IN THE COURTS OF THE NATIONS - DataSpace - Princeton ...

The practice of exaggerating the value of stolen goods was widespread enough that it
prompted the sultan to pass a law requiring Jews to register their goods with ‘udūl before
traveling in the countryside. 150 Yet records from the Ministry of Complaints suggest that this
measure was not always effective. In an entry from August 20, 1892, the pasha of Meknes
reported on the complaint of the Jew al-Lībī (Levy) and his partner Ibrāhīm Gasūs. 151 Al-Lībī
and Gasūs had registered a certain number of goods with ‘udūl before departing, but after they
were robbed they claimed an amount much higher than that which they had originally declared.
In another case, the Jews simply refused to register their goods with ‘udūl. 152
An accusation made against some Jewish creditors attempting to collect debts was that
they were in fact charging interest, which was strictly illegal according to Islamic law. 153 There
is little doubt that Jewish (and Muslim) creditors charged hidden interest in ways permissible
under Islamic law. European observers and diplomats particularly emphasized the usurious
nature of Jewish moneylending in nineteenth-century Morocco, painting a picture in which Jews
regularly charged exorbitant rates of interest. 154 These observations were undoubtedly colored
by anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews as usurers prevalent in Europe at the time. However, the
Ministry of Complaints registers preserve only three instances in which Jews were accused of
150
On this regulation, see FO, 636/5, Nahon to Hay, 21 December 1885. See also Schroeter, Merchants of
Essaouira, 173-74. Mawlāy Ḥasan also instructed the governors of cities to appoint a certain number of ‘udūl to
specialize in registering Jews’ goods, depending on the size of the city (for instance, Marrakesh had eight while
Tetuan had four). For responses to this order, see DAR, Yahūd, 15600, Aḥmad Amālik to Mawlāy Ḥasan, 18 Ṣafar
1303; 2255, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Yūlī to Mawlāy Ḥasan, 1 Rabī‘ I 1303; 2260, Muḥammad b. ‘Abdallāh to
Mawlāy Ḥasan, 4 Rabī‘ I 1303; DAR, Tetuan, Muḥammad ‘Azīmān to Mawlāy Ḥasan, 10 Rabī‘ I 1303.
151
BH, K 181, p. 246, 26 Muḥarram 1310.
152
BH, K 181, p. 50, 30 Rabī‘ I 1309.
153
See, for instance, BH, K 171, p. 91, 22 Shawwāl 1307, in which the official noted that of the 300 (the currency is
not recorded) owed to the Jewish creditor, only 150 was the original debt (aṣl) and the rest was interest (ribā).
154
Laurent-Charles Féraud, French ambassador from 1884 to 1888, was particularly outspoken about what he saw as
the prevalence of usury among Jewish protégés: see, for instance, MAE Courneuve, C.P. Maroc 48, Féraud to
Freycinet, 13 June 1885; C.P. Maroc 50, Féraud to Freycinet, 6 January 1886, 16 February 1886, and 22 April 1886;
C.P. Maroc 51, Féraud to Freycinet, 15 July 1886; C.P. Maroc 53, Féraud to Flourens, 25 September 1887.
Budgett Meakin did not explicitly single out Jews as usurious creditors, focusing instead on European protégés;
nonetheless, the only creditor whose religion he identified was Jewish (Meakin, Life in Morocco, 235-37). See
Kenbib, Juifs et musulmans, 253-62.
219