In Ja'fari fiqh, can Jizya only be taken from Kitabis? If so, is the only option for other groups under an Islamic Government is to convert or be killed? What would be the situation of groups like the Hindus and Buddhists under a Shi'i Islamic government?
This question is essentially from a Sunni brother who asked me about it and needs to resolve this question so they may look into the True Path of the Ahl al-Bayt without any bias against it due to some moral apprehensions. His concern is that supposedly groups like ISIS used similar rulings of Jizya to commit mass murders. The brother's exploration of the Twelver faith in a sense, hinges upon this question being answered properly and comprehensively. Though the brother agrees that Jizya has been abolished and will likely not make a return any time in the future while we are in the Ghayba especially, in this age of Nation-states, it is a concern.
1. No human being will be forced to believe in the True Faith of Islam as it is clearly stated in Quran: No compulsion in religion. 2:256.
2. There is no question at all of killing a non Muslim for not converting to Islam.
3. Jizyah is a tax paid by Kitabi non Muslims for the services they get from the Muslims government as they don't pay Zakat nor Khums unlike Muslim citizens. Non Kitabi non Muslims enjoy all services from the Muslim government and pay a tax to the government which is not Jizyah but an amount determined by the Muslim ruler if the government needs, and if the government does not need funds, can enjoy all the services free of charge.
4. Shia rulers in many parts of India never forced any Hindu or Buddhist or any non Muslim to convert to Islam, nor did they harmed them over centuries of their governments in Hyderabad, Bijapur, Awadh etc.
Wassalam.