The term is said to have been invented in 1982 by the Lebanese Maronite militia leader Bachir Gemayel, in reference to perceived attempts by the country's Muslim leadership to subordinate the large Lebanese Christian minority. In a speech of September 14, 1982 given at Dayr al-Salib in Lebanon, he said: "Lebanon is our homeland and will remain a homeland for Christians . . . We want to continue to christen, to celebrate our rites and traditions, our faith and our creed whenever we wish . . . Henceforth, we refuse to live in any dhimmitude!" Gemayel was assassinated shortly after he gave the speech.
It was introduced into Western discourse by the writer Bat Ye'or around 1983. It was used in English as early as 1985 in a book review by Prof. James E. Biechler in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, in which he praised Ye'or's work, commenting that "Perhaps the single most significant contribution of the author is her definition and development of the concept of 'dhimmitude'". Ye'or further popularised the term in her books The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam. From Jihad to Dhimmitude. Seventh-Twentieth Century and the 2003 followup Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the term became far more widely used, particularly in discussions about Islamism.
Bat Yeor's definition:
"As for the concept of dhimmitude, it represents a behavior dictated by fear (terrorism), pacifism when aggressed, rather than resistance, servility because of cowardice and vulnerability. The origin of this concept is to be found in the condition of the Infidel people who submit to the Islamic rule without fighting in order to avoid the onslaught of jihad. By their peaceful surrender to the Islamic army, they obtained the security for their life, belongings and religion, but they had to accept a condition of inferiority, spoliation and humiliation. As they were forbidden to possess weapons and give testimony against a Muslim, they were put in a position of vulnerability and humility."
Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, states that
"If we look at the considerable literature available about the position of Jews in the Islamic world, we find two well-established myths. One is the story of a golden age of equality, of mutual respect and cooperation, especially but not exclusively in Moorish Spain; the other is of “dhimmi”-tude, of subservience and persecution and ill treatment. Both are myths. Like many myths, both contain significant elements of truth, and the historic truth is in its usual place, somewhere in the middle between the extremes."
Robert Spencer author of the The Myth of Islamic Tolerance defines dhimmitude as :