Thesis and Structure
Bat Yeor described her book as "In this study, I tried to analyze the numerous processes that had transformed rich, powerful Christian civilizations into Islamic lands and their long-term effects, which had reduced native Christian majorities into scattered small religious minorities, now slowly disappearing. This complex Islamization process of Christian lands and civilizations on both shores of the Mediterranean—and in Iraq and Armenia—I have called: the process of "dhimmitude" and the civilization of those peoples who underwent such transformation, I have named the civilization of "dhimmitude".
The book consists of two parts, an analysis, which aims to paint a broad picture of the conversion of the Near East to Islam, and an appendix containing selected primary sources. The emphasis of the analysis lies on the near past, especially the 19th century. The appendix contains translations of Islamic and non-Islamic sources from the Middle ages and Western sources of newer date.
Read more about this topic: The Decline Of Eastern Christianity: From Jihad To Dhimmitude
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