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

had been following the standard practice, or that their actions conformed to Islamic law. 117 In
other instances, the Makhzan conducted detailed investigations, as in the Safi and Ntifa
affairs. 118 The adoption of a new kind of language concerning the place of Jews in Moroccan
society constituted an important and hitherto overlooked dimension of the Makhzan’s response
to foreign intervention.
The inequality of Jews and Muslims in Morocco was a subject of great concern to many
consular officials and international Jewish organizations. AIU teachers and members of the
Comité Central, usually through their connections with foreign consular officials, pressured the
Moroccan government to recognize Jews and Muslims as equals. 119 Consular officials
repeatedly remarked on the lack of equality before the law between Muslims and non-Muslims,
expressing indignation that there was no freedom of religion in Morocco. 120
In the wake of increasing foreign intervention on behalf of Jews, Makhzan officials began
evoking the importance of treating Jews and Muslims equally. This emphasis reflected changing
notions of justice introduced by the AIU and diplomatic representatives. The idea of religious
equality is alien to the Islamic tradition and the dhimma contract. As we have seen, Islamic law
granted non-Muslims who submit to the authority of an Islamic state a number of rights,
including the right to practice their religion. However, these rights were bound up with the
recognition that Islam was the superior religion. Moreover, the Pact of ‘Umar includes a number
117
See, e.g., DAR, Yahūd, 21348, Mawlāy ‘Abd al-Raḥmān to al-Ṭālib Bū Salhām, 23 Shawwāl 1264 and 8 Dhū al-
Qa‘da 1264; USNA, reg. 84, v. 001, Calipha Houssain of the Haha province to Elmahdee (governor of Essaouira),
sent 19 July 1864; DAR, Yahūd, 15595, Muḥammad Bargāsh to ‘Amāra, 16 Rabī‘ I 1298.
118
For another example, see the correspondence about the attack on Jews in Chefchaouen in 1890; after this attack
was brought to the Makhzan’s attention by foreign officials, Mawlāy Ḥasan ordered the local qā’id to investigate the
matter, find the perpetrators, arrest them, and inform the sultan of his findings. See especially DAR, Tetuan, 17208,
Mawlāy Ḥasan to Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Khaḍar, 18 Dhū al-Ḥijja 1306. See also DAR, Yahūd, Italian
ambassador to Muḥammad b. Mufaḍḍal Gharrīt, 9 May 1889/ 9 Ramaḍān 1306 and Muḥammad Bargāsh to Italian
ambassador, 18 Dhū al-Ḥijja 1306; FO, 636/5, p. 31b-32b, Nahon to Green, 20 May 1890.
119
See, e.g., Laskier, The Alliance Israélite Universelle, 31-61: Kenbib, Juifs et musulmans, 214-18.
120
See, for instance, USNA, reg. 84, v. 001, Jesse McMath to Abraham Corcos, 12 June 1864; MAE Courneuve,
C.P. Maroc 37, 12 August 1871, Tissot to MAE.
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