Leprosy Quotes
The papacy and the Lombards were in a dispute over control of various land holdings. The Pope assumed that leprosy was wrought by God to evil people and in his view the Lombards were that so they would definitely have leprosy.
His quotations are very important because he wrote many of the Islamic legal opinions that governed Muslim Spain and influenced the Arabs of North Africa. This quotation is an excellent insight to the “tolerance” that Islam has had for Christians and Jews. These “People of the Book” The Prophet had instructed were not to be required to convert to Islam—as others were. They could worship provided that they pay a special tax. However the Prophet’s disciples went much further in establishing the way the “tolerance” was to function. Essentially, the Muslim society in general was to scorn the People of the Book and restrict their rights and freedom in many ways. In addition the attitude was to be very negative. In this famous quotation, the Christians and Jews were so lowly esteemed that Muslims had to be warned about the previous owner—the same as if the coat had belonged to a leper. Ironically, at the same time Jews were appointed to some of the highest positions in Andalus government, so these attitudes were not universally held. See {623775}.