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.(Medieval Catholiccanon law, on the other hand, neither commands nor forbids such expulsion.)Jewish communities flourished in the famous, but socially misinterpreted,Jewish Golden Age in Muslim countries under regimes which were particularlydissociated from the great majority of the people they ruled, and whose power restedon nothing but naked force and a mercenary army.The best example is MuslimSpain, where the very real Jewish Golden Age (of Hebrew poetry, grammar,philosophy etc) begins precisely with the fall of the Spanish Umayyad caliphate afterthe death of the de facto ruler, al-Mansur, in 1002, and the establishment of thenumerous ta'ifa (faction) kingdoms, all based on naked force.The rise of the famousJewish commander-in-chief and prime minister of the kingdom of Granada, Samuelthe Chief (Shmu'el Hannagid, died 1056), who was also one of the greatest Hebrewpoets of all ages, was based primarily on the fact that the kingdom which he servedwas a tyranny of a rather small Berber military force over the Arabic-speakinginhabitants.A similar situation obtained in the other ta'ifa[58] Arab-Spanish kingdoms.The position of the Jews declined somewhat with theestablishment of the Almoravid regime (in 1086-90) and became quite precariousunder the strong and popular Almohad regime (after 1147) when, as a result ofpersecutions, the Jews migrated to the Christian Spanish kingdoms, where the powerof the kings was still very slight.Similar observations can be made regarding the states of the Muslim East.Thefirst state in which the Jewish community reached a position of important politicalinfluence was the Fatimid empire, especially after the conquest of Egypt in 969,because it was based on the rule of an Isma'ili-shi'ite religious minority.The samephenomenon can be observed in the Seljuk states - based on feudal-type armies,mercenaries and, increasingly, on slave troops (mamluks) - and in their successorstates.The favor of Saladin to the Jewish communities, first in Egypt, then in otherparts of this expanding empire, was based not only on his real personal qualities oftolerance, charity and deep political wisdom, but equally on his rise to power as arebellious commander of mercenaries freshly arrived in Egypt and then as usurper ofthe power of the dynasty which he and his father and uncle before him had served.But perhaps the best Islamic example is the state where the Jews' position wasbetter than anywhere else in the East since the fall of the ancient Persian empire - the 50 Jewish History, Jewish ReligionOttoman empire, particularly during its heyday in the 16th century.(11) As is wellknown, the Ottoman regime was based initially on the almost complete exclusion ofthe Turks themselves (not to mention other Muslims by birth) from positions ofpolitical power and from the most important part of the army, the Janissary corps,both of which were manned by the sultan's Christian-born slaves, abducted inchildhood and educated in special schools.Until the end of the 16th century no free-born Turk could become a Janissary or hold any important government office.Insuch a regime, the role of the Jews in their sphere was quite analogous to that of theJanissaries in theirs.Thus the position of the Jews was best under a regime whichwas politically most dissociated from the peoples it ruled.With the admission of theTurks themselves (as well as some other Muslim peoples, such as the Albanians) tothe ruling class of the Ottoman empire, the position of the Jews declines.However,this decline was not very sharp, because of the continuing arbitrariness and non-national character of the Ottoman regime.This point is very important, in my opinion, because the relatively goodsituation of Jews under Islam in general, and under certain Islamic regimes inparticular, is used by many Palestinian and other Arab propagandists in a veryignorant,[59] albeit perhaps well-meaning, way.First, they generalize and reduce seriousquestions of politics and history to mere slogans.Granted that the position of Jewswas, on average, much better under Islam than under Christianity - the importantquestion to ask is, under what regimes was it better or worse? We have seen wheresuch an analysis leads.But, secondly and more importantly: in a pre-modern state, a 'better' position ofthe Jewish community normally entailed a greater degree of tyranny exercised withinthis community by the rabbis against other Jews.To give one example: certainly, thefigure of Saladin is one which, considering his period, inspires profound respect.Buttogether with this respect, I for one cannot forget that the enhanced privileges hegranted to the Jewish community in Egypt and his appointment of Maimonides astheir Chief (Nagid) immediately unleashed severe religious persecution of Jewish'sinners' by the rabbis
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