Islamic Teaching: Non-Muslims Equal to Dogs

Among those familiar with the true teachings of Islam, it is well known that the life — or as articulated in Arabic, the “blood” — of an infidel, that is, a non-Muslim, is not equal to the life/blood of a Muslim. Few know, however, that among some of Islam’s respected hadith collections, the blood of a non-Muslim is no better than the blood of a dog.
(Dog-lovers should bear in mind that, in Islam, to be compared to a dog is about the worst and most degrading insult.)
Brother Rashid (a former Muslim turned Christian) recently discussed this during his Arabic-language show, Su’al Jari’ (“Daring Question,” which I recently appeared on to discuss my book, Crucified Again).
According to a hadith recorded among other places in Sunan Ahmed (Hanbali jurisprudence) and Sunan al-Bayhaqi (Shafi’i jurisprudence), during the course of a discussion about non-Muslims, Caliph Omar al-Khattab — one of Sunni Islam’s “four righteous caliphs” — declared “They are heathens, and the blood of one of them is [like] the blood of a dog.”