Editing Poll tax (section)

==Religious law==

===Mosaic law===
As prescribed in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], [[Jewish law]] imposed a poll tax of a half-[[shekel]], payable by every man above the age of twenty.

{{Blockquote|{{sup|11}}And the {{LORD}} spake unto Moses, saying,

{{sup|12}}When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the {{LORD}}, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

{{sup|13}}This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty [[gerah]]s:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the {{LORD}}.

{{sup|14}}Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the {{LORD}}.

{{sup|15}}The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the {{LORD}}, to make an atonement for your souls.

{{sup|16}}And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the {{LORD}}, to make an atonement for your souls.|Exodus 30:11–16<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|30:11–16|AV}}</ref>}}

The money was designated for the [[Tabernacle]] in the Exodus narrative and later for the upkeep of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]]. Priests, women, slaves and minors were exempted, but could offer it voluntarily. Payment by [[Samaritans]] or [[Gentiles]] was rejected. It was collected yearly in the month of [[Adar]] at the Temple or provincial collection offices.

===Islamic law===
{{transliteration|ar|[[Zakat al-Fitr]]}} is an obligatory charity that must be given by every Muslim (or their guardian) near the end of every [[Ramadan]], except for those in dire poverty.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Sociology of Islam: Secularism, Economy and Politics|editor-first=Tugrul |editor-last=Keskin |page=449 |year=2012 |publisher=Ithaca Press |isbn=978-0-86372-425-1 }}</ref> The amount is {{cvt|2|kg}} of wheat or barley, or its cash equivalent, to be given to the poor.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Handbook of American Islam|author=Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Jane I. Smith|page=166|year=2014}}</ref>

{{transliteration|ar|[[Jizya]]}} is a land or poll tax decreed by the [[Quran]], paid annually by non-believers in Islam living under [[Islamic law]] (residents with {{transliteration|ar|[[dhimmi]]}} status). {{transliteration|ar|Jizya}} began during the reign of [[Muhammad]] (from 9 A.H.) in places like [[Yemen]], [[Bahrain]], and [[Jerash]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Duri |first='Abdal 'Aziz |date=1974 |title=Notes on Taxation in Early Islam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3596329 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=136–144 |doi=10.2307/3596329 |jstor=3596329 |issn=0022-4995}}</ref> As a poll tax, the tax usually only applied to free, abled-bodied adult men. The {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} amount could also vary with the income of the individual. However, according to [[Shibli Nomani]], the word {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} is an Arabicised version of the Persian {{transliteration|fa|kizyat}}, the war tax levied by the Persian empire, which served as a model for the conquering Arabs. The [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian Persian]] emperor Nawsherwan imposed a poll tax, termed {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} by Arab historians, varying between 12 and 2 dirhams, exempting officials, soldiers, and nobles.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=AHMED |first1=ZIAUDDIN |last2=Ahmad |first2=Ziauddin |title=The Concept of Jizya in Early Islam |date=1975 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20846971 |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=293–305 |jstor=20846971 |issn=0578-8072}}</ref> During the Islamic rule of [[Muhammad]], the [[magi]] of Iran and landowners of [[Bahrain]] paid {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} of 1 [[dinar]] or its equivalent in clothing, while the landless paid 4 [[dirham]] and a striped woolen cloak.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=AHMED |first1=ZIAUDDIN |last2=Ahmad |first2=Ziauddin |date=1975 |title=The Concept of Jizya in Early Islam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20846971 |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=293–305 |issn=0578-8072 |jstor=20846971}}</ref> Elsewhere, the {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} was graded according to three classes, e.g. 48 [[dirhams]] for the rich, 24 for the middle class, and 12 for the poor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hassan |first1=Abul |title=Islamic Economics: Theory and Practice |last2=Choudhury |first2=M. A. |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-138-36241-3 |location=London |page=247}}</ref>

Although the {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} tax is interpreted by many as a financial humiliation on non-Muslims, others consider it a sign of due allegiance to the political authority of Islam: part of a social contract by which non-Muslims, especially the Jews of [[Medina]], were granted equal social and political rights, and protection of their life, property, and religion. According to some scholars, the {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} paid by non-Muslims is parallel to the {{transliteration|ar|[[zakat]]}} charity obligation on Muslims.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=AHMED |first1=ZIAUDDIN |last2=Ahmad |first2=Ziauddin |title=The Concept of Jizya in Early Islam |date=1975 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20846971 |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=293–305 |jstor=20846971 |issn=0578-8072}}</ref> However, [[Umar]], the second Caliph, ordered a brand on the shoulder of {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} payers, as well as requiring a [[tonsure]] and [[Sumptuary law|sumptuary laws]] to distinguish them from Muslims. Uman distinguished between {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} and {{transliteration|ar|[[kharaj]]}}, where the former means the poll tax on non-Muslim individuals, and the latter means the land tax and sometimes the total sum of taxes paid by leaders of the non-Muslim community. Umar stressed that conversion to Islam provided exemption from {{transliteration|ar|jizya}}, though not from {{transliteration|ar|kharaj}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Duri |first='Abdal 'Aziz |date=1974 |title=Notes on Taxation in Early Islam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3596329 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=136–144 |doi=10.2307/3596329 |jstor=3596329 |issn=0022-4995}}</ref>

[[Amr ibn al-As]], after conquering Egypt, made a census for the {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} according to wealth classes, so that the rich paid more. [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] reformed taxes in Mesopotamia based on a calculation of the income and expenses of a typical man, determining that each adult could pay {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} of 4 [[dinar]]s, a 400% increase over the previous tax; however, this burden seemingly did not increase conversions to Islam.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dennett |first=Daniel Clement |title=Conversion and the Poll Tax in Early Islam |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1950 |edition=2nd |pages=44–48}}</ref>

The [[Cairo Geniza]] records demonstrate the poll tax collection becoming very strict and burdensome for the Jewish community in [[Egypt]] during the 12th century. Evidence suggests that the guardian of a minor was responsible to pay the full poll tax on his behalf until the age of ten. Even the very sick and poor widows were subject to the tax. [[Shelomo Dov Goitein]] concluded that the intolerable burden of the {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} might have caused the mass conversion of Jews in [[Egypt]] to Islam, while more prominent Jews embraced Islam for the possibility of government positions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goitein |first=S. D. |date=1963 |title=Evidence on the Muslim Poll Tax from Non-Muslim Sources. A Geniza Study |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3596268 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=278–295 |doi=10.2307/3596268 |jstor=3596268 |issn=0022-4995}}</ref>

The treaty of 1535, known as [[Franco-Ottoman alliance|the Franco-Ottoman alliance]], revolutionized relations between the Christian and Islamic states, with the poll tax playing a significant role. Previously, a non-Muslim living in Muslim territory for more than a year became liable to the poll tax. Under the treaty, French Christians in [[Ottoman Empire|the Ottoman Empire]] were exempted from all {{transliteration|ar|jizya}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Khadduri |first=Majid |date=April 1956 |title=Islam and the Modern Law of Nations |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/islam-and-the-modern-law-of-nations/2E11910FCFE00824657E5012A58FD485 |journal=American Journal of International Law |language=en |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=358–372 |doi=10.2307/2194954 |jstor=2194954 |s2cid=147619365 |issn=0002-9300}}</ref> In 1855, the [[Ottoman Empire]] abolished the {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} tax as part of reforms to equalize the status of Muslims and non-Muslims. It was replaced by a military-exemption tax on non-Muslims, the {{lang|tr|bedel-i askeri}}. It was once believed that the Islamic poll tax derived from a previous Byzantine poll tax, but evidence for this tax has been re-dated to Islamic times.<ref>Roger Bagnall, ''Egypt in the Byzantine World, 300–700'', Cambridge 2007, pg. 445.</ref>

{{transliteration|ar|Jizya}} reemerged in 2014 after the [[Islamic State]] conquered some parts of [[Iraq]] and [[Syria]]. Its leader [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]] declared that Christians would face the choice of conversion, {{transliteration|ar|jizya}}, or death. This ultimatum was read out in mosques.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-07-18 |title=Convert, pay tax, or die, Islamic State warns Christians |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-security-christians-idUKKBN0FN29N20140718 |access-date=2023-04-28}}</ref> Many Christians fled [[Mosul]], home to the ancient Christian communities of [[Iraq]], leading [[Louis Raphaël I Sako]] to say: "For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians." ISIS issued the same ultimatum in its capital of [[Raqqa]], Syria, demanding {{convert|0.5|oz|g}} of pure gold from Christians in exchange for their safety.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-07-18 |title=Iraqi Christians flee after Isis issue Mosul ultimatum |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28381455 |access-date=2023-04-28}}</ref>