimmis to adhere to the prescribed clothing conditions imposed on them previously and added some instructions. These included wearing a honey-coloured tunic, tightening their belts, and adding two patches to men's garments, each patch differing in colour from the other by the width of four fingers, with each having a different colour.
As for women, Christian and Jewish women were required to wear a distinctive coloured wrap-around skirt, such as honey-coloured, and they were prohibited from riding horses (which was also forbidden for their men) but were allowed to ride donkeys and mules.
Even during the reign of Caliph Al-Hakim bi-AmrAllah (996-1020), known for his unique style of governance, there was an increase in strictness regarding differentiation among "citizens" or "subjects."
His desire to distinguish between Muslims and "dhimmis" reached its peak for political reasons, which we'll leave for another discussion.
In 395 AH, a decree was read in the mosques of Cairo requiring Christians and Jews to wear "ghiyar" and tighten their belts. "Ghiyar" was black in colour, which some historians attribute to the colour of their Abbasid enemies.
The caliph intended by this to liken them to the enemy, lower their status and classify them as disobedient, and restrict them with the colours of adversaries, as mentioned in the book "Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah wa Asrar al-Da'wah al-Fatimiyyah/الحاكم بأمر الله وأسرار الدعوة الفاطمية"
"Ghiyar الغيار"; "Down to the twentieth century non-Muslims resident in certain societies were required to observe the ghiyār, a collective term for items of clothing, hairstyles, and other markers that in principle diferentiated their outward aspect from that of Muslims."
Additionally, Jews were required to carry "Qarami" (a reference to the golden calf's head revered by Jews in the past) made of wood visibly above their garments, and none of them were allowed to walk except in black (ghiyar) and black turbans.
-- A genizah document from 1121 gives the following description of decrees issued in Baghdad:
"Two yellow badges [are to be displayed], one on the headgear and one on the neck. Furthermore, each Jew must hang round his neck a piece of lead weighing [3 grammes] with the word dhimmi on it. He also has to wear a belt round his waist."
"The women have to wear one red and one black shoe and have a small bell on their necks or shoes."
Head Coverings and Shirts
Most head coverings among dhimmis were designed without trailing ends at the back, unlike the turbans worn by Muslims. For instance, King Al-Salih bin Ruzik ordered that there should be no trailing ends on non-Muslims' turbans to easily differentiate between them.
One of the paintings in the Coptic Museum showcased Coptic shirts during the early Islamic periods, distinguished by two coloured bands hanging from the top of the shoulders in the front and back. As for colours, green and light gray predominated in their shirts, as noted by researcher "Soraya/Thurya Nasr" in the book "History of Costumes/تاريخ الأزياء"
Many Copts also embroidered images of saints and decorative motifs of plants and animals on their shirts to adorn them.
It is worth mentioning, the Pact of Umar is supposed to have been the peace accord offered by the Caliph Umar to the Christians of Syria.
The pact contains a list of rights and restrictions on dhimmis. By abiding by them, non-Muslims are
granted the security of their persons, their families, and their possessions.
"Christians should not hinder any Muslim from staying in their churches for three days during which they offer them food and serve the Muslims. They ought to give them their seats if the Muslims wish to sit down. Christians should not resemble Muslims in anything, such as their dress, tiaras, turbans or shoes or parting of the hair. They should not ride a donkey with a saddle. They must shave their foreheads. They should not display any of their (religious) books on the streets of the Muslims. They should not bury their dead next to Muslims and must not read loudly in their churches. They should not mourn loudly over their dead. They should not buy slaves who fall under the portion of Muslims Not one of them should assume any position by which he has any authority over a Muslim. If they infringe any of these terms, they lose the right of protection and it is admissible for the Muslims to treat them as people of rebellion and quarrel; that is, it is permissible to kill them. Head tax must be imposed on them, free men as well as the slaves, male or female, poor and rich and on the monks" (cited from Ibn Hazm).
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