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

epresentative for an exception to the rules or by simply asserting their right to wear shoes since
they were now “Europeans.” 149
In 1884, the debate about whether or not Jews were permitted to wear shoes came to a
head in Wazzān, a town north of Fez whose inhabitants had a reputation for being particularly
religious. The local officials had traditionally prohibited Jews from wearing shoes. The
American ambassador asked Muḥammad Bargāsh to allow the Jews of Wazzān to wear shoes,
undoubtedly at the request of a Jewish resident. 150 Mawlāy Ḥasan refused to grant this request
and sent a letter affirming the “previous custom” (al-‘āda al-ma’lūfa qabl). 151 Six weeks after
this letter was read to the Jews of Wazzān, the Réveil du Maroc (the leading French newspaper
published in Morocco) ran a story claiming that ‘Abd al-Salām b. al-‘Arabī, the sharīf of
Wazzān—a descendent of the holy lineage associated with the town’s zāwiya—had overlooked
the sultan’s orders and had permitted the Jews of his town to wear shoes. 152 The French had
extended consular protection to al-‘Arabī in January of that year. 153 Al-‘Arabī wanted to prove
to his new benefactors that he was an open-minded and enlightened notable; in addition to
foreswearing the slave trade, he made a statement permitting the Jews of his city to wear
shoes. 154 Allowing Jews to wear shoes was also intended to set al-‘Arabī apart from Mawlāy
Ḥasan, whom most foreign observers considered to be overly traditional. In this instance, the
Makhzan was overridden by a local actor whose own position made it advantageous for him to
149
DAR, Yahūd, 35036, Felix Matthews to Muḥammad al-Madanī Banīs, 24 Shawwāl 1289.
150
DAR, Yahūd, 710, 14 Rabī‘ II 1301. The name of the Jew who initially got permission from the American
ambassador to wear shoes was Ibn Shāwshū, though the document refers to others “like him” (amthāluhu) who also
claimed the right to wear shoes. It seems likely, however, that Ibn Shāwshū initially requested permission to wear
shoes from the American consul because he was an American protégé.
151
The fact that the practice of not permitting Jews to wear shoes is referred to as a custom (‘āda), as opposed to a
law (shar‘), suggests that this prohibition was merely customary (which would make sense since it is particular to
Morocco). However, more systematic research would have to be done to determine this.
152
This story ran on 2 April 1884 (see Miège, Le Maroc et l’Europe, v. 4, 52).
153
Pennell, Morocco since 1830, 90.
154
Miège, Le Maroc et l’Europe, v. 4, 52: Parsons, The Origins of the Morocco Question, 118-19.
368