The prophet's political-military positions in confrontation with Christians of Arabian Peninsula

Economic attractions of Arabian Peninsula had brought about residence of some followers of divine religions in Yemen, Najran, north of the peninsula, and partly in Oman. Some Arab tribes in Bahrain also had converted to Christianity before Islam. The appearance of Islam required new relationships with Christian communities and lead to a different interaction with them under a new order. The political and military positions of the Prophet (PBUH) in confrontations with Christians were obviously in accordance with different approaches of Christian communities against the Islamic state. In this study, the spectrum of political and military positions and policies of the Prophet of Islam towards the Christian communities of the peninsula are examined to answer the question that why there were diversities in some positions of this kind. To study the subject according to the historical method, after investigating relevant sources, the relevant data were collected and used in evaluation the hypotheses and test of the variables involved in the subject. The research findings suggest that during the Prophet era, the policies of interaction with or opposition to Christians were based on the Quran laws and the kinds of Christians' behaviors. On this basis, the Christians in south and west of the peninsula, who surrendered to prophet's superiority, enjoyed religious freedoms just by paying tribute and maintained their role in the economy of the Najran. But the Christians in north of the peninsula took hostile positions against the Prophet (PBUH) and consequently, faced with Muslims' military encounters and eventually forced to adopt peace contracts and to pay tribute.