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tolerance. 142 Such a policy would not only secure the rights of non-Muslims to observe their
religion, but also institute formal equality between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The question
was referred to the qāḍī of Fez, Muḥammad b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-‘Alawī al-Mdaghrī, 143 who
responded that freedom of religion (ḥurriyat al-dīn) was not permitted by the sharī‘a. 144 Al-
Mdaghrī explained that the sharī‘a permitted certain kinds of equality (al-musāwā) before the
law—such as the guarantee that people of different confessions be treated the same and be secure
from arbitrary abuse. 145 Declaring complete freedom of religion, however, was another matter.
Foreigners intervening on behalf of Jews met with mixed success in their attempts to
change the laws regulating when and where Jews were permitted to wear shoes. In many cities
in Morocco, Jews were prohibited from wearing shoes when passing before a mosque or, in more
extreme cases, when outside the millāḥ. 146 Although the enforcement of this law varied
considerably depending on time and place, there is little question that Jews perceived the
prohibition on wearing shoes as a considerable disability. 147 The question of Jews’ footwear was
a contentious issue running through discussions among foreigners and Makhzan officials about
the place of Jews in Moroccan society. 148 Jews who had acquired foreign protection or
nationality often attempted to challenge this prohibition, either by petitioning their consular
142
Kenbib, Juifs et musulmans, 218-24.
143
On al-Mdaghrī (d. 17 Ramaḍān 1299), see Muḥammad b. Ja‘far al-Kattānī, Salwat al-anfās wa-muḥādatha alakyās
bi-man uqbira min al-ulamā’ wa-’l-ṣulaḥā’ bi-fās, 4 vols. (Casablanca: Dār al-thaqāfa, 2004), v. 1, 226. Al-
Mdaghrī was appointed qāḍī of Fez on 7 Ṣafar 1274, a post he held until his death.
144
al-Manūnī, Maẓāhir, v. 1, 405-14.
145
Ibid., v. 1, 412.
146
Gottreich, The Mellah of Marrakesh, 93-6.
147
For an indication that the prohibition on wearing shoes was often observed in the breach, see, e.g., MAE Nantes,
Tangier A 164, Ḥamdī al-Wujdī to Féraud, 2 Muḥarram 1306.
148
See, e.g., FO 636/1, p. 3a-b, 2 October 1830. On reactions of nineteenth-century European travelers to the
prohibition on Moroccan Jews wearing shoes, see Zytnicki, Les Juifs du Maghreb, 31-2.
367