Jewish Life in Muslim Libya

Book excerpt: Surveying the history of the Jewish Libyan community, contends that the ambiguous relationship of Jews and Muslims in Libya from 1711 to the 1940s is rooted in Islam, which sees the Jew either as a creature of the handiwork of the blessed, or as a non-believer to be humbled. This ambivalence was maintained by the Ottoman rule (1835-1911) which regarded the Jews and Muslims as separate and unequal communities. In contrast, during the Italian occupation (1911-43), Libyan nationalism grew, and the Jews were associated with Italy. Ch. 7 (pp. 97-122), "The Anti-Jewish Riots of 1945", contends that the 1945 riot against Tripoli's Jews (during the British occupation, 1943-45) may be viewed as an expression of the will to restore Muslim sovereignty, using the Jew as a representative of the hostile European rule.