Can we determine who is a kafir? Should we be friends with him/her?

Question:
In your article "Can Non-Muslims Be Made Friends", you wrote :

"Why is the Qur'an requiring Muslims to be kind and equitable to those (non-believers) who had neither fought against their faith nor driven them out of their homes, when they were worst of creatures?"

This raises a question for me. Who from among the People of the Book, during the Prophet's time, is considered Kuffar? Was Itmamul Hujjah only for the idolater Arabs or did it also include all the people of the book in the arabian peninsula and/or the ones
the Prophet had contact with? I ask this because other verses also that say, for example, that those who say "trinity" or "those who say God is the Messiah Jesus", are kuffar (i.e. have disbelieved).

Response:
There is a difference between the statement allazeena kafaroo (those who do
kufr) and another that declares a person an incorrigible Kafir, just like there is a difference in a person who does shirk and a Mushrik. While shirk and kufr were rampant at the time that the Qur'an was being revealed, only those people were declared incorrigible Kafirs who proved through their persistent stubbornness that they wouldn't believe. Only God could determine that, and He made it clear in such cases. Itmamul Hujjah (convincing communication of the message that left no doubts in the minds) was done on all people of the Arabian Peninsula: both Makkan and other polytheists, as well as the People of the Book.

Before that stage was reached, everyone was to be treated as a potential believer and therefore, deserved to be politely invited towards faith. Today, we can't say for sure who amongst the non-Muslims is an incorrigible kafir. We will not be friends with anyone who openly declares himself an enemy of Islam or ridicules our religion. However, we will politely and intelligently invite everyone towards our faith through our good actions and messages.

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