Christians and Jews Under Islam

Youssef Courbage and Philippe Fargues describe the status, treatment and demography of Jews and Christians under Muslim authority. The authors also discuss the status of Muslims under non-Muslim authority (for instance, under French rule in Algeria). The first and fourth chapters of "The Jews of Islam," by Bernard Lewis, are probably the best and most concise introduction to the topic of non-Muslims under Islamic rule. Also, consider "The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book," by Norman A. Stillman. If you consult Mark R. Cohen, "Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages," compare it with Stillman's work. Although we expect a degree of objectivity from historians, we can only take so much. Courbage and Fargues can discuss disturbing topics in a matter-of-fact style that is occasionally troubling, and sometimes amusing. Courbage and Fargues, however, take a moment to ackowledge that forced relocations under Ottoman authority must have been painful for the families that endured them, showing that, after all, the authors are people, too, with feelings not unmoved by the stories they tell. Also, the assumptions and implications of the authors might disturb the sensibilities of the reader. For instance, Courbage and Fargues make very specific comparisons between the French colonization of Algeria and the establishment of the State of Israel, but putting Israel's existance in the same category as the French presence in Algeria seems to imply the impermanence of Israel. Comparing Israel to a colonial venture with such a painful conclusion is at least unflattering to Israel. I give this book four stars for its importance to the topic, and for the research of its authors. Courbage and Fargues mention the restrictions and requirements that Islamic law and custom imposed on Jews and Christians, but their book is not a catalog of these restrictions. In the book "The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times," editors Reeva Spector Simon, Michael Menachem Laskier and Sara Requer present an interesting essay by Haideh Sahim. In nineteenth-century Iran, Sahim notes, a Jew had to wear a red patch on his clothes. Courbage and Fargues, however, do not detail such impositions on Jews and Christians. Stillman and Lewis give more examples of these statutory requirements, but a thorough accounting of them would make a book or two in itself.