The Divergence of Judaism and Islam. Interdependence, Modernity, and Political Turmoil

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Yemen: Muslim and Jewish Interactions in the Tribal Sphere · 127

clothes; they could ride a donkey only sidesaddle and were not allowed to
ride horses at all; and their homes could not rise above Muslims’ houses.
These restrictions were more strictly observed in the capital of San ̔a ̓
and its surroundings and in a few towns where the imam exercised direct
control. (The Ottomans tried to equalize the Jews’ legal status to that of
other Jews in their empire, but were halted by the vigorous opposition of
the Yemeni population and religious scholars.)
However, most Jews resided in areas dominated by tribal shaykhs who
did not strictly enforce these laws. The Jews usually kept their houses
close to each other so that they could sustain communal life and observe
the Sabbath and religious holidays. But frequently, in small villages, their
homes were near their Muslim neighbors. The tribesmen maintained
their independence and customary laws ( ̔urf), which included regulat-
ing their relations with the Jews. Thus, while roofs in the Jewish quar-
ter of San ̔a ̓ were indeed lower than Muslims,’ there was no difference
in height between Jews’ and Muslims’ houses in rural districts. In the
north and the northeast of Yemen, Jews even carried arms, much like
the tribesmen.^3 In the tribal areas, the Jews lived under the protection
of the shaykhs and other members of the tribe in a sort of client-patron
relationship. Each Jewish household had special ties with a Muslim jar,
who acted as patron and helped in times of need. The Muslim jar some-
times had more than one Jew (who was also called jar) under his protec-
tion. The Jew was expected to give his jar gifts on special occasions. Jews
who wished to reside in the territory of a certain tribe had to ask for
the tribe’s consent and protection, without which their safety would be
threatened. Granting of protection was generally announced in public in
a special ceremony, such as that described by Abraham Ovadia, whose
family received, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the protection
of Shaykh Nasir Mabkhut of the Hashid tribe:^4


On Thursday, the day of the weekly market, the Shaykh’s messen-
gers approached us and took me, my brother, and my two sisters
to the marketplace, which was crowded with Arabs, as customary
on this day. My father was already there.... We climbed on a little
hill in the market, the seating place of noble persons who were ap-
pointed judges on various matters. They lined us up, and one of
the men loaded his gun and shot one shot in the air. He then cried
loudly: “Listen, oh people, pray for the Prophet!” He repeated this
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