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

etracted his initial testimony claiming that he had confessed under duress. 73 Because the
confession was now questionable, Mawlāy Muḥammad “sent the matter to the qāḍīs and the
‘ulamā’ (Muslim scholars).” 74 Although there was some disagreement among them, 75 the
scholars eventually “rendered a legal opinion (aftaw) that their [the two suspects’] confession
was valid and that they were guilty of the murder.” 76 Because the original testimony of Jacob
Ben Yehudah and Eliyahu Lalouche was upheld, they were both were sentenced to death; Ben
Yehudah, a Moroccan subject, was executed in Safi on September 3. 77 On September 9, Ibn
Hīma reported that he had asked the British consul whether he wanted to claim jurisdiction over
Lalouche, an Ottoman subject. 78 The British consul replied that “in such a grave matter, he does
not speak for him [literally, about him—that is, for the Ottoman subject], rather, the jurisdiction
of the Gharb [Morocco] should prevail in this matter; and he gave his signature to this effect.” 79
On September 13, Lalouche was beheaded in Tangier. 80
As for Aflalo and Ben Moyal, the other two suspects, the ‘ulamā’ consulted by Mawlāy
Muḥammad ruled that their confessions did not constitute sufficient evidence and that they
should be pardoned (i‘dhār). 81 The sultan ordered that the matter be judged in a sharī‘a court,
either by the qāḍī of Safi or of Tangier (according to the preference of the Spanish ambassador).
73
See DAR, Safi, 4720, Mawlāy Muḥammad to Muḥammad Bargāsh, 9 Rabī‘ II 1280.
74
DAR, Safi, 4718, al-Ṭayyib b. Hīma to Muḥammad Bargāsh, 25 Rabī‘ I 1280.
75
Safi, 4715, Mawlāy Muḥammad to Muḥammad Bargāsh, 17 Rabī‘ I 1280. The letter does not specify the nature
of the disagreement.
76
DAR, Safi, 4718, al-Ṭayyib b. Hīma to Muḥammad Bargāsh, 25 Rabī‘ I 1280. Kenbib relates that the matter was
solved by having a lafīf testify that Ben Yehudah was a “voyou et un malfaiteur,” which was intended to
“contrebalancer la rétraction du comdamné” (Kenbib, Juifs et musulmans, 127).
77
DAR, Safi, 4716, al-Ṭayyib b. Hīma to Muḥammad Bargāsh, 19 Rabī‘ I 1280. However, another source indicates
that Ben Yehudah was executed on 14 September (see FO, 99/117, Frederick Carstensen to Thomas Reade, 14
September 1863, reprinted in Bashan, Moshe Montefiore ve-yehudei Maroko, 220).
78
DAR, Safi, 4718, al-Ṭayyib b. Hīma to Muḥammad Bargāsh, 25 Rabī‘ I 1280.
79
Wa-dhakara anna lā yatakallamu ‘alayhi fī mithli hādhihi al-da‘wā li-‘iẓamihā wa-innamā yatawallā al-
ḥukūmatu ‘alayhi fī hādhihi al-nāzilati wilāyatu al-gharbi wa-a‘ṭā khaṭṭa yaddihi bi-dhālika (ibid.).
80
Littman, “Mission to Morocco,” 182: Littman cites FO, 99/117, Reade (British consul in Tangier) to Earl Russell
(British foreign secretary), 10 October 1863. See also DAR, Safi, 4716, al-Ṭayyib b. Hīma to Muḥammad Bargāsh,
19 Rabī‘ I 1280.
81
DAR, Safi, 4720, Mawlāy Muḥammad to Muḥammad Bargāsh, 9 Rabī‘ II 1280.
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