Various Jewish communities were among the peoples who came under Muslim rule with the spread of Islam, which began in the early 7th century in the time of Muhammad and the early Muslim conquests.

Under Islamic rule, Jews, along with Christians and certain other pre-Islamic monotheistic religious groups, were considered "People of the Book" and given the status of dhimmi (Arabic: ذِمّيّ 'of the covenant'), which granted them certain rights while imposing specific obligations and restrictions. The treatment of Jews varied significantly depending on the period and location. For example, during the Almohad period in North Africa and Spain, Jews faced harsh persecution and were forced to convert to Islam, flee, or face severe consequences. In contrast, during waves of persecution in medieval Europe, many Jews found refuge in Muslim lands where conditions were comparatively more tolerant during certain eras, such as in the Ottoman Empire, where many Jews living in Spain migrated to after the Expulsion of Jews from Spain.

The introduction of nationalist ideologies (including Zionism and Arab nationalism), the impact of colonial policies, and the establishment of modern nation-states altered the status and the dynamics of Jewish communities in Muslim-majority countries. These shifts culminated in the large-scale emigration of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa and other various Muslim countries during the mid-20th century. Today, Jews residing in Muslim countries have been reduced to a small fraction of their former sizes, with Azerbaijan, Iran, Nigeria, Uzbekistan and Turkey being home to the largest remaining Jewish populations, followed by significant communities in Morocco, Tunisia, and Kazakhstan and remaining smaller ones in Lebanon, Yemen, Algeria, Syria, Pakistan and Iraq. This was due to Arab nationalism, religious beliefs, economic reasons, widespread persecution, antisemitism, political instability and curbing of human rights in Muslim-majority countries.^{[citation needed]} In 2018, the Jewish Agency for Israel estimated that around 27,000 Jews live in Arab and Muslim countries.

At the end of the 19th century, early modern chroniclers such as Moïse Franco, Samuel Rozanes, and Abraham Galante began documenting various aspects of Ottoman Jewish history. One of the first works on the subject—at least in French—was Moïse Franco's Essai sur l'Histoire des Israélites de l'Empire Ottoman: Depuis les Origines Jusqu'à Nos Jours (1897).

The second generation of studies focused more on rabbinic responsa, using them as primary historical sources. At the same time, "[Jewish] Orientalists looked back, nostalgically, to medieval Islam, especially Muslim Spain, 'mythically' imagining Islamdom to have been a tolerant society, granting Jews the freedom and equality that they, as Central European Jews, particularly those in Germany, yearned for from their Christian compatriots."

Among the most prominent scholars on this topic is Bernard Lewis, whose book The Jews of Islam remains a key reference in the field. Additionally, the collective volume led by Abdelwahab Meddeb and Benjamin Stora, A History of Jewish-Muslim Relations: From the Origins to the Present Day, provides a comprehensive perspective by incorporating insights from scholars of various backgrounds.

A persistent debate in this field concerns the actual conditions of Jewish life under Muslim rule. Historians offer divergent perspectives, often shaped by historical, ideological, or methodological considerations. The diversity of Jewish experiences across different Muslim dynasties and regions complicates efforts to present a single, uniform narrative.

Bernard Lewis summarized this complexity as follows: