কোরআনিক নিয়ম "ধর্মে কোন জবরদস্তি নেই" অনুযায়ী (২:২৫৬) জোরপূর্বক ধর্মান্তরকরণ নিষিদ্ধ থাকলেও ইসলামের ইতিহাসে এর অনেক উদাহরণ রয়েছে। 
প্রথিতযশা ইতিহাসবিদগণ কিছু "বিরল" ও "ব্যতিক্রমী" বিষয় লক্ষ্য করেছেন।

While scholars like Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf stated that "jizya" tax should be paid by non-Muslims whatever their religion, some later and more extremist jurists do not permit "jizya" for idolators and instead only allowed the choice of conversion to avoid death. Out of the four schools of Islamic law, the Hanafi and Maliki schools allow the "dhimmi" status for polytheists except Arab polytheists. The Shafi'i and Hanbali school however only consider Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians to be eligible to the category.

Wael Hallaq states that in theory, Islamic religious tolerance applied only to monotheistic "People of the Book" like Christians, Jews and Magians if they paid the "jizya" tax, and pagans faced only two choices between conversion to Islam and fight to the death. In practice, the designation "People of the Book" and the dhimma status was extended even to non-monotheistic religions of conquered peoples, such as Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and other non-monotheists.

In recent times, forced conversions have been threatened or carried out in the context of war, insurgency and intercommunal violence. Cases affecting thousands of people are reported to have occurred during the Partition of India, the Bangladesh Liberation War, in areas controlled by ISIS, and in Pakistan. Disputed allegations of forced conversion of young women have generated public controversy in Egypt and the UK.

ইসলাম
বাংলাদেশ
অটোমান সাম্রাজ্য
Pakistan