IMAGInInG ThE “ISrAElITES” • 151In a 1908 volume of al-Manār, the condition of the Jews is discussed
in the course of rida’s Qurʾanic commentary on a verse (Q. 3:112) that
describes the “shame” (adh- dhilla) and “destitution” (al-maskana)^68 with
which the Jews have been punished for having “persistently disbelieved
in God’s revelation and killed prophets without any right.” The first con-
dition, “shame,” writes rida, “has been removed from them [the Jews]
in the Muslim countries and, more recently, in european countries as
well (except, that is, for russia), with laws that granted equality to all
residents.” to be sure, “they have enemies in europe.” among these
enemies, there are those in Germany who “might withhold the title ‘Ger-
man’ from them [the Jews] and designate them [simply] as ‘Jew.’ ”^69
In rida’s view, the Jews in Islamic lands have lived without the veil of
“shame” under which they were forced to endure in europe. the recent
improvements in the condition of european Jewry do not constitute a
model for the way in which Jews ought to be treated under Islamic rule,
but comprise merely a long- delayed “catching up” on the part of europe
to the more decent, tolerant policies and attitudes under Islam.
the questions of religious tolerance and the place of Jews (as well
as Christians) in the Islamic ordering of the modern world came to the
fore in the early twentieth century. this was due in large measure to the
increased interaction between Muslims and non- Muslims, especially eu-
ropeans, whom many Muslims viewed as possessing certain knowledge
and skills that could not, or should not, be denigrated and dismissed.^70
In 1910 a tunisian scholar wrote to al-Manār to inquire about rida’s
views on the status of Jews and Christians after the advent of Islam.
the questioner expresses surprise at rida’s earlier suggestion that in
order for a person to be redeemed, Islam demands “faith in God and
in the Last Day, and good deeds,” regardless of the practitioner’s na-
tion, historical era, or geographical location. this tunisian respondent
tolerance of the non- Muslim for their own sake” and points to emile Zaydan’s al-Yahūd
fīat-tārīkh (al-Hilāl 22:4 [January 1914], 243– 56) as evidence. Cohen concludes with
his own “suspicion” that “the author wished to praise Islam for providing a more com-
fortable home for the Jews than did Christendom, with a hoped- for continued Muslim
tolerance of arab Christians in mind.” While this suspicion may be correct, I have found
no evidence in Zaydan’s writings to substantiate it. rather, I would suggest that Zaydan
was simply rehearsing here the commonly accepted narrative of the alternative experi-
ences of the Jews under Islam versus those in Christendom. Cohen, Under Crescent and
Cross, 3– 8, 205n.15.
(^68) For these two terms, I follow the translation of Yūsuf ʿAlī, The Meaning of the Holy
Qurʾan.
(^69) al-Manār 10:11 (January 1908), 814.
(^70) See hourani, ArabicThoughtintheLiberalAge,1798–1939. See also Commins, Is-
lamic Reform.