IMAGInInG ThE “ISrAElITES” • 159On the one hand, he acknowledges that they fared better in the Muslim
world (most notably Spain) than in Christendom, but when making
this comparison, he does not employ religious categories (i.e., Muslims
vs. Christians); it was Arabs who were more tolerant than Europeans.
On the other hand, the author obviously recognizes that these ethnic
(or perhaps, in the language of the day, “racial”) groups have various
religious affiliations, and he is keen to dissociate Catholicism (as in
France) from anti- Jewish persecution. In this sense, he appears eager
to portray Catholicism more sympathetically than protestantism. While
one may suspect that this inclination is tied more to the author’s own
religious affiliations (perhaps he was a Catholic) than to his under-
standing of the historical record, it is necessary to recall that at least
the editors of al-Muqtaṭaf were converts to protestantism.^85 In any case,
what we have found in this article is, specifically, a Christian arab (and
perhaps more precisely a non- Protestant Christian arab) version of the
theory accounting for the distinctions in how Jews have been treated in
their Diasporas. the author maneuvers through his knowledge of Jew-
ish history to portray Jews as better off under both Arab and Catholic
rule, while subtly leaving Islam out of the equation altogether.^86
Defending Judaism against libelthough the consensus among these arabic journals held that Jews
were treated more favorably under Islam (or under arab rule) than
in Christian europe, Judaism was generally treated more respectfully
by the two Christian- edited journals analyzed here than by rida’s al-
Manār. Indeed, the editors of al-Muqtaṭaf and al-Hilāl frequently went
out of their way to defend the Jewish religion against defamation. Such
defenses often came in response to ritual murder accusations that arose
periodically in europe and the Middle east. In 1903, for instance, a
reader from the american city of Worcester^87 wrote to the editors of al-
Muqtaṭaf, noting that “newspapers write constantly of Jews murdering
children and draining their blood to fulfill certain religious duties.”
The reader inquires, “Is this true?” The editors’ answer is brief (only
seven short lines) but forceful. “the Jewish religion,” they assert, “is
(^85) asher Kaufman claims that they had converted from Maronism. See Kaufman, Re-
viving Phoenicia, 41. however, rashid Khalidi noted, in private correspondence, that
they came from the Marjeyoun region where there was no Maronite community. Khalidi
contends that they were originally Greek Orthodox or Catholic.
(^86) al-Muqtaṭaf 43:6 (December 1913), 564.
(^87) presumably, this refers to the city in Massachusetts, though there are places by
the same name in new York, Vermont, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Pennsylvania as well.