The Caliph Mu’awiya, the first Umayyad caliph, transforms the Arab world into a secular state in which religion takes second place. For the first time leadership is in the hands of a person who was not one of the Prophet’s associates. Mu’awiya settles Jews, whom he considers to be faithful allies of the Arabs, in Tripoli and Syria; a period of prosperity for the Jews and Christians in Palestine under a regime which is very tolerant.