Ya'qub Ibn Killis

A Jew of Babylonian origin who converted to Islam and rose to chief minister under the Fatimids, an example of the prominence of courtiers of non-Muslim origin.

The Fatimid caliphs, Shi'ites among a mostly Sunni population, were themselves something of a religious minority, which together with the large share of non-Muslims in Egypt may explain the attitude often described as tolerant toward dhimmis. Non-Muslim or newly converted courtiers were so prominent that the Fatimids were criticized; an eleventh-century author sneered that the Jews had reached the peak of their desires. Ya'qub Ibn Killis, a Babylonian Jew who converted to Islam, rose to chief minister.1