136 • ChAPTEr 4
Eftim Effendi Mashbek is mentioned in one of the journal’s 1910 vol-
umes.^12 Near- complete sets of the journals are extant in the Khalidi
Library and the al- aqsa Library, the two Jerusalem libraries where I
read them while researching this book.^13 palestine’s intellectuals, such
as Muhammad ruhi al- Khalidi, surely followed these journals, and the
journals, in turn, followed al- Khalidi and his counterparts in articles
on palestinian society and politics.^14 al- Khalidi wrote articles for these
journals, typically under the pseudonym “al-Maqdisī,” “the Jerusale -
mite.”^15 the journals, then, are a critical source for an analysis of not
only the broader Middle eastern intellectual environment during the
Late Ottoman period but also that of palestine in particular.
Before proceeding to the analysis of the journals, we might high-
light one important implication that emerges from this study. It is com-
monly claimed, as discussed in chapter 3, that Muslims were more
sympathetic to Jews (and perhaps even to Zionism^16 ) than were Chris-
tians. a close reading of these journals suggests that greater nuance
must be acknowledged in the sharp distinction that is often drawn be-
tween Muslim and Christian intellectuals in this period vis- à- vis Jews.^17
Al-Manār, which was edited by a devout, if reform- minded,^18 Muslim,
regularly expressed deeply anti- Jewish views, while the Christian ed-
itors of al-Hilāl and al-Muqtaṭaf repeatedly came to the Jews’ defense
when readers questioned Judaism’s decency.^19 to be clear, this study
(^12) al-Hilāl (October 1910– July 1911), 21.
(^13) On the presence of these journals in these libraries, see also Khalidi, Palestinian
Identity, 54– 55. according to rashid Khalidi, the copies in the Khalidi Library likely
belonged to Muhammad ruhi al- Khalidi.
(^14) See, for example, al-Hilāl (October 1908– July 1909), 177.
(^15) The revelation of al- Maqdisī’s identity as al- Khalidi occurs in al-Hilāl (October
1908– July 1909), 181– 82.
(^16) rashid Khalidi has convincingly challenged this dichotomy vis- à- vis Zionism in
Palestinian Identity, 134ff. Cf. Mandel, TheArabsandZionismbeforeWorldWarI.
(^17) Noting the role of Christians in discussions found in the Islamic journal al-Manār,
Daniel Stolz has commented on “the confessionally porous boundaries of Islamic dis-
course” in this period. Stolz, “ ‘By Virtue of Your Knowledge,’ ” 224.
(^18) On rashid rida and the Salafiyya movement, see hourani, Arabic Thought in the
LiberalAge,1798–1939, 222ff. See also Adams, Islam and Modernism; Commins, Islamic
Reform.
(^19) While the editors of al-Hilāl and al-Muqtaṭaf were Christians, these journals were
not “Christian journals” in an exclusive sense, even as matters related to the hebrew
Bible and the new Testament occupied significant space in them. Internal evidence
within the journals confirms that their contributors and readers included many Muslims.
Al-Manār, in contrast, may more reasonably be regarded as an “Islamic journal” insofar
as it devoted much space to Qurʾanic commentary that would be more likely to alienate
non- Muslim readers (leaving aside the potentially disturbing substance of that commen-
tary relating to non- Muslims). On the relationship between rida and the editors of al-
Hilāland al-Muqtaṭaf, see ryad, Islamic Reformism and Christianity, 76– 86.