http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhimmi
Dhimmis were allowed to \"practice their religion, subject to certain conditions, and to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy\" and guaranteed their personal safety and security of property, in return for paying tribute and acknowledging Muslim supremacy .[10] Taxation from the perspective of dhimmis who came under the Muslim rule, was \"a concrete continuation of the taxes paid to earlier regimes\"[11] (but now lower under the Muslim rule[12][13][14]) and from the point of view of the Muslim conqueror was a material proof of the dhimmi's subjection.[11] Various restrictions and legal disabilities were placed on Dhimmis, such as prohibitions against bearing arms or giving testimony in courts in cases involving Muslims.[15] Most of these disabilities had a social and symbolic rather than a tangible and practical character.[16] Although persecution in the form of violent and active repression was rare and atypical,[17], the limitations on the rights of dhimmis made them vulnerable to the whims of rulers and the violence of mobs[18].
While recognizing the inferior status of dhimmis under Islamic rule, Bernard Lewis states that in most respects their position \"was very much easier than that of non-Christians or even of heretical Christians in medieval Europe.\"[19] For example, dhimmis rarely faced martyrdom or exile, or forced compulsion to change their religion, and with certain exceptions they were free in their choice of residence and profession.[20] And in general, the Muslim attitude toward dhimmis was one of contempt instead of hate, fear, or envy, and was rarely expressed in ethnic or racial terms.[21]