In the film, Tinghir-Jerusalem: Echoes of the Mellah, filmmaker Kamal Hachkar takes us through history as viewers connect with the various people, Jews and Muslims, who recall their past lives in Tinghir, Morocco, which is now long forgotten. Jews have had a long history in Morocco and their presence there has been shaped through the course of time. They were once merchants that came to North Africa, where they assimilated with the Islamic Moroccan Berbers in the mountains. Then in the 1490’s, Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain and fled to Morocco, where they began their vibrant, mixed culture. A large part of history has been lost as a result of the departure of Jews from Morocco in the mid-1960s when 250,000 Moroccan Jews left for Israel. Hachkar, who himself searched for his roots in Tinghir, embarked on a journey in pursuit of the memory of the lost community of Jews in Tinghir who fled …show more content…
Their interconnectedness with language demonstrates their shared social knowledge and the unity of their community.
A fundamentally dynamic aspect of Moroccan culture and society disappeared along with the Jews. Jews trusted their Muslim neighbors as they shared facilities, went to school together, and lived in the same areas within their communities. Jews and Muslims lived together in peace and respected one another’s religious beliefs: Jews were able to pray freely and even “prayed quite loudly in their synagogues,” recollected one Moroccan.
From their dress to their demeanor, Jews and Muslims appeared the same. They wore similar shawls, yet not the exact same kinds. Everyone knew their place in society: “Jews with the Jews and Muslims with the Muslims.” By listening to the stories by Jews who left Tinghir and Muslims who stayed, you find that there is an extremely close cooperation between the two
Using specific illustrations from Maryse Conde's novel Segu, this is an essay that discusses how the coming of Islam to Bambar society affected that people's traditional, political, social and economic practices as well as challenging the Bambaras' religious beliefs.
The Book of Contemplation written by Usama Ibn Munqidh is an interesting look at the relationship between the Latin Christian and Muslim cultures. Ibn Munqidh wrote this book to record the events taking place in the twelfth century; most of his anecdotes in sections throughout the book refer to the Latin Christians – or Franks – and the interactions between them and Muslims. Ibn Munqidh told of his curiosity into the matter of Franks on their first encounters with Muslim customs. He acknowledged the preconceived notions people had of the Franks during this time and wrote down these interactions Muslims had with them; this included conversations over medicine and intelligence. When Franks have lived in the Muslim community for a while, however, there is far more respect given to them by the Muslims.
Elias Chocour’s novel, Blood Brothers, represents his point of view on the contemporary Palestinian position regarding the holy land of Israel. The book traces the transformation of Chocour’s life, from a Melkite Christian Palestinian boy into a powerful spiritual leader and innovative agent in facilitating better race relations in the region. He shows how Palestinian’ needs were left out during the formation of the State of Israel, and how their plight is highly misunderstood, and often grossly distorted because of ignorance. Chocour’s depiction of the problem facing non-Jews is highly illuminating, and Blood Brothers will dispel many illusions and fallacies that cloud the facts surrounding the status of Israel’s inhabitants.
In conclusion, early Muslims had multitudinous connections with several religions as beneficial partners for trade, travel, and conquest. By analyzing each primary source, the benefits of having a relationship with different religions comes to light. Whether Muslims were interacting with Vikings, Jews, or Christians, establishing a friendly relationship allowed early Muslims to continue building stronger military forces, acquiring material goods, and avoid being raided by enemies. Each source provides different insight to how early Muslims thought and treated the religious groups they encountered.
Islamic Spain can be seen as one of the only societies that has grasped the importance of synergy and placed this notion above the typical need for absolute control. It is here where adherents of three religions coexisted and thrived culturally, economically, and intellectually. Two works explain the history of Islamic Spain, one being a documentary by Gardner Films, Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, and the other a book by Tamim Ansary called Destiny Disrupted: A History of The World Through Islamic Eyes. While both Ansary and Gardner Films explore the themes of Spain under Islamic rule, Gardner Films provides the viewer with a more thorough history of the region whereas Ansary remains brief and narrow with his narration. The documentary Cities of Light provides a view of Islamic Spain from its beginning to its very end.
This attitude was in turn based around their religious doctrine. (1) Bernard Lewis, "The Jews of Islam" (2) Harvey Goldberg, "Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewries", introductoin p15 (3) Norman Stillman, "Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewries" Essay 1, "Middle-Eastern and North African Jewries" p67 1996, Lev Epshteyn, SUNY Binghamton.
Most people think Israel always belonged to the Jews but it wasn’t always a safe, holy place where Jews could roam freely. Along with Palestine, it was actually forcefully taken from the Arabs who originated there. The main purpose of this novel is to inform an audience about the conflicts that Arabs and Jews faced. Tolan’s sources are mainly from interviews, documentations and observations. He uses all this information to get his point across, and all the quotes he uses is relevant to his points. The author uses both sides to create a non-biased look at the facts at hand. The novel starts in the year 1967 when Bashir Al-Khairi and his cousins venture to their childhood home in Ramallah. After being forced out of their homes by Jewish Zionists and sent to refuge for twenty years. Bashir arrives at his home to find a Jewish woman named Dalia Eshkenazi. She invites them into her home and later the...
But, as Sandy Tolan 's book, The Lemon Tree, seeks to explain, through Dalia’s longing for zion and Bashir’s belief in the arab right of return, that the main catalyst of the Arab-Israeli conflict is
...ns between Muslims and Jews were of tolerance and peace. Muslims and Jews rarely had any challenges aside from the religious differences. Muslims and Jews shared a common interest which was trading.
Reflecting as I exit the wrought iron gate into the neighboring street, I see Muslims and Christian children playing together. I see a sign inviting everyone to an upcoming feast being held at the Community Center. I come to realize the many similarities between the Muslim and Christian faiths.
In the Islamic conquest, Muslims conquered large areas consisting of distinct religion members. Muslims believed that all religions should be treated respectably; hence Jews and Christians followed ...
“Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function” (Wilson 79). In “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson, she acknowledges culture and explains why cultures can differ so greatly. She emphasizes why its highly inconclusive to try to find a meaning behind ones culture. As a young American Muslim women she is faced with cross cultural ironies as she tries to find her identity and where she fits in. Her conversion to Islam brings into light her internalized prejudice and the different perspectives of Westerners towards the Middle East and vice versa. In her memoir, she depicts both positive and negative aspects of both cultures and, her struggle to find a common ground between the two.
Although there are many religions in the world that have affected the lives and cultures of many people it is clear that most of the historical developments that have affected the way people now live seem to have been greatly influenced by the three religions with close relationships to each other resulting in being clustered together as the Abrahamic faiths. While there are many differences among the three most populous religions called the Abrahamic faith (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), there are a number of similarities that deserve a closer look. In this article will look at three major similarities. At times there may be more similarities between any two of them but dissimilarity with the third. For instance, on the personality and
The Fatimid’s had been rumored to be tolerant, compassionate and focused on unifying Islam; however, it has been proved that this was not always the case. Orientalists have acknowledged their contribution towards the advancement of Islam and claim that the Christian and Jewish communities excelled during this time; but it did not come without its deceptions and deviations from Islamic norms and rules. This historiography will explore whether the Fatimids were actually the tolerant Muslims whose actions, belief systems and practices evidenced the growth of Islam and tolerance of other religions, or if they were merely politi...
The Moroccan food culture is very unique and enticing through sight, smell, and taste in ways that many other cuisines cannot fulfill, all of which is due to its history and influences over the years. Morocco is located in Northern Africa right by the Mediterranean Sea. It 's location has been a great influence on both its history and culture. According to the Youngblood-Coleman (2015), Arab forces began to occupy Morocco in the seventeenth century. This then brought the Islamic culture and many other traditions, this since then, has had a large