Jews and Islamic Law in Early 20th-Century Yemen

Mark S. Wagner

Description

Finalist, 2015 Jewish Book Awards

Listen to a New Books in Jewish Studies podcast with the author

In early 20th-century Yemen, a sizable Jewish population was subject to sumptuary laws and social restrictions. Jews regularly came into contact with Islamic courts and Muslim jurists, by choice and by necessity, became embroiled in the most intimate details of their Jewish neighbors' lives. Mark S. Wagner draws on autobiographical writings to study the careers of three Jewish intermediaries who used their knowledge of Islamic law to manipulate the shari'a for their own benefit and for the good of their community. The result is a fresh perspective on the place of religious minorities in Muslim societies.

Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction
1. The Islamic Judicial System and the Jews
2. Changing God's Law
3. Muslim Jews and Jewish Muslims
4. Concord and Conflict in Economic Life
5. Intercommunal Violence and the Shari'a
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Islam
• LAW
• Middle East
• Legal history
• History of the Middle East
• Jewish studies
• Jews
• HISTORY

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 11 novembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253014924
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

J E W S A N D I S L A M I C L AW I N E A R LY   T  C E N T U RY Y E M E N

I N D I A N A S E R I E S I N S E P  A R D I A N D M I Z R A  I S T U D I E S arvey E. Goldberg and Maias Lemann,ediors

JEWS AND ISLAMIC LAW  E -C Y

Mark S. Wagner

Indiana Universiy Press Bloomingon & Indianapolis

his book is a publicaion of

Indiana Universiy Press Office of Scolarly Publising erman B Wells Library   Eas  Sree Bloomingon, Indiana  USA

iupress.indiana.edu

Telepone-- Fax--

©  by Mark S. Wagner

All rigs reserved

No par of is book may be reproduced or uilized in any form or by any means, elecronic or mecanical, including poocopying and recording, or by any informaion sorage and rerieval sysem, wiou permission in wriing from e publiser. he Associaion of American Universiy Presses’ Resoluion on Permissions consiues e only excepion o is proibiion.

he paper used in is publicaion mees e minimum requiremens of e American Naional Sandard for Informaion Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Prined Library Maerials, ANSI Z.-.

Manufacured in e Unied Saes of America

Library of Congress Caaloging-in-Publicaion Daa

Wagner, Mark S. Jews and Islamic law in early -cenury Yemen / Mark S. Wagner. pages cm. — (Indiana series in Separdi and Mizrai sudies) Includes bibliograpical references and index. ISBN ---- (clo : alk. paper) — ISBN --- - (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN ---- (ebook) . Jews—Legal saus, laws, ec.—Yemen (Republic) . Dimmis (Islamic law)—Yemen (Republic) . Jews—Yemen (Republic)—Social condiions— cenury. . Jews—Yemen (Republic)—Poliics and governmen. . Jews—Yemen (Republic)—isory— cenury. . Judaism—Relaions—Islam. . Islam—Relaions— Judaism. . Yemen (Republic)—Enic relaions. I. Tile. DS.YW  .'—dc            

For Eli and Oren

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Conens

 Acknowledgmens  Noe on Translieraion

 Inroducion

 he Islamic Judicial Sysem and e Jews

 Canging God’s Law

 Muslim Jews and Jewis Muslims

 Concord and Conflic in Economic Life

 Inercommunal Violence and e Sarī‘a

 Conclusion

 Noes  Bibliograpy  Index

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Acknowledgmens

I    conceived e ideas explored in is book wiou Bernard aykel, wi wom I sudied as a graduae suden a New York Universiy. In a  Arabic paleograpy uorial, Bernard led me roug Sawkānī’s reaise on forcing e Jews of Yemen o collec excremen. Caper  of is book revolves around is work. In Ocober  Princeon Universiy’s Woodrow Wilson Scool convened a worksop a focused on Sālim Sa‘īd al-Jamal’s relaionsip o Imām Yayā called “Judaism and Islam in Yemen.” here Bernard delivered ˙ a paper on Jamal’s ques for legal sancion o ride is bicycle, wic is also dis- cussed in caper . In is eye-opening paper, Bernard drew aenion o e value of Jamal’s publised collecions of documens, wic ide in plain sig in e Jewis isory secion of mos researc libraries. aykel’s inerpreaion of e emergence of a branc of Salafism from wiin e Zaydī scool, wic e develops inRevival and Reform in Islam: he Legacy of Muammad ‘Alī al- ˙ Sawkānī,is fundamenal o is book. Fundamenal oo is is suggesion of e willingness of Muslim inkers wo represened is inellecual rend o radi- cally cange e saus quo of e relaions beween Muslims and non-Muslims. he isorian Menase ‘Anzi, from e Ben-Zvi Insiue in Jerusalem, pos- sesses an encyclopedic knowledge of e lieraure wrien in Israel by Jews from Yemen. e as been a wonderful source of advice for me, and I would like o express my graiude o im. Among oer ings, e aug me a Sālim Sa‘īd al-Jamal’s wriings belong o a broad and ric world of wriing by Jews from Ye- men, some of wom aced as inermediaries wi Muslim auoriies and many of wom did no. I was forunae o ave ad e opporuniy o read is  ebrew Universiy docoral disseraion, “he Jews of Sanaa in an Era of Transi- ion, a isorical Discussion in e Public Spere: From e Ooman Conques unil heir ‘Aliya o Israel, –” (in ebrew), bu only ater is book ad been finised. herefore, I leave i o readers o explore is fascinaing work. I ank Sasson Somek, wo inspired me as a eacer and coninues o inspire me. hanks also o e paricipans in e worksop “Marginaliy, ierarcy, and Eniciy in Muslim Socieies,” wic me in Berlin in  and Princeon in , for eir rigorous discussions of my work and is broader conexs. In is regard I am paricularly indebed o Leor alevi for is ougful commens on an early drat of is book. I also ank Gudrun Krämer and Mark Coen, e conveners of is worksop, as well as Sefan Leder, wo aended e Princeon meeings.

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