Jews of a Saharan Oasis: Elimination of the Tamantit Community

Jews spread out from Israel into northern Africa after the Roman destruction of much of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and settled in Saharan oases. Although there was no love for Jews after the birth of Islam five centuries later, Muslim Arabs accepted Jews' right to retain their own religion in lands they occupied, and so violence against them was quite rare. That enabled many Jews to remain in North Africa after Arab conquest of the region. However, after Jews living in Tlemcen [Algeria], or in the oasis of Touat became involved in trans-Saharan trade, even with Muslims, strong opposition to them occurred. Tlemcen, seen by Jews as 'Jerusalem of the West, ' was primarily Muslim occupied, and for economic reasons, the Jews living there became greatly disliked on account of their trans-Saharan trading - mainly for gold. A Tlemcen scholar, Muhammad al-Maghili, spent time in Touat, and used Islam-based arguments to destroy their synagogue there and expel them. He also got Jews excluded from the Songhay Empire. This book examines the whole process, with translations of Arabic Islamic writings on Jews and their rights to pursue their religion