The Martyrdom of Sol Hachuel: Ridda in Morocco in 1834 r 115their recommendation to carry out the death sentence. In the malhun in
the manuscript Bisam Allah qaomi, the influence of the ̔ulamā’ and its
expeditious action in the Sol trial is described in a pictorial manner:
Morning and evening they met with the Islamia
When the important people gathered together with the ̔ulamā’
They said what a noble woman, it is a pity that you should remain
A homeless Jewess and you such a beautiful example of God’s
creationסבאח ועשיה, עמלו לף דגיא מעא לאיסלמיא...
חין נזמעו לומא, וזאת מלומא מעא לעולאמא
קאלוהא יא סריף /כסארא/ תבקא
יהודייה כאת תדור /יא זנת לכליקא
]בוקר וערב עשו אסיפה מהר עם האיסלאמיא
כאשר נתאספו הגדולים / ובאו ביחד / עם החכמים
אמרו לה הוי האצילה / חבל תשארי
יהודיה משוטטת / יפת הבריאה[The q#sā emphasizes that they sent a Muslim woman to persuade her to
practice Islam. The term Islamia is a synonym for Bildiya, a Muslim of
Jewish origin. Abd al-Rahman, who was faithful to the laws of Islam, lis-
tened to the counsel of the ̔ulamā’ and accepted their advice. The chron-
icle of Khālid al-Nasiri tells us that the ̔ulamā’ prevented the execution
of two thousand people from the Sherrarda tribe.^18
Regarding Sol, he inclined toward the ̔ulamā’, which included mem-
bers of the Bildiyyin who favored the death penalty. Owing to his loyalty
to this group, he apparently declined to use his authority to delay the
execution.
The other factor that contributed to the adopting of the recommen-
dation and the implementing of the death sentence forthwith (after the
three-day wait) was widespread publicity. Sol’s case had become a public
issue. If it was clear that she was not coerced into converting, any effort
or attempt by a member of the court or by the sultan himself to reverse
the sentence could seem like a reaction to outside pressure and therefore
an insult to Islam and its laws. According to Rey, the qadi in Tangier at-
tacked Sol’s parents for publicizing the matter. In his opinion, the public-
ity prevented his intervention in their daughter’s favor.^19 Would things